How to repot Orchid plants in compost growing medium

This is about creating your own growing medium or orchid compost and requires some skill. When doing this make sure that the mixed medium:

  • Allows easy passage of air and water through it

  • Keeps warmth

  • Should be able to rapidly absorb water

  • Drains quickly

  • Have nutrients at all times. They should not break down quickly.

  • Should have an acid Ph

What constitutes a good orchid growing medium?

Orchids thrive in organic, mineral or synthetic mediums

Classic mediums contain fern roots, tree ferns (such as Xaxim) and Spagnum moss. These are still available but are not always present due to laws regulating their usage. Nowadays common orchid-growing mediums consist of:

  • Peat products like moss, peat and peat compost

  • Tree bark such as Meranti, red wood, cork oak and cork chips

  • Polystyrene products and polystyrene flakes

  • Charcoal

  • Mineral substances such as Hortag, pumice, glimmer and perlite

Mineral constituents

They supply mineral and trace elements

Synthetic substances

prevent rapid clogging, water logging and cooling down of the plant. Synthetic substances encourage good ventilation.

Natural or organic substances

they encourage root formation and supply nutrients. Charcoal protects the orchid plant from decay and infections.

It is good practice to combine your own orchid growing medium with a specialist orchid fertilizer. Specialist fertilizer will ensure that the orchid does receive all necessary trace elements.

Recommended mixture for epiphytes in pots

  • 1 part cork chips

  • 1 part pine bark

  • 1 part polystyrene flake

  • part peat

  • part charcoal

  • 2g carbonic acid powder per liter growing medium

You can obtain polystyrene by chopping up plastic packaging material.

Plant container.

Orchids can be propagated in various pots or wooden containers. It is quite common to buy your orchids in plastic or clay pots. Clay pots are both permeable to air and water. However they dry out rapidly then plastic pots which are not porous. Furthermore they may allow salt accumulation which leads to the scotching of orchid roots. Plastic containers are perfect. Terracotta and ceramic containers are suitable for orchids such as Cymbidia.

Hanging orchids

Orchids with flowers that hang down look beautiful in lattice baskets. The lattice baskets allow air to circulate in the baskets.