Trimming orchid roots requires special care and a delicate hand. The key to pruning involves using clean tools, making precise cuts, and removing dead or damaged leaves. The step-by-step pruning process includes trimming spikes, removing dead or damaged leaves, and cutting unhealthy roots. Sterilized, sharp tools are used for clean cuts.
Caring for orchids after pruning involves lifting the plant from its pot, examining the roots, and removing black or mushy roots. Minor pruning can be done while the orchid is still in bloom by cutting back any fading flowers to the main branch. The best way to cut orchid plants when they are young is to trim the stalk all the way back to 1 inch (2.5 cm.) from the base of the plant.
Two stemmed orchids should be cut differently: take one stem back to the roots and trim the other at half an inch above the node from which the first flower appeared. Do not cut Dendrobium orchids’ stems.
To prune dendrobium orchids, remove dead roots, dead leaves, bulbs, and canes, and trim off any brown, soft roots that are protruding from the soil. Rinse the roots with lukewarm water before pruning. Long and trailing roots are difficult to prune, so carefully cut off the orchid stem a half inch to an inch above the second bract above the orchid’s base. In six weeks, if your orchid has enough roots, it should be ready for pruning.
📹 How To Know Which Orchid Roots to Cut? (Focus on Yellow Roots)
Yellow Roots on Orchids: Cut Off, Nurture, or Ignore them? When you start repotting for the first time, you can come across roots in …
📹 Phalaenopsis Orchid Care :Trimming Dead Roots, Removing old Orchid Blooms & Cleaning Orchid Leaves
Phalaenopsis Orchid Basic Care :Trimming Dead Orchid Roots, Removing old Orchid Blooms & Cleaning Orchid Leaves Phal …
Thanks for this how to guide Brad – after following your lead, I’m hoping that a lovely Phal that my wife and I received as a gift will recover from being waterlogged in sphagnum moss (and probably a little too much kindness from us…). Oh, and I was glad to see how well your rescued plant has done in one of your later articles – I can only hope ours does that well! Cheers from Brisbane, Australia.
I just got an orchid for mother’s day. When I got it I repot it in the wrong pot to start of with & its roots were bad & damaged. Had to repot again in the right pot within a month’s time.. Yes. I kept the stem with the blooms. When the flowers all fall off. I’ll cut the stem. I hope my orchid will survive.
Amazing article! Thank you! I have a friend gave me hers, she was frustrated and weeks before she asked me about how to care for her orchid. I only knew a little, now that she gave it to me, I hope to revive it. There are some concerning areas, it looks like it is going dormant, the spikes are dying, there are new roots sprouting but with black areas around the bases. the base of the plant itself has some black area and I’m determining if it’s gone rotten. it doesn’t smell it at all, but I suspect it was over watered. I haven’t watered it yet in the few days I’ve had it. I will go over the roots like you did here and cut both spikes just above the node, like you showed here. I’ll make that solution too. I have some sewing scissors, they seem pretty sharp, I hope they will be safe for the plant. I’m a little weary on watering it, even though it looks like it really needs it. I also feel the same with repotting, I don’t want to shock it, or kill it. Although there is a root that is stuck in the planter pot, in one of the vents.
Hello Brad, I am really very glad that I have found your website. I really love orchids and magnolias and at the moment I have a Cymbidium and a Phalaenopsis :D. In this article, I have seen you also have a flower which seems like mine. Mine is a baby-plant taken from my grandma’s plant but I wasn’t able to make it bloom and I don’t even know it’s name 🙁 I just wanted to ask you how can I send you a photo and maybe if you can give me some advice with this plant too when you can?? 🙂 Thank you for all the articles you make, they are extraordinary!! P.S.: The soap used for the solution you’re talking about is neutral?? or what kind of soap may be used? Thanks again 😉
Oh wonderful. I’m so pleased I found you I received a huge beautiful orchids as a gift and I am eager to care for it properly. So I subscribed immediately. This is the first of your articles that I watched. I have my orchid in a room with a huge south window I have the orchid in the middle of the room so it isn’t in the direct sun. I hope that is enough light. Also there is a gas fireplace in that room that is on a lot. I have been misting my orchid a couple times a day with a spray bottle with a very fine misty spray. I hope this is all correct. I would really appreciate you advising me. Thank you so much. Looking forward to perusal the rest of your articles. Holly
Awesome…thank you SO SO much! Just inherited 6 Orchids and I’m no true green thumb but soo excited to take care of these. 🙂 Also…I clean homes and make my own window clnr similar to your solution, but it’s 25% rubbing alcohol, 75% water and 4 drops Dawn dish soap! All these ingredients are a Neutral 7 on th pH scale—safe for most surfaces. (And now I see plants….AWESOME)!!
Hi, Brad – I’m new to orchids and am starting with phals of course. Mine has lost all but one bloom with lovely green leaves and even new leaf growth. I see some new roots starting too so I’m very pleased. I have a few dead roots though; should I cut them off now or wait until the last bloom falls? Also, would putting a dish of water near the orchid be enough to bump up the humidity for the plant? I spritz leaves, stem and blooms very lightly with water almost daily. Is that too much?
I recently purchased a mini phelaenopsis, at most 8 inches tall. It was in the clearance section at my local grocery, and it was just so cute. I’ve had it for a couple weeks and it’s still in bloom but recent;y the blooms have started to shrivel. After some research, I took immediate action to see what the roots looked like. They were ALL dead, save HALF of one root. I noticed that a lot of the roots were previously cut, and the base was enclosed in some kind of thick sponge, and it was just awful. I mean there was just slime and all the roots were hollow. I snipped off all the roots, save that little half of root, and then I dabbed some peroxide on it. I’m keeping the poor thing in a plastic container just to dry out now. Do you have a recommendation of how I can ensure the life of my mini?
For Phals that are several-many years old, the base tends to be very long after leaves have died off over the years. (Imagine a leggy Kalanchoe – long stem with roots, leaves concentrated on upper portion.) It’s a problem when repotting because it would need a very deep pot to cover that very long base. My question – Can the base be trimmed off/cut off without killing the Phal? The very end of the base has both live and dead roots.
Hello, I recently received an orchid for mothers day. ..I’m having issues with the roots. .they’re still a little green, but they are breaking every inch or two. I don’t want to do something I’m not supposed to that’s why I wanted to see what you suggest. The stems on the flowers are turning white only a few are green..?I don’t know what I’m doing. .don’t want this beautiful orchid to die on me. What should I do?
Hey Brad, I found a phaleanopsis orchid in my student home that someone left behind as they moved out. It had one cut off spike and the other was yanked out (left a hole in the stem with mold). The two bottom leaves were yellow and limp and had to be removed. The pot and medium seems to be fine for now. By now it has produced a new, healthy leaf and is starting to form new roots. My problem is: I have already found four new beginning spikes and I think I spotted another one pushing against the bottom of the cut off spike. Also, it is producing a keiki at the base. Five spikes and a keiki seems a bit much for an orchid that was rather sickly from underwatering only 2-ish months ago. Should I remove some of the spike “buds”? Thanks!
Hi Brad, I found your website today while looking for information in regards to my phalaenopsis. i repotted yesterday from the original pot to a new larger pot. The original was a gift and came in a pot with tiny little decorative holes. the air roots had grown through them and when i removed the orchid i broke these off. will this damage my orchid? Thank you in advance.
Hi! I learned that Phals want to be potted up in translucent pots as their roots need light for photosynthesis. Now I see your plants in clay or regular plastic pots. Is that why your Phals are pushing out so many air roots? Mine, sitting in translucent pots, never push out that many air roots. And the roots of my Phals are green.
Hi Brad, I just love perusal your website. my question: I had a new shoot growing up out of the spagnum moss and bark; as I was repotting it broke off I just stuck the leave the back into the Sorghum moss media will it grow or is it dead. My second question is can polymers be used in growing orchids? Thank you so much my ORCHID Guru.
Hi Brad, I recently started growing a Phalaenopsis and a Vanda I bought at a flower show. After perusal a couple of your articles, I realized that the Phala had a bad root system and I made severe cuts so now, it hardly has any. The Vanda has one structure at the bottom that I think is a root. I live in Jamaica and it’s summer, I’ve potted both plants in plastic pots using as medium stones, Spanish moss and coconut bark. Please tell me what to do to get a healthy roots. I’ve had both orchids a week now. I also have a desert rose so if you have any tips other from neglect; please share.
I have a fairly new phalaenopsis which has multiple steams with the small flowers. After the original flowers died off I didn’t cut the stems and within 6 weeks new buds sprouted on the tips of the old stems. I gave it a few weeks to make sure I didn’t cut off any new buds and now along with the new buds are tiny leafs growing with baby roots! How and when should I propagate these little wonders.
Hey Brad I’m wondering if mixing a little potting soil into my orchid pot is any good for it? I bought those little mini orchids from the grocery store and they were dead and half off. Should I repot them or will the be okay in the tiny pot (I’m talking like a 2 inch pot). They won’t seem to bloom although they are growing new leaves.
Today I repotted a orchid from Home Depot. The roots were so ingrained in the pot that I had to cut it on the sides. Somehow my scissors slipped, and I think I might have cut the root on one of the orchids. I just went ahead and re-potted it into a special orchid pot, can anyone advise what I should do next? I think it’s a slice of a vine that’s underneath the root of the plant but I can’t tell because the root were tangled.
I have a 3 year old orchid. Its got alot of roots going all over. It just bloomed one main stem with two branches off of it. My question is qre the roots suppose to be growing all over the place or just down around the pot? How do I get me orchid to grow upwards instead of outwards? I turn it often towards the most light but it has a mind of its own and tends to grow outward instead of upward. I used a thin bamboo stick but it still grew outwards. When I tried to tie back as the stem grew it broke regardless of how careful I was. It took 3 years but now I get a bloom every year. Also should I remove any bottem leaves or leave them all alone unless they qre dead? I have removed dead at the base but I seem to only be loosing one leaf a year as a new one grows. I think I need to put it in a bigger pot also. Should I wait till the blooms fall off or can I do it now as its blooming? Is clear glass vase ok? Stick with a pot just bigger for the new growth? Thanks in advance.
Hello again didn’t know if you received my post. .but I’m having problems with the roots and flowers. Roots are breaking every inch. .roots still look a little green. .but doesn’t look healthy to me..i don’t know what I’m doing. .and the stems that go to the flower are turning white only a few are green. ..what am I doing wrong? Please help, don’t want my orchid to die on me… thanks
HELP! I have aerial roots that are 2 feet long and taking over the table that my orchids are on. Just found out that it was a water problem in my pot….I had sitting water with bacteria in the exterior pot…YIKES!!!. I have taken the plants out of their exterior pots and will let them air out …but I will need to re-pot my orchids. Can I cut the aerial roots when I repot? They are really taking over. Thank for you help!!! Reply
Hey Brad. My boss gave me her Phalaenopsis Orchid plant asking me to fix it since I am really good with plants. Her plant has the 2 long stems but they are both brown and dead looking. I dont want to touch the stems unless I am absolutely sure that they are truly dead and need to be cut. The thick leaves just need cleaning. Please advise. Dont want to be walking the pavement over this one…lol
I was given in Orchid and I watched a lot of articles and some say they need a lot of sun and some say they just need light so what do they basically need I have never had one of these plans before I have been exploring on you to to see what I can find out and just planted I get it was in a pot but didn’t have any soil around it so I went and bought some orchid plant dirt and did put it in a different time and do these should be in a big pot or a small pot can you help me and tell me what to do to keep this thing Orchid plant going
Hi I have a Phalaenopsis with beautiful pink flowers, it is one of those the says water once a week with 3 ice cubs, and I do spray the leaves with orchard leaf spray, my problem is all the beautiful green leaf have all wilted and none of them are standing tall like when I first got it and I have had it for 2 months, can you help me please, I would hate to lose her? Thank you, Tink
I NEED HELP!! My Orchids main spike is turning brown which I think is dying. However on the main spike, another one has grown from it which has bloomed 7 flowers. If it browns all the way down, I may lose the green Spike that has the seven flowers on it which is coming from the main Spike. What do I do!?
looks like he let it dry out for about a week, then trimmed up the roots, then the roots that were aerial. my guess is by the look of it that plant gets a aero phonic like treatment, which shows in the drying out. I just put mine back in pots, after about a week. I let them dry out a bit to see what kind of fungus, green, brown or black, toughen the air roots, and get it growing in a climate that it will have for the remainder of it’s life. The water treatment cultures from aero phonics to water in a vase, take a long time to adjust from, if ever. Usually brown is from poor adjustment from aerophonics, black spots a genetic matter of self repair or fertilizer uptake problem and the green is usually good to grow in a substrate and let it work itself out climbing around in bark, now I can’t be sure on it, of course, it’s an orchid. Just ideas, nothing solid, experience suggesting. Due to the breaks in my roots I had to clip back a lot. No matter how sterile, some plants just eat strange and go brown, lol. Better lab grown than wild caught and orchids people have crafted up with genetic hybridization are fascinating. Just because the roots grow, doesn’t mean they are eating, eating correctly or putting forth an exchange, so if you have to prune them, don’t feel bad. It isn’t like store bought is a wild caught field specimen, because it isn’t and there are lots of differences.