Help with my orchid please!?

My orchid look beautiful and healthy and is flowering beautifully but the pot its in is very small and with the weight of the blooms, it's rather top heavy and prone to toppling over. Can I repot it in a bigger pot without disturbing the soil its in and plant it in some sphagnum moss? I don't want to kill it obviously, but I'm worried its going to take a bashing. Ta :)

Help with my orchid please!?
NO NO NO





small pots are good. They keep the roots packed together and encourages the blooms when its time for them to flower and encourages growth. Trust me on this. You should only repot a orchid when they are dormant NEVER in the middle of their flowering season, you could stress it out. Pick up a book on orchid reppotting it will explain all you need to know. Just remember...





small pot= good (enen if the roots start bursting out of the sides, thats why orchids like air on their roots and should be in plastic pots)





to big of a pot= plant spends all its energy on spredding its roots out and not flowering.





only repot every few years. Like I said get a book.





Good luck!
Reply:Hi, orchids generally don't need much repotting, typically every 2 or 3 years. They are a hugely different group of plants, with very different needs. Many live on tree trunks, not in real soil, which is why you'll buy them in chipped bark bits. Often orchids don't flower for about a year, after being repotted - so be prepared for a long dormant period.





It would be really useful to know which orchid you have, so that we can give you specialist exact advice. I'll give some tips on the more commonly grown types. Some benefit from being split up, others don't need this.





For all varieties, try to wait for a break in flowering before repotting, spring and early summer is the best time for repotting.





Also, consider if there is some stake that you can provide - make sure it doesn't damage the roots of course.





Phalaenopsis is the most common, with oval very thick leaves, coming from a near flat base - it's leaves don't go up and up into a tall stem, though its flowers do. You generally don't need to repot this type. This orchid prefers ground bark chips for repotting. Its common name is the Moth Orchid.





Otherwise, the next most common type is:


Cymbidiums - these have thin reed-like upright leaves. Flowers best when pot-bound. Repot them after flowering and leave it until its 'pseudo-bulbs' (looks like, but aren't bulbs) are tightly pushed upto the edge of its pot, usually good for repotting after a couple of years or so each time.





Potting mixtures vary too, by species, so it is important to try to narrow this down - stupid retailers often don't label plants with anything other than 'orchid' on them, which doesn't help.





You generally shouldn't need to change the pot size very much though, unless you're plants are really getting perfect conditions for maximum growth.





Other types of orchid can be found too, try to identify which one that you have. Links below may help you do this.





Good luck! Rob
Reply:I had the same problem. Rather than re pot it which i thought may kill it, I put the small pot it was already in, into a larger pot and put little marbles around it to hold it steady. It looks really nice and I havent killed it, which is a miracle for me!!!
Reply:Orchids don't like repotting often, why not put the pot into a decorative plant pot holder, it will also catch the drips from when you water the plant, and will make it stable, One tip, don't cut the flowering spike down to the base when it finishes flowering, I did this and my orchid hasn't flowered since! GRIN
Reply:I take it that this is a tropical orchid imported by IKEA or someone. In their natural state, they are parasitic plants living in tree branches and rocks, etc., and are quite resilient. They can be re-potted if you are careful. Try not to disturb the soil too much (easier is it is slightly damp and not crumbly). Match the new soil to the old if possible. Once it's done, do not relocated it until it has settled down (weeks). Continuity of conditions is the key.
Reply:I would , but do not disturb the root ball, just put in bigger pot with plaent o medium and spagnim moss, good luck.