Pruning an Orchid
 

Hi,
My husband bought me an Orchid and I know NOTHING about it. I am not sure if it needs to be pruned and if it does, how to do it. Also, does it need to be potted in a bigger pot or not. I uploaded pictures if that helps. Thanks for all the help!

I would repot the plant into some new potting media. It looks like you have it planted in a bark mix. The plant looks healthy so I would use the same type of mix. As for a larger pot, the the pot size that it is in looks to be the right size. After your plant has finished blooming cut the flower spike back to the base of the plant. Hope this info helps.

Jayme

When you say back to the base of the plant are you talking about down by the leaves or the base of the stem that is blooming?

First of all you need to repot it. Take out all of the old medium, cut off all of the dead roots (mushy and brown). Buy more orchid bark and repot it. Quarteracreorchids.com is awesome. A firbark mix is great for phals.

then, take out that watering globe and don't ever use it again. They are not for orchids. Orchids like to be drenched (sit it under the faucet for 5 minutes once a week). The medium needs to dry between waterings.

Make sure it has plenty of light. Sit it by a east or west facing window. Do not let sunlight hit it directly. Use a shade if needed.

Use a orchid fertilizer once in a while. I use it every two weeks or so.

That's it. if you follow these simple instructions, you should have blooms for about 4 months every year.

Good luck.

Oh... I forgot. Only repot it once it is done blooming. I see that it still has buds, so you probably won't need to repot it for another 2 months or so.

But lose the globe now! Like I said. Let the medium dry out. Then water again. Really drench the bark, leaves and all.

No orchid should be pruned.

If the plant is overgrown, divide them.

If the flower spikes are dead, cut them off (you'll find out that for many orchids, even when they're finished blooming a lot of activity can still happen if the spikes are still green, although some species have spikes that appear dead but aren't and can still rebloom).

If the roots are badly overgrown, pot up, (don't trim the living growing roots back down because they're growing out of the pot). I know someone who trimmed their orchid roots down every time they became overgrown, this prevents the plant from establishing itself. Trimming roots down should only be done if you're removing dead roots. Removing living roots on purpose to make the plant look more attractive is not a common practice amongst those who've been in the hobby a very long time.

Too many leaves to your liking...,sorry, can't cut them. There could be a lot of negative consequences if someone chooses to trim the leaves back.

Orchids have a different grooming regimen that is simpler to understand and execute. I know nothing about how to properly prune a rose bush or an apple tree, but I know how to make an orchid look pretty when I choose to.

I agree with everything above.

You could maybe trim the spike where it has bits that lead nowhere. Once the flowers are finished you can them trim it right back to where it comes out of the leaves. As close as you can without damaging the leaves.