When is the best time to transplant an orchid at home: how to determine the prerequisites and what season to choose?
When replanting an orchid worries many of its owners. However, immediately after the end of the first flowering of the purchased flower, one should not rush and transplant it into new soil.
If the orchid is healthy, as evidenced by strong green leaves and dense green roots, it will be possible to transplant such an orchid in a month and a half after the acquisition. How to do this we will tell in this article. Also watch a useful video on this topic.
When is it best to transplant into a pot at home, what time of year and period?
According to the rule, the phalaenopsis plant transplant time occurs every 2-3 years, also this plant at home has the need for a new pot. Transplanting an orchid into another pot, the flowering period of which lasts almost a whole year, the peduncle should be cut so that the plant can concentrate all its own forces on rooting.
The best period for transplanting is spring and summer, and, as already mentioned, it is more correct to generally implement phalaenopsis transplantation after flowering (about when an orchid transplant is necessary during flowering and how to correctly carry it out, read here). In order for the root growth to be effective, it is very important that your orchid is in a fairly well-lit place in an environment of medium temperature.
IMPORTANT: Successfully choosing a period for a transplant means guaranteeing for yourself the main guarantee of success, since the flower will have a chance of fixing itself more quickly in the new substrate and adapting to new conditions.Transplant time dependence:
- From the time of year. Transplanting an orchid in autumn or winter is not recommended. In the autumn, vitality decreases over time, in winter, the metabolic processes practically freeze, replanting in winter or in autumn, phalaenopsis, as a rule, takes root in a new place for a long time, is often sick and can stop blooming, despite good and proper care after transplantation.
- From the lunar calendar. Often used for transplants and the lunar calendar. When transplanting, it is more correct to check directly with him, as this will make it possible to choose more suitable days for the transplant. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of stress that the plant acquires during the period of substitution of the substrate. The first 3-5 days after the phase is over - a more positive period for an orchid at home.
So, it is more correct to carry out transplants in general on March 12-13, April 17 and 18, and in the middle of May. The autumn stage of transplants is September 6-7, and October 3-4. Be sure to check the lunar calendar in order to choose the best period in order to plant orchids. Winter is a period of calm and flowering, so that the flowers do not touch.
- From the type of orchid. Of course, it is more correct to transplant each plant simultaneously after a dormant period, before intensive vegetation.
However, certain types of orchids do not have a clearly formulated stage of tranquility, for this reason it is more correct to focus on natural cycles for absolutely all plants. For example, cattleya, brassia, stangopei should be transplanted in February or March. Dendrobium, coelogin, cymbidium are transplanted later, in April or May.
Reasons for a Transplant
So, there are the following reasons when you need to do orchid transplantation:
- the substrate has a very depleted appearance: the pieces are half-rotten, pruned or very dry, and have lost the ability to accumulate water and let in airspace;
- 2-4 years have passed from the period of the previous transplant or acquisition of a flower;
- the pot became small for the flower, the roots filled the full substrate;
- the flower is sick.
Watch a video about the reasons for orchid transplantation:
Assessment of the condition of the flower
After the purchase in the store, it is not necessary to transplant the plant. If its leaves are in excellent condition, there are buds or flowers, if its roots are not dry and not ripe, the plant does not need a transplant.
However, if the flower is purchased at a sale and its health is disturbing, and especially if it was obtained from unscrupulous owners and is in poor condition, it is imperative to examine the root system of the orchid.
When do you need to move a plant?
It is impossible to transplant blooming specimens, as this creates tension in them, and they lose all the flowers and buds. An exception can only be that incident when leaves or roots are damaged on a plant as a result of some disease.
Optimal gap
The most optimal period for transplantation is considered spring. In this period, the active growth of the plant, its leaves and root system occurs.
ATTENTION: Further growth and the formation of phalaenopsis depends on the correctly selected transplant period, because in the interval at the beginning of growth, the flower is easier to adapt to new circumstances and gain a foothold in the substrate, and therefore, the transplant will be less painful for the plant.Transplant an orchid in the flowering period should not, as there is a danger that the plant will throw off the flowers. Such a transplantation is possible only if emergency resuscitation of an orchid is needed. However, it is more correct to transplant phalaenopsis already after flowering.
Is it possible to disturb immediately after a purchase in a store?
If you purchased a plant grown in a greenhouse, and it is already sitting in the ground, it may not be transplanted correctly, if you are not embarrassed by the original pot (usually very unclean), it may simply be put in a pot or carefully handled.
However in case you purchased an imported plant in a shopping center, you must certainly transplant and immediately, because plants imported from other countries are sold in a special transportation substrate, in which all plants designated for transportation across the borders of countries are grown, since according to the international convention, the movement of any land across municipal borders is prohibited.
If the roots are very strongly entwined with a lump of substrate, and you are afraid to spoil them, it is possible to transship, shaking off only what shakes itself. In this case, it is necessary to take a pot for an orchid approximately 3-4 cm larger in diameter and place a lump in it so that the new earth into which the plant is transplanted surrounds the roots on absolutely all sides with an even layer. That is, the roots in each case should become likely to grow in the ground.
Watch the video about the correct orchid transplant after purchase:
How often do you need to reproduce the process?
Orchids are not recommended for replanting often.. It is more correct to do this only at a time when the plant has grown very much or the substrate has completely decomposed. On average, older epiphytic orchids are recommended to be transplanted once every 2-3 years.
Terrestrial orchids, which lose their roots during calm, require a one-year transplant. From epiphytes to frequent (every 6-8 months) substitution of the substrate, only the younger generation (up to 3 years) respond well.
Conclusion
Do not be afraid to transplant your plant. After a certain time, you will become aware of his needs and needs, gain significant experience, and your darling orchid will give you joy for many years.