How to repot and prune Phalaenopsis

Reasons for repotting:

The life span of a single Phalaenopsis orchid is approximately 5-15 years. The length of its lifespan is related to the maintenance methods and management techniques.
Potted plants that mainly use moss as the substrate can generally last for one year and should be repotted once a year.

Repotting is a very important task in cultivation management. It can effectively improve the aging of the cultivation medium, moss rotting and poor air permeability. It is also helpful in preventing the roots from growing out of the pot, root rot and plant decline or even death due to abnormal growth.

During the cultivation process, if you find that individual plants are growing weakly, or the substrate is rotten and not breathable, or the newly purchased Phalaenopsis is not potted properly, you can repot it at any time to restore its growth. In these cases, you cannot wait until spring to repot the plant, otherwise it will cause the plant to rot and die.

Tips for changing pots:

Repotting time

It is best to do this between late spring and early summer and when new roots begin to grow.

Repotting temperature

It is best to repot in an environment with a temperature above 20°C. If the temperature is too low, the plant will recover too slowly, and any lax management will cause the plant to rot. It is not recommended to repot in low temperature environment in winter.

Specific method of repotting:

Phalaenopsis seedlings grow rapidly. They are planted in test tube seedlings in small pots in spring, and repotting is usually done in summer.
Initially, select one or several seedlings and plant them in small pots. After that, you should switch to larger pots according to their actual growth conditions. (Do not plant the seedlings directly in a large pot)

When repotting seedlings, there is no need to remove the original potting medium at the roots of the plant to avoid root damage. Simply wrap the roots with a layer of moss (or other common potting media) and then transplant them into a new pot that is one size larger (make sure the rhizome is at the same height as the edge of the pot).

Normally developing seedlings should be repotted about every 4-6 months. Do not place the plant in the shade within 2 weeks after repotting, and do not apply fertilizer, but also provide appropriate amount of water.
Phalaenopsis orchids that have been grown into mature seedlings need to be repotted or the substrate in the pot replaced after more than a year.

The first step is to gently remove the mature seedlings from the pot and use tweezers to remove the old substrate around the roots, being careful not to injure the roots. Then cut off the dead old roots and part of the branches and stems, and wrap the roots with potting medium. Be careful to spread the roots out evenly and don't pack multiple roots together.

Finally, plant the plant in a new pot.