To repot or not?

[Neophyte2017]

Hi there,

I’ve had some success growing a couple of orchids but am still a beginner. My husband bought me a mini orchid for Valentine’s Day. The leaves are light green and limp and I looked at the roots and it looks like some look good but some are brown...see pics below. Last time I bought an orchid I repotted it immediately and lost all of the blooms and it hasn’t rebloomed yet...I was going to wait until it stopped blooming before repotting this time but between the brown roots and limp leaves I thought repotting it and cutting off the bad roots might be needed. Any suggestions on what I should do? Anything would be much appreciated! Thanks!

[Paphluvr]

Have you watered it? The sphagnum is dry as a bone. Hopefully you're not using the "just add ice" method. Unless you're used to growing in sphagnum, repotting sooner than later, even at the expense of the blooms, is probably a good idea.

[Neophyte2017]

Hi! My husband watered it on the 15th and when I looked at the roots some of them looked brown and “mushy” so I was worried about root rot and thought I’d let it dry out while I got some advice. No, I don’t use the just add ice method.

[cluelessmidwesterner]

I am a newbie myself but I would repot. Who knows how long its been in that moss. Even if the moss was in good shape because of the rot, it now carries the pathogens that caused the root rot. It is probably pack in so tight around the roots no air could get to the roots any how.


When you repot remember to base the size of the pot you will use on the size of the root ball you have after cleaning her up rather than the size of the top of the plant. Too much room in the pot and the media doesn't dry completely before you water again.

I know you don't want to but cut the bloom spikes off. This Phal right now has to use it's energy to generate new roots rather than support flower. Sometimes Phals bloom as a last gasp try to save their genetic information by trying to reproduce. Many orchids only bloom once a year. Phals are one of those. Also it takes a drop in temperature to trigger blooms. I don't know but it might also have to do with the amount of daylight it receives also. Either way its better to wait a year for her to flower again in order to save the plant.

[Paphluvr]

This appears to be a Phalaeonopsis orchid. They like to be evenly moist, that's why I commented about how dry the medium was. When thoroughly moistened healthy roots will be green. I'm not a fan of growing in sphagnum, too easy to overwater (read, too easy for the medium to stay wet too long inviting root rot). Personally, I would repot it into a bark mix, much easier to manage.

[Neophyte2017]

Ok. Repot it is! Thank you all for your thoughts. We will see how it works out.