Content
- Handle aerial roots properly when repotting orchids
- Stubborn aerial roots take a water bath - tips for preparation
- Step by step instructions for repotting with aerial roots
- Tips
Green aerial roots should never be cut off
Handle aerial roots properly when repotting orchids
Proper repotting of orchids requires a bit of practice and a lot of tact. The professional treatment of the aerial roots repeatedly raises questions among beginners. This guide highlights the process with a special focus on the aerial roots.
Stubborn aerial roots take a water bath - tips for preparation
As a visible signal for a culture pot which is too narrow, the aerial roots protrude beyond the edge of the vessel. Inside the pot has also formed a dense network of roots, which is difficult to unravel. So that the repotting causes no damage to the roots, immerse the culture pot in soft, room-warm water.
Please make sure that there is no water in the plant's heart and in the leaf axils. If air bubbles no longer rise, the aerial roots are beautifully supple and easy to handle. Add a dash of orchid fertilizer to the dip water to allow the plant to regenerate better afterwards.
Step by step instructions for repotting with aerial roots
Thanks to the water bath, the aerial roots are flexible enough to be released from the pot. If you still feel resistance, knead the plastic pot from all sides. In this way the last resisters can be detached from the edge of the vessel. With a stuffed orchid proceed as follows:
Before the orchid takes its place in the new pot, apply a thin layer of expanded clay as drainage to the soil and some special substrate. Now take the bale at the root neck in the hand and turn the aerial roots all in the pot. The wispy specimens that previously grew beyond the rim also belong in it. Then fill the rest of the orchid soil so high that all rhizomes are covered.
Tips
Cuts on healthy air roots heal in no time with cinnamon. Dust the interfaces sparingly with the spice. Because it has an antibacterial effect, wily pests and pathogens have no chance. If there is no cinnamon in the kitchen, Charcoal Ash fulfills these tasks just as well.