Cozy roots make happy orchids

When you receive an orchid from a shop or florist, the first thing you are going to want to do is to buy a bigger pot, so that the poor cramped orchid can breathe.  Well, you want to hold off on that, because most orchids like to be stuffed in their pots and really thrive.....all the energy goes to the flowers and leaves, creating larger more vibrant blooms.  Some good reasons to repot an orchid include: the medium has broken down and no longer drains well, the orchids roots are overgrowing the pot, and if the plant has just finished its blooming cycle, and you want to allow the root system to get larger perhaps for propagating it into more orchids.  Another reason could be that you need a bigger pot to provide more stability for an orchid that has really long flower stems with big heavy blooms on it, that keeps falling over (just don't do it until the blooms have died). 

When picking out pots, always choice something just larger than the previous pot, and make sure it has holes to drain extra water.  Nothing will kill an orchid faster than if it is in a pot that does not drain, and the roots sit in water all day long.  Most orchids like to dry out in between waterings, very few thrive in soggy conditions.

The Orchid Whisperer