roots and repotting

[E. Rose]

I just bought a phalanopsis with a lot of bloom and a lot of outside the pot roots that hang down about 8 inches. Everything looks good and the buds are opening. When the bloom falls off, I intend to repot. What do I do with all the outside roots? The plant is in a 4and 1/2 inch pot and I have a new 6 inch cactus pot. Will that pot work? E. Rose

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Six inch seems a bit big for a Phal unless this is one with very large leaves. I personally prefer Azalia pots, a bit shorter than the standard sized pot. When you get the old mix out, see what is the smallest pot you can sqeeze the entire batch of roots into. Wet them first to make them more pliable. I would try a 5" plastic pot. Plastic is nice because, when it is time to repot, you can flex the pot and cause the roots to free up from the pot. They are also cheap enough, you can have several sizes handy before you start the repotting process. By the way, I don't recommend repotting unless there are clear indications of a need to. Bark soft/broken down, a strange mix you don't know what to do with, plant outgrown its pot (if the mix is still good, just move ball to bigger pot and fill around), etc.

If the plant is in a plastic pot, you can flex the pot to free up the roots and pull the root ball out of the pot for an inspection. All sorts of dreadful things are discovered this way, and corrections can be made before serious damage takes place. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

[E. Rose]

great advice, Thanks; E.Rose