Post Harvest and Repotting

After writing a postharvest report on Phalaenopsis orchids for my floriculture module at university, I will admit, I felt terrible guilt pangs whilst surveying the beautiful selection of orchids I have on the windowsill.  And to add to this guilt . .  My dissertation is focusing upon the affects that plants have upon social well being. . . I actively encourage my family, friends and collagues to install even just a single plant into their living space, and yet I have ashamedly left them to fend for themselves of late, unloved, dusty or waterlogged and over spilling from their pots. I have a small white phalaenopsis that is 4 years old and hasnt flowered since the first flourish of petals. Perhaps it was the harsh treatment it received stuck on a chilly windowsill in my first university flat and it is still in shock?! It brought a touch of feminity to such a sterile environment, a little nature indoors. So I thought I owed it as much to repot it, love it a little more and perhaps it may grant me some flowers.

 I have in fact repotted 3 Phalaenopsis orchids and most excitingly, taken on a little Keiki ( Hawaiian for baby) orchid plant. These young plantlets grow from the nodes on the original flowering spikes. The original orchid is a miniature phalaenopsis but unfortunately was very old on its last legs, I took the Keiki cutting and replanted it and thought I would make a little documentary over the coming months to put into practice all the growing and productive techniques Ive learnt over the last year from my floriculture module at university. It can take up to two years to get a a new plant to flower, but ill keep you posted on its progress.  xx