Time to Repot?

[butt0n]

I think its time to repot these, but I wanted some other opinions. All three are cattleyas of some sort. They might look a bit funny since I just watered them, but here they are.


#1






#2





#3






Any thoughts?

[mayres]

Yep! If they were mine I'd do it right away....

[butt0n]

What kind of medium do you suggest? The regular orchid bark mix? Or something special?

Oh, also 2 of those are in 2" pots and the other is in a 3" I think. Should I keep them in relatively the same sized pot or an 1" bigger for each?

[mayres]

I would take them out of the pots and remove all dead roots and other brown material from the plant and then put in a mixture of medium bark with perlite. Obviously there are other media's out there that people use, but that is what is most common up here in Oregon for catts. Since they are still fairly small plants in small pots I personally would be inclined to go with bark a little on the small side but I don't know if others would agree or not - just what I have done and it seems to be working OK. Keep the pot size on the small end - I think I'd stay in the 3" range until the plants grow significantly. If these are mini-catts you might not ever get much bigger on pots. mike

[butt0n]

Sounds good to me! I bought them not knowing what they are exactly; no tags or anything. I know that 2 of them are fragrant and that's about it.


Ok, here's another. Its my Den. Comet King Akatsuki; it has roots coming out of the bottom of the pot, but I think they're mostly dead. Otherwise, there's no overgrowth anywhere. I'm trying to see if I can make it flower, but should I just leave it alone then?

[arleneg]

If the roots are brown and/or wiry, you can trim them off. Otherwise, your Den. looks really good! Make sure it's getting bright, diffused light, and let dry (or slightly dry) between watering.

When it does bloom, please post a pic.

[butt0n]

Will do! Hopefully it will bloom...

[fyd96]

good morning all. my ? kinda goes with Buttons. when do I know when It Is time to repot? I'm not sure how long my Phala has been In It's pot. this may sound like a silly ? but I take It that th green shoots growing on top of the potting medium are roota? they'r starting to grow up and over the side of the pot. Is this normal? also, I have sphagnum moss on top of the pot should I leave It there or take It off. brrm misting It down to stay damp.

[mayres]

fyd96 - You might want to repost this question with a new post - but I'll make a short stab at it. Depending upon what media your phal is in - usually they are repotted every 1-3 years. As the media breaks down and no longer goes through a normal period of rehydration and drying it needs to be replaced - more often for something like sphag and less often for something like bark. Lots of roots out in the air is normal - even when they don't need to be repotted. In the wild they grow on trees and have roots sticking out all over searching for anchor points. Other than a misting of air roots there may not be much benefit in misting a phal - if you do, be sure and do it in the morning - otherwise if you get any dampness in the crown you could potentially cause your plant to get crown rot. If I had sphag on the top of my media I would remove it - but others might say otherwise. It would have the tendency to potentially keep your media damp longer. How long have you had your phal? Short term (usually) the only reason to repot a phal is usually to inspect the roots condition and place in media you are comfortable with. mike

[fyd96]

good morning mike. I'v had my Phala for about three days. this why I dont know how long It's been In this pot. dont want repot now as the buds are starting to open up. what shoukd I look for as far as sighns to repot?

[mayres]

USUALLY a plant will not need to be repotted for at least a year or two after you purchase it - if it was well taken care of. I like to repot mine soon after flowering because I like to know what the condition of the entire plant is (including roots) and I want my similar plants in like media. If it is in bark - when the bark begins to get soft/mushy and act like little sponges - and doesn't dry out normally - then the roots will stay soggy and begin to rot - so time to repot. Other media have other signs. Sphag will break down too - become hard when dry and very mushy when decaying - it will need replacing much more often than bark. Hope this helps. Mike

[fyd96]

thanks a bunch mile. this very helpful. my Phala Is In great shape and I did take the moss off the top of the pot. there Is a couple of roots that are yellow. nothing to worry about? looks like It was put In bark.

[Townsville]

Thanks for this post. I have a big cat which clearly needs repotting. However, it has another three sheaths to go. I'll be back for advice after (hopefully) the flowers. Does everyone cross their fingers and touch wood when speaking of flowering??

[jerrymeola]

ButtOn

Many of your Cattleya roots are dead from lack of water where they are out of the pot. Do not be surprised if you need to cut more than half your roots when re-potting. Fortunately the cat is healthy otherwise and should do better with a root pruning.

The Den. Comet King 'Akatsuki' is a Nobile Dendrobium and a patented type from Yamamoto. This is flowering season now. You should have stopped fertilizing last August, so certainly no fertilizer now. It needs a month of nights under 50 degrees to flower. Since it can live down to 32 degrees easily (and up to 100) put it outside now if you are past hard freezes.

They will take the most light of any orchid. I have grown them up to 11,000 foot candles of light. They also flower in partial shade, but give it all you can. I do not stop watering Nobile, especially those from Yamamoto. Mine are just now starting to flower in the last 3 weeks, so you still have time for this season.

[jerrymeola]

I meant to show you your Comet King

[butt0n]

Thanks Jerry! You have been extremely helpful! I'll put that den outside tomorrow. Didn't want to do it tonight since I'm sure there's a very big temperature difference and I didn't want to shock it that badly.

Now, should I take it inside during the day since its warmer? Or just leave it out there for a while? Also, if any bugs start attacking it, what should I do prevent them from eating it?

[arleneg]

I believe Jerry uses worm tea. I've used Pharm Solutions' Indoor Pharm with Rosemary Oil and Physan 20 (whichever happens to be accessible to me at the time ).

[butt0n]

Very interesting...I never knew what worm tea was until now! I put my den outside. Its very bright and sunny right now, but will get cold at night. I just hope it doesn't start raining again.