Popping Popcorn Orchids

Art and I are not good with orchids. We really aren't. A lot of the orchids we have growing here in Hawaii were not done by either of us. We had a non-blooming orchid plant in Chicago that one of our daughter, Tiffany's guy friends then had given her. I think we had it for about 10 years. We finally gave it to one of Tif's friends who was an orchid expert. She had that plant blooming in a year. 🙄

Well... for many years, mom's popcorn orchid plants grew in profusion with myriad flowers for her to bring to grave sites she visited and prayed over.

However, I noticed one day that they were really overgrown and popping out of the pots.

In fact, one day two of the orchid plants fell out of the pot. I'm not kidding! They actually popped out of the pot! 

Then I realized that the plants weren't even growing in the soil, but above it. 😲

So what to do... what to do?

I called my brother, of course. He's the photoshop/gardening wizard.

Mom loved watching Dennis take the plants apart and replant them. He didn't stick them in the soil, but more on it. He also added a lot of hapuu (Hawaiian fern tree shreds) and pebbles to the soil and chose the best stalks to replant.

Art took this photo before going for his Meals on Wheels run. He's thrilled that he has a brother-in-law who is willing to come and take over this rather tricky job.

When Dennis was done, he warned that they would/could probably die.

It's been a couple of weeks now and they look quite happy and breathing easier now that they are not crowded with weeds and choked on top of the pot.

Well he did get mom's other orchid plants to bloom. 🤞 Fingers crossed, he's done his magic again.