To Repot or not to repot, that is the question!

[Jaydiggity21]

Hello all,

I have 2 cymbidiums given to me by a former roommate. One is large and in a about a 10" clay pot. The other is smaller and in about a 4.5" plastic pot. The larger one has recently grown 2 new "non-spikes", not sure what the name is for them but they are just new leaves. The smaller one has no new growth. Any comments and or suggestions would be great, and I will be attempting to post pics. Thanks!

Jason

First 2 pics are for the smaller plant

[Jaydiggity21]

And now the larger plant

[robb]

jaydiggity, howdy!

i have 2 cymbidiums myself, and neither are showing the impressive growth yours does. when i bought mine i repotted them as they were in dire need (on sale cheap at home depot and hurting!) but from what i gather, every 1-2 years cymbidium likes to be repotted due to breakdown of potting medium (usually bark/perlite mix?) i repotted mine in february when i got them, and i'll probably leave them alone for at least a year, if not 2, if they put on good growth. just one little leaf shoot each so far...

here is pictures of mine after repotting http://www.orchidgeeks.com/gallery/s....php?i=1110&c=

hope yours rock out of the pot!

[prisana]

Hi Jay, great looking cyms, BTW. The one in the plastic pot looks like it's climbing out so you might want to repot that one. Cyms have very large root system. I have one that was in an 8" pot and with 8 pseudobulbs, when I took it out of it's old pot , there was almost no medium left, just roots everywhere it was crazy...I trimmed off a whole bunch of roots and it keeps sending out more..I don't know what to do with it..

[kmarch]

Generally the best time to repot a Cymb is just after it finished blooming or before it starts its new growth. The one in the clay pot is pobably ok for this season as it has already started growing and it is not overflowing the pot. It's time to repot the one in the plastic pot however. Choose a pot that gives you about 2 inches of space around the plant.

In SF you could probably grow these outdoors. Do you?

[Jaydiggity21]

I could but I don't right now because it gets extremely windy where I live if I want them to be where they would get the most light (facing West for me). I see many cymbs around though outside, and they seem to be generally doing well because they all have flowers! I have this weird outside patio thing in the center of my house that is open to the outside, but the way it is situated it only gets sun from about 11 AM to 3 PM, and my vegetable container garden is pretty much taking up all the room out there!

[Jaydiggity21]

Hey kmarch,
One more question, do you think I should divide the one in the plastic pot, or just repot it into a slightly larger container?

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by Jaydiggity21

Hey kmarch,
One more question, do you think I should divide the one in the plastic pot, or just repot it into a slightly larger container?

I wouldn't divide it. I'd just repot it into a larger pot. Letting a plant grow on and get bigger will give you more flower spikes when it blooms and therefore a more spectacular display. I am not a fan of dividing a plant unless there is a compelling reason to do so. After a few years of letting your Cymbid grow on you may notice that all of the center pseudobulbs have lost their leaves and that your plant may not be growing and blooming s vigorously as it did. This would be the time to divide. But as long as it is growing and blooming vigorously, there's no need to divide.

The outdoor conditions you describe sound fine for your Cymbid. They don't need direct sun, which in fact can burn leaves. This year 8 of my 10 blooming size Cymbids are in bud eventhough they don't get any direct sunlight, only brght indirect light equivalent to your north-facing space. Regardng the wind, Melbourne Australia (here where I live) is incredibly windy. My Cymbids get blown around, even blown over. I just set them back up. I've heard of folks taking a pot the next size up fom the one the plant is in, putting rocks in the bottom, and setting you plant in it to prevent plants from getting blown over. The reason I'm advocating outdoor growing is because they'd get exactly the conditons they need to bloom if you grew outside in your area. And you'd have to do nothing to them except water.

Cheers

[PhalPal]

Jaydiggity21 - Cyms like to be potbound, so I would error on the side of not re-potting too soon with them. I do agree with everyone above to re-pot the one in the plastic black pot. I grow cyms outdoors all year and they do great, wind and all. My conditions actually sound a lot like kmarch's, hot, dry and windy at times! Being a Californian I am sure you are aware of our Santa Ana Winds down here. I just keep them out of direct sun, placed under a eucalyptus tree on the east side of my house for the summer. Your conditions up there are great for cyms, they tolerate temps between 30-100 degrees F. Put them outside and watch them go!

[fred]

yes i would have to agree with kmarch and PhalPal

NOT to divide as stated repot into a bigger pot would be the best.

just with the next size up

just as a guide you can see how i grow my Cymbidiums

http://www.orchidgeeks.com/forum/gen...home-page.html

I hope this helps you