Hi, I'm Judy Mirro, a UVM master gardener
coming to you from the office of UVM's
Master Gardener Helpline.
And I'm here to help you become a houseplant hero
by providing some guidance on caring for your houseplants.
Today we're gonna do something a little different.
We're gonna re-pot an orchid, a Phalaenopsis orchid at that.
This little guy needs some help.
He is not doing very good.
He is in the wrong pot.
This pot doesn't have any holes at all, no drainage.
So as you can see, there's no drainage holes below.
This is not ideal for any kind of orchid,
particularly a Phalaenopsis.
So we have a orchid pot.
It's got slits on the side and on the bottom.
So just about the right size to redo.
Anytime you get an orchid,
many of them will come potted in sphagnum moss.
And while that's great for purchasing
you don't wanna keep it in that pot.
So as soon as you get it home, get it really wet,
and then pull all the Sphagnum moss off of the roots,
and then get yourself some good orchid mix.
It'll come with charcoal, fur, pine bark.
It's a really dry mix.
That's what you want.
So that's what we're gonna do right now.
We're gonna re-pot this little guy.
So I start off with just a little bit of mix
in the bottom of my pot.
We're gonna snip off any dead or dying roots.
We just want the healthy ones.
So anything that's salvageable, we keep.
Anything that's dead or dying, we snip off.
We don't wanna promote root rot.
That's the killer of a Phalaenopsis orchid.
So anything that's dead goes away.
Anything that's healthy stays.
-Whoops. -(Judy chuckles)
All right, so that looks good.
Time to re-pot 'em.
These little aerial roots are gonna stay above.
These little real roots are gonna go down below.
Great, there they go.
They're gonna go in the pot.
Aerial roots stay above.
Got it?
Okay.
There we go.
Couple of handfuls of new bark,
and we're just gonna gently put it in around the plant.
Might need a little help,
but we're gonna make it work.
Oh, he might be too big for this guy.
I'll put him back in.
So just remember to keep those aerial roots above,
and all the other roots below.
And I'm gonna give 'em a little mist.
(water spraying)
'Cause we wanna keep 'em moist.
(water spraying)
'Cause he is looking kind of dry.
If you don't have an orchid pot, no problem,
but best to use a clay pot if you can.
(water spraying)
All right, little more mix.
We're almost done.
He's looking better already.
Pretty soon he's gonna have some flowers, I just know it.
And there you have it.
A re-potted Phalaenopsis.
Whoops.
I think he looks pretty good.
And you can already see
his aerial roots have turned
from that white silvery color to green.
-(water spraying) -'Cause we've sprayed 'em up.
Got 'em all moist.
(water spraying)
He looks awfully good to me.
He looks much more happy too.
Ah, this pot, not really good.
There we go.
So remember that by providing your plants
with the conditions and care they need,
you too can be a houseplant hero.
For more information on house plants and home gardens
visit the UVM Extension Master Gardener website
and see our garden resources page,
or contact an extension master gardener volunteer
at the helpline.
The phone number is on the screen.
This is Extension Master Gardner, Judy Mirro,
wishing you happy growing.