| I'm sure glad I asked that "dumb" question ... I almost didn't. The things you learn by tossing things around on this forum ... it is much appreciated. If nothing else, with the varied opinions, all making a good point from a certain point of view, it sure helps one think about things quite a bit differently ... 10 heads are better than one!
My pot is glazed both inside and out, and that sounds like a good thing. But it has a single hole in the bottom center ... I did not know that there were specific "orchid" pots with multiple holes around the edge (I've seen then used on other plants). It sounds like I am not the only one using the "single-holed" pots. The multiple holes make a lot of sense ... as do the more porous Zisha clay pots. I will have to consider both for the future re-pottings. I would tend to think that in nature, orchids would probably dry relatively fast (not being in a pot) after a good rain ... but the humidity would also tend to slow this evaporation process.
I did use pieces of styrofoam on the bottom to prevent the bark from plugging the bottom hole ... it is draining very nicely.
There was some discussion in this posting about damaging roots when re-potting. I can see that being a problem when a plant is already in poor health and you are trying to save it ... but a healthy orchid with lots of roots (my Cattleya was severely root bound), would it really be detrimental to trim back the roots a bit? ... I know that root pruning in the outdoor landscaping is usually a good thing, to help re-invigorate a plant. Is this not the case for orchids ... if you lost some roots in a re-potting, is that really a problem, or could it be a good thing?
Thanks again for everyone's advice
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Wieb |