Orchid Wrangling: No experience Required

I've been lucky enough to live in homes that have the right amount of indirect sunlight to please both cats and orchids.

The climate in California allows us to have Cymbidium Orchids outdoors.

I believe I've owned the scruffy example below for close to fifteen years; ignoring it until it flowered each year, around Christmas time, with copious sprigs of large blooms.

When we moved into our new home last November, I placed it on the front porch, where it gets sun late in the day, but not too much. For months my weekly recap of  to-do lists had "re-pot Orchid" somewhere near the top. The trouble was that I've never divided and re-potted an orchid before and didn't want to kill it.

I did seek out a Youtube video on repotting Cymbidium Orchids and decided I had to take the leap of faith and try. There's a lot of healthy sprouts but many worn out sections as well.

The roots were impressivly tangled and I pried and wiggled sections apart while maintaining as much healthy root as possible.

The big monster was divided into many manageable sections.

Two trips to the garden center to get sufficient orchid planting materials and again for more Sphagnum Moss and I have several new potted orchids around the place.

All of them are looking healthy and showing new sprouts. 

                                                     Who knew that all I had to do was try?