Q: In a recent article you wrote about repotting houseplants, but you didn't mention orchids. Is there anything different about them when it comes to repotting? Mine have roots growing out over the sides of the pot.

A: There are some terrestrial orchids that grow in potting soil and are repotted as any houseplant. Most orchids need repotting less often than other plants. It is OK for the roots to grow out of the pot and into the air. Some orchid pots have holes in the sides to encourage the roots to grow out.

Most orchids grown as houseplants are epiphytic. They grow on other plants, such as trees in the jungle. The soil they have for their roots is just some bark and any leaves or organic debris trapped by the roots of the orchid. They need a loose and open planting media, so there is lots of air around the roots. The roots need high humidity and dampness without being swamped in water.

It is likely that your local garden center carries a bag of orchid potting soil. If you can't find a packaged mix, you can make one by mixing equal parts of bark pieces about the size of a quarter, perlite, peat moss, compost and terrarium charcoal. Some mixes use ceramic pebbles that hold moisture.

Trim off any broken or dead roots using a sterile scissors. Spread the roots in the pot and pour in the potting mix around the roots. The plant should be stable in the pot without needing to be tied down. Soak the whole pot for an hour. The next watering will probably be in a week to ten days. Once you see new roots, you can resume fertilizing at one-quarter strength every other watering.

There are a couple of ways to give the orchid roots the high humidity air that they like. You can place the pot on a saucer or on some marbles or stones on the saucer and keep some water in the saucer. Since I seem to bump into the saucers on a regular basis and spill some water, I don't like this method as much.

I double pot a lot of my orchids. The inner pot has the potting media and drainage holes. The outer pot has some marbles in the bottom that are covered with water. The inner pot sits on the marbles and as the water evaporates, the orchid roots are surrounded by humid air.

Q: My tulips and daffodils are coming up. When is the best time to fertilize them?

A: Right now is the perfect time. Most people wait until the end of flowering, but just as they are coming up out of the ground is better. To get more flowers next year, a bulb needs to produce flowers and maybe seeds right now, and then it must store carbohydrates in the bulb for next year. We want the flowers, but we don't want the seeds to develop, so when the flowers are done, cut off the flower stalk to prevent any seeds from growing.

Don't cut off any leaves until they have turned yellow and never tie them together. Fertilize with a high middle number fertilizer, such as a 15-30-15 or a 10-20-10. By fertilizing when the leaves are coming up, you give the plant the most time to grow and store food for next year. If you wait until after it is done blooming, there is much less time for the leaves to produce carbohydrates or next year's food supply.

Email questions to Jeff Rugg at [email protected]. To find out more about Jeff Rugg and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.