So, three years later, here are the four orchids that I gifted Rosalie. As you will see, the one tall Dendrobium is in need of some help with division and repoting. It is sprawling out of the pot and ready to tip into the bathtub.
The Lucidium (which is not in bloom at the moment, but had the most wonderful red flowers):
The top part of one of the Dendrobiums (see how it's just falling against the wall with all its weight):
The bottom section of that same Dendrobium. As you can see there's a second section that grew and is sprawling over and down the side of the pot, thereby making the pot want to keel over.
The Phal, which, as you see, turned out to have a mass of white moth flowers:
And, lastly, a lovely second Denbrodium:
So, as I mentioned, Rosalie, you can use cinnamon as a fungicide after cutting apart the orchid. The site below is quite helpful when making the separation. Read everything through in the following site regarding repotting or separating your roots (see the link at the bottom of this post). It looks like your plants are in a plastic pot, which is then inserted into a clay. Still, the roots of your plants may have really adhered to the pot. Now remember that whatever you use to cut your roots and divide your orchid should be sterilized. Yeah, I know what you will say to that. Within the site, I believe they say to soak your entire pot in a bucket of warm water for two hours. Then tease the roots apart. I'd like to deviate in that slightly. Since the parent plant is going to remain in that same rooting medium, you don't want to saturate the medium that it's already in unnecessarily. What I would do is lay the entire pot on its side. Gently remove as much of the medium from that pot and reserve separately. It will be easy at this point to see whether the roots are all adhered to the side of the plastic pot. If they are, Then you can soak the pot at this time. Tease the roots from the pot gently. Cut off any dead roots. Inspect the new growth (the one that is flopping over) and see if it has a good root system of its own. And the article says that it should have at least three black bulbs of its own. It the roots and the bulbs satisfy the criteria, then you're good to go. With your sterilized knife, cut the new growth in a manner in which you will leave the least amount of cut plant exposed. Sprinkle the cut portions with cinnamon (as a fungicide - sprinkle both plants with cut sections). You will have moistened the new root medium earlier. Somewhere I read that if it's too moist, turn it over with a spoon and expose the wet medium to the air and let it dry further (a day or two). You will not want to water your new (or old) plant once you repot it. This would wash away your cinnamon and leave the plant open to disease or a fungus growth. There are rhizome clips that you can buy specifically to anchor your new growth and keep it from falling over. See: http://www.tindaraorchids.com/stakes_clips.htm#rhizomeclay I had wanted to buy you some of these but ran out of time. These are very handy and will keep your new plant upright. If you can't get any easily, you can rig something up, but be sure to use something that is clean. when you place your new plant into the new (and not soggy, but aired out and moist) medium, do not place it too deep. Don't place any of the leaves under the medium. Attach it to the rhizome clip or your invented contraption with something (a bread bag twist tie??). Place it in the shade (your bathroom is fine) and do not water it again for 7 to 10 days. When you do water it again, do not absolutely saturate it. Now, for the parent section. If you were successful in taking out most of the original medium while the plant was on its side, then you can moisten it slightly (without the orchid in it). As I say this, I'm thinking that it might be a good idea to have watered your entire orchid (parent and new baby) perhaps 3 or 4 days earlier. That way, the medium won't be soppy wet when you go for the transplant. Now....back to the parent. Place the parent (cinnamon on the cut sections) in the original pot and medium. Secure it. Because your parent has those beautiful flowers and is so tall, I would not only use a rhizome clip, but a long stake, as well. Secure the stalk to both the stake (use a ribbon if you have nothing else) and the clip. I believe that the stalk of the parent is possibly too wide in circumference for those little decorative clips that you bought. But, maybe not. Treat it similarly to the bay shoot (i.e. shade, don't water for 7-10 days). Please let me know how it goes. Personally, I do not like to do anything to my orchids while they are in bloom, but your baby is really causing havoc. Also, if your tall (or even the baby) orchid still tips the pot over, place the inner pot into a larger and heavy pot. But, if the outer pot has no drainage hole, then place a bunch of "clean" stones at the bottom and be careful not to over water (take the inner pot out of the decorative pot after you water and inspect whether there is too much water within -- it shouldn't sit in water). Good luck!!! Please let me know how it goes. Take photos.
http://www.homeandgardenideas.com/gardening/flowers/orchids/propagating-orchids
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