A new plant addition to my collection.

[Sea_Sun88]

I was given a plant by a friend(more plants to come ) and it is a Blc. Eagle Eye 'All Victory.'

Problem is that it has a strange medium lol. it looks like spaghnum moss.

My question is can I repot it in fall or should I wait for the new growth to emerge?

I think the flowers will be white or pink. The ones you see in corsages.
And I dont want to miss having flowers so what should I do?


Thanks for the help.

Chelsea

[kmarch]

Sea Sun,

Sphagnum is not a strange medium at all. It is very commonly used in a variety of ways for a number of plants. Whether it is the best medium our your plant in your particular growing conditions is another question. I typically grow Cattleya Alliance plants in medium to large size bark with perilite and charcoal.

I always repotted my Cattleyas after they finished blooming while the plant was in its rest period but Cynthia likes to wait until the new shoots and roots appear. I think it's a matter of personal taste and seeing which approach your plants respond best to.

[Sea_Sun88]

Originally Posted by kmarch

Sea Sun,

Sphagnum is not a strange medium at all. It is very commonly used in a variety of ways for a number of plants. Whether it is the best medium our your plant in your particular growing conditions is another question. I typically grow Cattleya Alliance plants in medium to large size bark with perilite and charcoal.

I always repotted my Cattleyas after they finished blooming while the plant was in its rest period but Cynthia likes to wait until the new shoots and roots appear. I think it's a matter of personal taste and seeing which approach your plants respond best to.

The medium has green stuff on it. But I just got it with out flowers. The pseabulbs are nice and firm. So I suspect its healthy. Is it ok to leave it outside. I live in san Diego where the weather is decent lol. It gets up to 60 and low 70 in winter and in the summers high 80s. I have another cattleya that is outside. It got sunburned so I moved it to a shadier location. Anyways thanks for the help Kmarch

Chelsea
Sea Sun

[sandra]

The benefit to waiting for new growth and roots on catts before repotting is there's less likely to be additional stress on the plant if you wait till then. Catts are notorious for losing a lot of roots due to rot and yearly repotting after flowering is a general recommendation although 18 months is also acceptable. I've done it both ways and when repotted right after flowering, because of the amount of trimmed roots, the plant generally stresses and loses it's vigor temporarily, causing it to lose it's plumpness especially the leaves. It does regain strength but not without compromise to the overall look of plant. As well, with new growth occuring, it helps the plant anchor itself in it's new environment.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by sandra

I've done it both ways and when repotted right after flowering, because of the amount of trimmed roots, the plant generally stresses and loses it's vigor temporarily, causing it to lose it's plumpness especially the leaves.

This may be true for your particular set of conditons sandra but it's not a universal. I always repot my Cattleya Alliance orchids after blooming and they are not set back. I also have very little root loss with my Cattleyas and rarely have withering or loss of vigor of any kind.

As I said originally it's largely a matter of taste and subject your what works best for your plants in your conditions.

[slippery_biscuit]

I'm no expert; quite the novice for sure. But in my short experience with orchids I am formulating the opinion that some of them, I'm thinking catts here, really don't mind losing roots. I've seen several cases where plants I've purchased have lost their roots (nearly all) and recovered with new growth and blooms in less than a year. It seems that when I mount a catt there is a period of time when most of the existing roots die off and new roots grow conforming to the mount.

Certainly not arguing against all the aforementioned information. Just adding that if any course of action leads to (or you find yourself with a big root die-off situation) it isn't the end of the world. These plants have a remarkable ability to recover.

I'm going to experiment with a fairly mature (healthy) plant soon by nipping the roots way back and moving from a pot to a mount. Skipping the few years of folliage growth in lieu of a few months of root regrowth.

[Sea_Sun88]

I noticed that when I repotted my other Cattleya it lost its plumpness. But months later its pseabulbs got nice and firm. The roots where stuck to the pot. Most of the roots were healthy but of course you get the usual rotted roots. Its growing new growth like crazy. So It should flower for me very soon. Both of these cattleyas were given to me by a friend who has a green house. He is moving so he is giving me orchids( Yay). I have 6 now.

3 phals
2 cattleyas
1 ocidium generic one

anyways I see new growth and I will check the roots to see if it needs repotting.

Thanks for your help guys.

Chelsea
Sea_Sun

[sandra]

SB, yes, catts can and DO continue to grow after every root has been removed. I have 2 catts in which I had to remove every single root. I have a large catt that smelled of rot and Jerry had advised that in those conditions, the best thing to do was remove every root, that he's done this and had faster growth and more blooms on rootless catts as a result of cutting than those he repotted without removal of all roots. My very first orchid was a catt that was in the same bad shape and Kevin assisted me in potting that one up with specific following instructions to get it begin growing again. Both plants have grown several ps.bulbs and continue to.

There is though a setback if you have to do this albeit temporary and as well can contribute to an overall wrinkle in the older bulbs but sometimes, unavoidable for the continued health of the plant.

No arguing, not even debating, just clarifying.....

Have a look at my 2 instances with my catts. You may find it useful.


Cattleya Crisis AGAIN!

Hold The Laughter...please

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I'd like to clarify my attitude to repotting sympodials, like Cattleyas. The reason for holding off on repotting until the new growth is just starting new roots is to give the plant the benefit of root growth, which in many, or most of these plants, is extremely seasonal. IF you can repot without damaging the original roots, such as when the mix just falls away, or you can carefully pick the old mix out without breaking roots, or as with sphag, you can pull the strings of sphag out without breaking roots, then pot-away at any time, just be careful not to break roots while you are completing the second half of the job putting the new mix in around the roots. And this is not a minor worry, as the mix should be packed fairly firmly into the pot, so that the moisture will wick efficiently thru the mix and make it available to all of the roots. I routinely repot any time, as I use a mix that gets washed out with the jet setting on my hose end sprayer and the new mix goes in just about as easily. I do however follow my own advice on timing if the plant has a complex root system and I am going to be dividing the plant. I also follow this timing if I buy a plant in bark and there is a heavy root system. Once I finally get it converted over to my mix, the problems are much simpler for it as it is for all my other orchids.

Addendum: It is a whole lot more important to give the plants the benefit of current root growth in a dry climate like S. California and Arizona than it is in a humid climate like Florida.

[sandra]

What's not universal Kevin? I thought I was lending to a very possible chain of events on repotting cattleyas should there be root loss and that reason being a benefit to waiting for new growth in compensation of what's been lost by rot. Cattleyas generally tend to lose a lot of roots to rot and it is recommended to repot after flowering and it should not be an unexpected surprise to find a lot of root loss when it's repotting time. In the event cutting away a lot of dead roots is required and if severe mearsures need to be taken such as cutting all the roots away, the expectations to follow are an overall compromise on the plant, albeit, temporary. No, that's not a given that there will be root rot but it is a strong possibility with catts.

So to clarify....I've done it both ways and when repotted right after flowering, because of the amount of trimmed roots that may need to be removed, the plant generally stresses and loses it's vigor temporarily, causing it to lose it's plumpness especially the leaves.

[kmarch]

To clarify my comments: It is not a given that a Cattleya repotted right after flowering will be stressed and set back. As I've said i regularly repot my Cattleyas at that time and they regularly continue on without a hitch. I have indicated that the choice to repot after flowering or waiting until new roots & growths appear is a matter of preference, depending on what works best for an individual. Furthermore, since new roots and shoots can be tender and can be damaged easily during repotting, I typically suggest to new growers that they repot a plant during that plant's rest period (i.e. after flowering) to avoid damaging new roots and growth. Cynthia is quite right to remind me (as she has done) that this is not a problem if one exercises a fair amount of caution.

Finally I encourage anyone posting to always re-read their posts carefully before posting, to be suscinct and clear in their posts, and to work towards always making an issue more clear for our readers.

[slippery_biscuit]

Regarding the repotting, I put some medium into the new pot, then hold the plant in the pot at the desired height, above the mix. Then with the other hand I sprinkle mix in around the roots. When my hand is empty I tap the plant and pot gently on the table, still holding the plant up in position. this lets the mix settle around the roots. Repeat 'till full. I don't pack or tamp on the mix as I thought (still think) that would impact root integrity.

Any improvments to this procedure?

Thanks for the root info on your mature plants Sandra. I'll document my "experiment" for a future post.

thnx, Jeff

[cupcake]

I take all plants out of moss , it's too easy to overwater them over here. I have finally settled with coconut husk or fine bark for pleuros. You learn by experience there is no one way, Judi