Stream Corner

To drop on a plant, remove its pot by up-turning and tapping the pot on the edge of the bench. It should slide out easily, and you should see a ball of white roots holding the compost in place. Select a new pot that is about 5cm (2in) larger to give sufficient room for another one to two years' growth.

Your plant may already be growing more out of its pot than in, and there may be a number of aerial roots that have not entered the compost (growing medium). Remove the plant from its pot and take away all the old compost and any surplus backbulbs. The plant is now ready to be mounted onto the bark. Have ready a supply of material to place around the plant for moisture retention. This can be a mixture of sphagnum moss and coconut fibre, both of which are available from specialist nurseries.

Select a piece of cork bark, or similar wood, of a size to accommodate the plant, allowing room for growth. Insert a length of wire to make a hook in the top of the bark. You will also require a length of thin, plastic-coated wire and a pair of small pliers. Place a wad of the supporting moss and fibre around the base of the plant, without covering the pseudobulbs, and place another wad directly on the hark. On top of this, place your plant with the new growths at the top, facing towards the bark. If the plant has a downward-growing habit, such as Brassavola nodosa, reverse it.

Dead roots will be hollow, and the outer covering may peel away, leaving just the inner, wiry core. Some of the live roots can be considerably long, and these need to be trimmed back to a length of about I 5cm (6in). Leave just the right number of pseudobulbs on each piece, making sure that there are more in leaf than out of leaf. Usually, you need to leave only one or two dormant back bulbs for support. Remove the remainder by cutting through the rhizome - taking care not to slice through the base of the pseudobulbs - and place these on one side.

In a few weeks, you will be died with new growth and roots. It some species, such as Oncidiu ni ilkirami, a dense mat of roots will be reduced that will creep over the bark and hang down well below. You need a slab of tree fern or a piece of cork bark (with a wire hook), a sphagnum moss and coconut fibre, 1 plastic-coated garden wire, a pair ecateurs (pruners), and a pair of pliers. Cut a length of the plastic-coated wire i. using the pliers, wire the sphagnum ss and coconut fibre firmly to the tree n or piece of cork bark.

Place plant to one side of the pot, with the adest pseudobulbs at the back and the growths facing forward. Crock the ease of the new pot and place sufficient mmpost (growing medium) on top so that when you insert the plant, the base al the new growth will be level with, or nst below, the rim of the pot. Fill in with artnpost - tucking some under and mound the roots to ensure that there are a, open spaces - until the plant is firmly a position and the compost finishes -Mow the pot rim. This will ensure that when you water the plant the compost la not be washed over the rim.

Repotting and dividing involves completely repotting orchid, stripping out the old compost growing medium), discarding any dead and removing surplus leafless or pseudobulbs. It can be used for nng up large plants, so that they can often be returned to the same size of pot. You can separate the plant into two or more divisions, provided each has at least re new growth.

Separate the orchid into as many divisions as you wish, but bear in mind that to maintain flowering, a division will need to have at least three pseudobulbs in leaf with one new growth.