How to Plant Orchids in a Pot

Potting Orchids

Pick a cattleya, moth orchid, or venus slipper orchid if you’re a beginner. Orchids can be finicky plants and are difficult to keep alive. The cattleya, moth orchid, and venus slipper varieties are all relatively common and are great for learning how to grow these special plants. Ask at the gardening center or nursery what type of beginner orchid is suitable for the climate in your location. Try to pick a plant that is blooming so that you know what the flowers look like.

Choose a small plastic or clay pot for the orchid. Check that there are slats or holes in the pot so that the growing medium will be well-drained. The roots should fit snugly into the pot without needing to bend or twist, and they shouldn’t have too much excess space. Orchids get most of their structure from their roots, so they grow best in smaller pots that keep the root system more compact. Tolumnias and dendrobiums prefer clay pots, while cattleyas, moth orchids, and venus slipper orchids all prefer either clay or plastic pots.

Choose the right growing medium for your type of orchid. There are over 30,000 types of orchids and a huge variety of growing mediums. Common types include fir bark, tree fern, sphagnum moss, and perlite. Ask your local gardening center or orchid growing society about the best medium for your type of orchid. You can also look it up online. Cattleya orchids prefer coarse fir bark. Medium fir bark is best for moth orchids. Bark or a fluffy moss is ideal for venus slipper orchids.

Fill the bottom of the pot with 1 in (2.5 cm) of foam peanuts. One of the most important aspects of planting the orchid in a pot is ensuring it has good drainage. Use foam packaging peanuts to help drain excess water away from the roots and the growing medium. This prevents the roots from rotting.

Remove the orchid from the original container. Hold the orchid stalk firmly and gently wiggle the container to loosen it. When the container is loose, carefully pull the orchid out without breaking any of the roots. If the container feels stubborn, don't force it off as this could harm the orchid. Instead, use scissors to carefully cut the container off the plant. Some orchids are sold bare-rooted, which means that the roots are free. There is no container to remove in this instance. Orchids are most commonly sold in plastic pots.

Hold the orchid in the pot. Grasp the orchid gently around the stalk and suspend it inside the container. Make sure that none of the roots need to bend or break to fit inside the pot. Always support the orchid as you are planting it to prevent root damage.

Fill the pot with the growing medium. Gently pack the pot with the growing medium, being careful not to crush or damage the roots. Stop filling the pot when the crown of the orchid is just below the growing medium. The crown is where the roots meet the stalk.

Caring for Potted Orchids

Let the orchid get 12-14 hours of light per day. Wild, tropical orchids often grow high up in trees, which means that they thrive with bright, indirect sunlight. Pick a sunny spot for your orchid such as a south or east-facing windowsill. North-facing windows tend to be too dark for orchids and west-facing windows tend to be too warm. Check the specific sunlight requirements for your type of orchid to find the ideal number of sunlight hours. If your home doesn’t have suitable natural light, use artificial lights instead. Place the orchid 5–8 in (13–20 cm) away from a fluorescent bulb and keep the light on for the specified number of hours. Orchids with leathery or few leaves like cattleyas and the dancing lady type tend to do best in high-light environments such as a south-facing windowsill. Orchids with limp or soft leaves like the moth and lady slipper types tend to grow best under more sensitive light conditions. Try an east-facing windowsill.

Water the orchid approximately once per week. Less water is definitely more where orchids are concerned. Orchid roots can easily rot if there is too much water in the growing medium, as the roots need good air flow to function properly. Simply hold the pot under running water for a few seconds and let the water drench the growing medium. Make sure that the growing medium has dried out fully before you water it again. Orchids cope much better with drought than overwatering.

Maintain a humidity level of 60-80% to keep tropical orchids happy. Most homes have humidity levels that are too low to sustain orchids, especially in winter. Keep the orchid in a place away from cold drafts and heating vents, as the plant needs warm, moist air to survive. Orchids tend to grow well in bathrooms where the humidity is high or near humidifier devices. If you don’t want to place the orchid in the bathroom or use a humidifier, you can use a dry well instead. To make a dry well, get a plastic tray and either fill it with pebbles or place a plastic lattice on top. Fill the tray with water to the top of the pebbles or the lattice, and keep the orchid pot on top. This helps to boost the humidity.

Give the orchid liquid fertilizer each summer. Orchids bloom especially well using a liquid fertilizer every 2-3 weeks during the growing season. Visit your local gardening center and purchase a liquid fertilizer that is suitable for orchids. Follow the manufacturer's directions carefully and dilute the specified amount of liquid fertilizer in the water. Then pour the water over the orchid as you normally would. Try to get a liquid fertilizer that is specifically for orchids. If you get a general fertilizer, use only half the amount that is recommended. Water the orchid regularly each week whenever you don't use the liquid fertilizer.

Prune the orchid when the flowers fall off to encourage healthy growth. Trim the flowering stem 1 in (2.5 cm) away from main stalk. You may even get a second bloom! If you notice any yellowing or browning on the stems or leaves, remove these with a sterile knife to allow the orchid to grow back healthy shoots. Only moth orchids can rebloom without being trimmed.

Repot the orchid if the roots are exposed beyond the pot. Most orchids need to be repotted about once a year to replace their growing medium. Also, if you spot the roots creeping out of the pot or if the growing medium has broken down too much and is preventing aeration, then it’s time to repot the orchid. Make sure you know what your specific type of orchid prefers—while many orchids need to be repotted each year, others can stay in the same pot for several years. Don’t repot the plant until it has stopped blooming for the year.