roots dividing

[jernej]

Hi all;
I repotted an orchids recently, but I do not know its name since it was not flowering and the seller did not know the name. I think that it is Zygopetalum but I am not sure. It had really small pot and when I pulled it out it was practically only roots inside (very healthy roots). I tried to untangle the roots but they were very fragile. It was impossible to divide them or even get the old potting medium out without breaking the roots. The whole thing was one big hard block of roots. So I gave up, selected a larger pot and put the whole thing in it. I added some new potting medium to fill the space. Does anybody know what to do in such situation? Becuse I could divide the plant only by a knife - it should be literally cut into two pieces!

Cheers from Slovenia!

P.S.: Does anybody know how to determine if it is really Zygopetalum (instead of waiting for flowers)?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

This is exactly how healthy large Cymbidiums are divided. A saw is sterilized somehow, and the root ball is sawn vertically into 2 or 3 wedges, and each wedge is placed into the new pot and filled around. Now, in reallity, the roots at the bottom of each wedge have a tendency to allow a little thining, as most/many roots are not from that piece of plant and tend to pull lose. But cutting into wedges/halves without disturbing the roots in each, in your situation, is OK. Since I use a mix that hoses out and gets replaced once a year (not Cymbidiums), I usually get a chance a year later to do a better job of removing the dead roots from the previous surgery. One of the key words in you description is 'practically only roots'. Therefore, there isn't enough old mix to cause a problem. Now, with Cymbidiums like this, one will pull and tug on the bulbs to see where there is a natural separation between the bulbs to know where to do the surgery.

[jernej]

Thanks Cynthia!