Greg,

First of all congratulations on reblooming your phal. You must be caring
for it correctly.

The optimal time to repot a phal is in the spring when you see new roots
beginning to form. In an emergency you repot whenever but if you can wait
until spring after the bloom fades and new growth start you will be happier
with the outcome.

It does seem harsh but you remove the plant from the pot and gently shake
loose any medium. You must clean as much of the old medium away because
this will continue to rot and cause wet spots in make watering more
difficult. After the mix is taken away examine the roots and clean them up
cutting away dead roots first and any roots that were broken when you were
removing the medium. Use a new clean single edged razor blade for this and
throw the blade away when done so you don't spread any viruses to other
plants.

For someone with a single plant or two I would recommend that you go to the
local orchid store (Nursery, Home Depot, Lowes, etc.) and pick up a small
bag of standard orchid mix. It will contain bark, chunks of perlite,
charcoal, and maybe some compressed moss. The night before you plan to
repot soak the bark mix to give it a chance to absorb water and not dry out
the plant when you plant it.

Since you've been growing the plant for a couple of years in the same pot
you may want to take it up a pot size...remember they like to have the roots
tight so don't over do it. Suspend the plant over the pot with the roots
down inside and work as much media as possible around the roots without
damaging the live roots. I usually bump the pot on the table to settle the
mix a bit around the roots. Do not water the plant at this time.

Sit the newly potted plant in a warm bright area for a couple of days to let
it recover from the shock of repotting then move it back to the place where
you have had the great success in the past.

After a few weeks look to see if you get any medium settling and top off the
pot if necessary.

If your plant has roots growing out of the top of the pot do not try to bury
them and let them dangle into the air.

Good Growing,
Gene




"Greg" wrote in message
om...
I am a neophyte in the orchid world, but I do have 1 Phalanopsis which
has bloomed each year for the past 3 and is preparing to do so again.
I wonder about repotting it, which I have never done before. I assume
I should wait until it is done blooming. Some instruction indicate to
remove all the old potting medium from the roots and stuff the plant
into new medium. Seems rather harsh compared to repotting other
houseplants. What is the best procedure for repotting? What is the
best commercial potting medium to buy?
Thanks,
Greg