If your orchid has stopped flowering, has roots growing out of the pot, or seems unhealthy despite proper watering and fertilising, there’s an easy fix: it may simply need a new pot.
Repotting is one of the easiest ways to keep an orchid alive and healthy for years, and once you know the signs, it only takes a few minutes.
When to repot an orchid
There are three basic times to repot your orchid.
1. After a new orchid finishes blooming
Many orchids sold in supermarkets and garden centres are potted in tightly packed sphagnum moss. While the moss helps keep the roots moist during shipping and on store shelves, it can stay wet for too long in a home environment, increasing the risk of root rot if not managed carefully.
Once the flowers have faded, repot the orchid into a coarse orchid-specific potting mix, such as bark, to improve drainage and airflow around the roots. More on this below.
2. When the orchid outgrows its pot
If thick roots are spilling over the edge of the container or circling tightly inside the pot, it’s time for a larger home. Most orchids benefit from repotting every one to two years as they grow.
3. When the potting mix breaks down
Orchid potting mix doesn’t last forever. Over time, bark and other coarse materials decompose into smaller pieces that hold more moisture and reduce airflow around the roots. Even if your orchid hasn’t outgrown its pot, replacing the old mix every one to two years helps keep the roots healthy.
What you need to repot an orchid
An orchid-specific potting mix:
Choose a coarse mix containing bark and other chunky materials that allow water to drain and air to circulate around the roots. If your orchid hasn’t outgrown its container, replace the old mix and return the plant to the same pot.
The right supplies and equipment:
- Rubbing alcohol or a 10% bleach solution
- A trowel or scoop
- Sharp scissors or pruners
- A new pot, if necessary
- Optional: a chopstick or small wooden dowel and gardening gloves
How to repot an orchid
- Sterilise your equipment: Use the alcohol or bleach solution to thoroughly clean the trowel or scoop and the scissors or pruners. Orchids are highly susceptible to disease, so this is an important step.
- Remove the orchid from the pot: Carefully remove the orchid. If it has outgrown its pot or if the potting mix has become compacted, it might be hard to remove. Don’t yank on it; try running a butter knife around the outside or gently flexing the pot (if possible) first.
- Soak the root ball: If the potting medium is very dry or packed into the roots, which are dry and fragile, soak the whole thing before trying to remove any potting mix. This will prevent roots from snapping.
- Loosen and trim the roots: Gently disentangle potting mix from the roots, and loosen them. Use the scissors or pruners to snip away any dead roots. Dead roots will look unhealthy: black, hollow, soggy, and/or shrivelled.
- Add some potting mix to the new pot: Using the trowel, place a little mix in the bottom of the pot. (If you want, you can place some chunky perlite, small rocks, or even Styrofoam in the bottom of the pot first. This will help keep potting mix from blocking the drainage holes.)
- Set the plant into the new pot: Gently set the plant into the pot, making sure that the base of the leaves sits just a little below the pot’s rim.
- Fill with potting mix: Using the trowel, fill the pot with potting mix just to the base of the leaves. You may want to use a chopstick or clean dowel to work some of the mix in between the roots. Try not to leave large spaces under the plant or between roots as they can become a home for unwanted insects.
- Water well: Soak the potting mix thoroughly and make sure the pot fully drains. Then wait at least a week or even two before watering again. This will encourage the plant’s roots to grow and help the plant adjust to its new space.
After repotting, place the orchid back in an area with bright, indirect light, and enjoy! It’ll likely need some time to bloom again, so don’t worry if it doesn’t bloom right away.
How to choose the right pot for an orchid
Orchids will often do fine in the same pot for long periods, so you may not want to rush to put them in a larger pot. But when they are starting to seem a little snug, choose a pot that’s about 1 to 2 inches larger in circumference than the current pot.
A plastic pot can be a great choice because it’s light, hard to break, and does a good job of letting water drain without the potting mix drying out too quickly. You can even put a plastic pot inside a larger, more stylish planter, as long as it’s raised up to allow water to drain.
Ceramic and terracotta pots can be a good option as well, as long as they allow water to drain. Avoid metal pots because of toxicity and corrosion concerns, bad temperature regulations, and drainage issues.
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Christopher Michel is the former Senior Food and Gardens Editor at Country Living Magazine. Chris has well over a decade of experience writing and editing for national magazines and websites, mostly in the food space, such as Cooking Light, The Kitchn, Rodale’s Organic Life, and Bon Appetit. Prior to that, Chris worked in a variety of food spaces in New York City. In 2022, Chris completed the Alabama Master Gardener’s Program hosted by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Chris lives in Birmingham, AL, where he enjoys running, reading, and cooking for his wife and two girls.
Charlyne Mattox is the Food and Crafts director with over 20 years recipe development, recipe editing, and crafting experience. Prior to starting at Country Living in 2014, she worked in the crafts department at Martha Stewart Living and Martha Stewart Kids before attending cooking school at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. She was nominated for a James Beard media award while a senior editor at Real Simple magazine and authored a cookbook Cooking with Seeds.
When not in the kitchen she loves to garden, focusing on growing flowers and kitchen herbs (of course), watering her 25 house plants, and knitting scarfs or hats she will never be able to wear in the always hot and steamy Alabama.
