How to properly repot your pseudobulb orchid?
Repotting is part of the regular maintenance of your pseudobulb orchid. Ideally, you will be able to change the substrate (it is sometimes called "potting soil" but it should not contain any soil or potting soil! Epiphytic orchids, such as Oncidium, grow on trees, without soil. Adding potting soil, earth or peat will not allow the roots to breathe properly and could be harmful in the long term) of your orchid:
- Every two to three years
- In spring, when the plant is not (or no longer) in flower
What are pseudobulbs ?
Pseudobulbs are the swollen aerial parts that bear the leaves and at the base of which the flower stems most often emerge. Pseudobulbs form the water and nutrient reserves of oncidium orchids (sympodial orchids, which develop along a rhizome).
What potting substrate should I use?
We use a mixture based on maritime pine bark from Portugal of different calibers depending on the species of orchids to be repotted. Here we will deal with pseudobulb orchids (such as Oncidium, Odontoglossum, Zygopetalum, etc.) for which we use medium-caliber bark (1 to 2 cm) and fine bark (0.5 cm) in a mixture. We add sphagnum (a plant moss) which helps retain a little more moisture.
We advise you to purchase the substrate from a specialist to guarantee its quality. The repotting substrate for fine-rooted orchids that we offer is clean, dust-free, and free of any wood or stone residue.
Preparing your orchid for repotting
To repot your orchid, take it completely out of its plastic pot. To do this, water it with clear water as you would every week, so the roots will be more flexible.
To repot your orchid, take it completely out of its plastic pot. To do this, water it with clear water as you would every week, so the roots will be more flexible.
Remove the old substrate and clean the roots
To help you remove the old substrate, you can cut off some of the old roots and open the root ball.
To repot your pseudobulb orchid, it is important to understand its growth direction. To do this, identify the new and old pseudobulbs. The roots on the side of the new pseudobulbs are fleshier and have green caps at their ends, these roots must be preserved.
To help you remove the old substrate, you can cut off some of the old roots and open the root ball.
To repot your pseudobulb orchid, it is important to understand its growth direction. To do this, identify the new and old pseudobulbs. The roots on the side of the new pseudobulbs are fleshier and have green caps at their ends, these roots must be preserved.
You can use a tool (pruning shears or stake) to scrape the roots, but be careful because the fine roots are fragile.
Remove the rear bulbs and divide the plant
Remove the rear bulbs (old pseudobulbs) that no longer have leaves or roots. To do this, with clean pruning shears (disinfected with methylated spirits or passed over a flame), cut the rhizome before the rear bulbs to be removed.
When the plants have grown well, it is possible to divide them. The rhizome is then cut, always keeping at least three pseudobulbs together. 
A suitable pot
Once the cleaning and division is done, choose one or more pots suitable for your new plants. They must have room to produce two pseudobulbs (since we repot every two or three years).
Here we have divided the plant into one with three pseudobulbs and one with four pseudobulbs.
If you used moistened substrate, you will wait ten days before resuming watering; if the substrate was dry, you can water abundantly the next day.
Repotting should ideally be done every two or three years.
We wish you a good repotting!
