How to Pot an Orchid Flower

Use a pot two to three times as big as the orchid's root ball. These plants like security and some root binding. Choose a heavy pot with a drainage hole to balance the orchid's foliage and ensure water drainage.

Choose your potting medium based on orchid variety, depending on whether the orchid is earthbound or tree dwelling. Use peat moss, coconut husk, fern fiber, perlite, wood chips and bark, or mix these to build your own foundation. Orchids require these loose, soil-less materials for good air and water movement. Fill your pot three quarters full of potting matter.

Brush any old potting material away from the orchid's root ball and look for dead or damaged roots. Healthy roots are green and juicy while dead roots become dry and white or rot into brown or black. Cut away dead or rotten root matter.

Spread the remaining roots over the potting material and fill the pot with more material to finish the planting. Push a bamboo stake into the potting material next to the orchid to support any flower stalks. If your orchid has a flower stalk, clip it to the stake.