Cymbidium Nightmare?

[Orchid_Virgins]

My roommate brought home a 6" pot full of standard Cymbidium Emma's Love..six plants in the pot, two fully bloomed, four undeveloped (two of which have one yellow leaf).

Two days later, I found them in an 8" terra cotta pot covered 2" above the roots with potting soil. He said he watered them, and I didn't scream outloud when I saw no drainholes in the pot....

I purchased medium bark, orchid soil, vermiculite, and rhody/azalea fertilizer. I thought if I built a mixture of the bark (3 pts) soil (1.5 pts) vermiculite (1.5 pts) and fertilizer beads per instructions for the mixture amount, and placed them split up (3 and 3) into two pots they'd be great on top of a bed of 2 - 3" of plain bark

Meanwhile, in front of the garden hose after washing away the old medium, I find the roots are discombobulated and so tight they look like dreadlocks with no direction (very sad)...so I felt bad, laid them into the pot with a bed of bark, open to dry out, and covered the pot with a bath towel. Enough abuse is enough, poor things.

My next question is..can I separate these plants with a machetti pretending they're a rack of ribs ..?? or would it benefit them to leave them as they are, on the bark in the pot gently surrounded with this mixture??

Any suggestions anyone has will be greatly appreciated .. humor is a plus .. but I want to relish them..not kill them...can you help?

Gen

[Phalcycle]

Cut them!
You can see many videos on Youtube where they demonstrate divisions. I use a old bread knife that is still sharp and 'saw' right through the root ball and let the medium fall out. Then I seperate the plant into 3 p-bulb divisions and then repot. In my cym mix, I use a little soil, but mostly bark.

[kmarch]

I personally would not divide. Growing a plant bigger results in better and more flowers. I'd just pot it back up normally.

[Dendian]

What a nice addition to your household, and what a scare - soil without drainage holes - HORRORS!

However, I would like to say that your saying you have six plants in the pot is not quite accurate. You have one plant with six growths, and for a Cymbidium, that is not very large. If you want a nice display of flowers next year, with proper culture, leave them together. If you want two smaller plants, you can split it. It might or might not bloom next year if you do. Those growths store food and water for the rest of the plant, so making it smaller means the whole plant has less food to grow and bloom. Three growths would be the minimum - absolutely!

Now - how to keep the plant together, and still make it happy? I would give it a good soaking to make the roots more flexible and then weasle your way in one side of that rootball, pushing roots out of the way as possible, and make a nice hole to take out the old media and put in new media, just like you were filling up a cage. The roots don't need to be untangled (I did one, it took forever! ) but the old media does need to come out so it doesn't cause root rot. Usually the centers are semi-hollow, and you can fill them up once you have a hole... Then put it in a pot which is about 2" larger than that root ball (1" on either side) and fill around the rootball with more bark/soil mix. I don't know about the fertalizer.. never done a fert additive, just add fert. when I water - control it better that way.

Cyms don't like to dry out all the way, so you will not want to leave it under a towel...

I have found Cyms to be very forgiving, and rather easy. It was my first plant, and I had no idea what I was doing, and it lived for 5 years... Unfortunately, I managed to cut off the only good root it had left when I was repotting, so it didn't make it.. but I have lots more now to make up for it!

[amersault]

ditto w/ Kmarch - if you want spectacular blooms, don't divide. what's worked for me is planting them in a pot that can accommodate future growth for a few years. Cyms generally don't like to be disturbed. the year of repotting, you might not see any blooms. but after acclimation - and proper care - you should get a steady stream.

also, if note some 'old bulbs' that no longer seem to flower - leave them be. those are back bulbs that the plant relies on for stored energy in a pinch. remove those only if truly rotted. i've left mine on and they do the plant no harm.

here's my proof in the pudding - repotted in 2004, and hasn't been touched since. and what a show it puts on every year:

[Orchid_Virgins]

Hi Everyone -- Thanks all of you for your insight and wisdom!
I've found it very interesting that since they've been sitting atop the bark in the new pot with the towel draped over the rim ..there's a new bud! How about that!
I did wonder about soaking the roots to try to loosen and separate abit more..Most of the old medium was washed away initially. Apologies for my description of a backbulb..my bad. I guess I somehow felt that separating (one blooming, two not) into two pots would give us two lovely plants that would grow and grow..and bloom like mad. I'll perhaps tell him to go back to Costco and get another one
I haven't added the fertilizer yet..I think I'll just put it in the new medium and water. Someone mentioned in passing (here in my neighborhood) that I should soak and drain that bark the roots are sitting on now Before I fully repot..I'm still scratching my head at that one..especially since the new blossom was smiling at me yesterday. Musta done something right in the beginning, huh?
I'm off to the salt mines (with a stop at the cym pot before I go)
Thanks all again for everything..I'll keep you posted and as soon as someone opens some space in their digcam I'll post a photo..
And..amersault..your pudding is Fabulous, my friendFabulous!