The best season for dividing orchids is not spring, and many people have been doing it wrong all along

Orchid friends often ask me, when is a good time to divide and repot orchids? Actually, apart from the hottest time in summer, when you should not repot orchids, any other time is fine, it is just that the precautions are different. Good Shot Farmer does not like to preach, and does not understand the preaching in books either, so I will just tell you about one of my own real experiences.

In January 2018, an orchid friend from Guangdong needed Cymbidium goeringii seedlings. Her requirement was about three plants per clump, and she wanted five clumps of these, with the aim of being able to produce different flower colors. The farmer understood the orchid friend's thinking very well, so I divided seedlings for her from different pots. I gave her the seedlings that had flower buds, and repotted the rest myself.

After the Spring Festival, by early March, Good Shot Farmer's own orchids also needed repotting, so they were repotted according to the conventional method, with the same potting medium and the same care. When I checked in late April, I found that the few pots from before the Spring Festival already had very long roots, and also especially many shoots; the ones I had repotted later had only just grown crystal tips, and shoots had sprouted but were not as many or as strong.

Afterward, this matter stayed on my mind for a long time, and the answer I reached was this: seedlings divided in winter, when the orchid roots were in a dormant state and there were no new roots or new shoots, only needed the care not to damage the flower buds; after early spring, once they passed the dormant period, because they did not need to be disturbed again, they sprouted and rooted quickly. But seedlings repotted in spring already showed signs of sprouting at that time, so no matter how careful you are, there will always be some effect on the new shoots.

So I concluded: orchids are still better divided before the Spring Festival. Of course, if you are afraid of missing the flowering period, you can also do it after the festival. It is just like us farmers planting fruit trees: those planted at the Spring Festival survive more easily than those planted at Arbor Day, and they also grow faster that same year.

Friends, what do you think? This article is originally created by Good Shot Farmer. You are welcome to follow, to let me take you along to grow your knowledge, scan the code below