Finding the Pots and Potting Mixes that is Perfect for your Orchids – It’s Not Rocket Science!

At home, you look at your puny, undernourished potted orchids, but when you visit orchid growers, you see  those potted orchids that are thriving with brilliant color and bursting with fragrance. 

“Why can't my orchids look like that?”, you lament 

Well, believe it or not, success in growing potted orchid plants depends on a gentle balance in part of the potting medium you use, and the size of your pot – and even what type of flower pot you choose.

Sounds a little complex?  It really isn’t. In fact, it really isn’t that different from taking care of any other potted plant. 

Let's Start With The Perfect Pots and Potting Mixes for Your Orchids

The grandeur and beauty of a flourishing orchid arrangement—the colors and fragrances of a thriving collection—take their root in one important selection: the pot.

Picking the Perfect Pot

A stroll through the virtual aisles of our pot plant emporium will give you a glimpse into the possibilities of orchid growth.

A plastic pot, a light weight bowl perfect for drainage, may tip over in the winds outside. But indoors, it will allow your orchids a practical setting for growth and blooming. Its nice light color will not heat up as a black pot would in the sunlight, and will in fact allow more light to get to the protected roots of the orchid.

Another variation, the terracotta orchid pot, mixes the drainage capabilities of the plastic pot with a heavier foundation that will not blow over outside. With one drainage hole in the bottom, the terracotta orchid pot prevents the plant from becoming waterlogged, perfect for epiphytic orchids, resistant to droughts.

Orchids with pendant flowers can find their match basket orchid pots. Heavy rooted orchids, or those with long and sprawling roots, are perfect for these baskets made of plastic, mesh, wire, or pottery. Their incomplete construction allows air to circulate amongst the leaves and roots of the orchid.

Though some planters tend to remove the plant once it appears to outgrow its pot, orchids often thrive when their thick roots are nourished within these pots. As long as the pot is allowing enough air circulation to the roots of the plant, some plants do not ever need to be repotted. Other, like the cymbidium orchid, should be repotted after two or three years, but only as necessary.

Potting Mixes

The organic and inorganic materials that combine to make orchid pot mixes simulate the nourishing effects of nature in orchid’s natural habitats. With three grades of pot mixes—fine, medium, and coarse—there are many to pick from. Among the most effective organic mixes are:

Fir Bark – Easy to find and inexpensive, their mix is slow to rot, though it does not hold water well.

Redwood Bark – Holding water better than fir bark, it also rots slowly.

Coconut Husks – The most popular choice for many growers, this mix is -- inexpensive, light, and holds water well, though it rots more quickly than other choices.

Sphagnum Moss – Balances water with air circulation, planters must be sure not to pack this mix too tightly.

Tree Fern Fiber – Rare, but among the best mixes, tree fern fiber drains well and rots slowly.

Inorganic Potting Mixes

Charcoal – Decays slowly and absorbs many of the toxic substances dangerous to orchids.

Lava rock – A heavy potting mix, it combines adequate drainage with a composition that does not easily break down.

Alifor – Small clay pieces that do not decay, but provide only moderate drainage.

Vermiculite – Holds water well while allowing air circulation to the roots.

Turface – Used much like pearlite, this mix is heavy and expensive, though it absorbs water well.