To repot or not: Slc. mem Alvin Beggman Poem

[kid a]

Should I repot this? It has new growths growing out over the edge and I am not sure what it is potted in because I can't see it. It is in a 4x4 plastic pot. It has about 10 sheaths on it right now but I wasn't sure if it was the type of catt that blooms from the sheaths when they appear or after they have dried (Patti?) It makes me nervous not knowing what it is potted in or how wet or dry it is I have just been watering it when I water everything else and so far it is doing ok. These pictures are from early last month so the new growths are bigger than in the picture and the plant was bulging the sides of the pot when I bought it and I really don't think there is much room at all for it to keep growing in there. What do you guys think. I want to repot but don't want to hinder it or the sheaths on it.









After reading Jerry's comments in another thread I think I may have to just divide it.

[Hummer344]

It looks pretty well overgrown in that pot. I would have re-potted it when the new growths were smaller. Now, if you repot it it might hinder budding on the new growth. At any rate, when you do re-pot it I would just put the whole thing in a bigger pot. I have divided plants like that I they sulk and don't bloom for a long time. When I re-pot the whole plant en mass they seem to do better.(at least for me). Good Luck

[jay]

I don't know what to recommend. I just repotted one of mine into a larger pot because it was outgrowing it and I needed that pot for another that outgrew its home.

If you do it know, you want to try to disturb the rootball as little as possible. You can see that I was able to lift my whole rootball out and move it into another pot. If you also look, you will see it was in double sheath when I did this a couple of weeks ago. And the last photo is to show that it did not slow the plant down as it now has 6 buds developing from one of the sheaths and the other is still developing in the sheath.

Pict 1 and 2 - Plant moving out of its pot. You can see two sheaths and a new growth if you look closely.

Pict 3 and 4 - I love S/H. So easy to repot. It has been in this culture for one year. It was one of my first orchids to go S/H.

Picture 5 - New buds!

[Orchidementia]

Nothing helpful to add, just zOMG! to both kid_a's and Jay's plants. Zowie!!

[solay]

I say that if you are going to re-pot to just cut the plastic pot away from the roots. I think it wouldn't damage too many roots considering the roots are pretty much contained in the pot.

I say WOW to both plants. They both looks so healthy and huge!

[exasperatus2002]

they look awesome! But deffinately in need of a repot.

[kmarch]

My comments/question to you is the same as to exasperatus in that other thread.

One important bit of info, useful in knowing whether to repot or not, is missing: when was this orchid last repotted?

I recommend repotting cattleya alliance orchids every 2 years if potted in a bark based mix.

I disagree with Jerry that dividing is necessary for the long term survival of the plant. I do not believe it is. You could repot into a larger pot and leave this plant whole as it is. When you flower it, it will have more and better flowers if left whole.

[kid a]

Kevin I wish there was a way to know when it was last repotted. I have only had it for about a month or so now. I waited for the flowers to drop and it to go on sale before buying it. It also scares me that I have no idea what the roots look like or what it is potted in. I might just have Leon help me repot from hoosier orchids. I would like to avoid dividing just because I prefer to have it as specimen plant than four small ones.

Thanks for the pictures Jay. I only wish I could keep the s/h moist enough to do that, it looks so simple and clean. I tried it with my Stima. Kelly 'Lea' but the roots dried up pretty quickly so I just repotted that one last night. Maybe it's because I didn't have a resevior? Yours is beautiful, is that picture of the buds from right now? Those roots look so healthy and good!

[jay]

Kortney - The roots will dry up fast if you don't have a reservoir for the S/H. Either that or you would need a water pump and a drip system like regular drip hydroponics.

And yes, that is the buds as of yesterday. I took the photo as I was posting a response to show if you don't disturb the rootball too bad that the sheaths might be ok. I repotted this last week, with buds emerging from the sheath already. It was a risk I was willing to take since this thing grows like a weed. I don't know what to do when it out grows this 6" pot. I too want a specimen plant like you, but don't know where it will stay.

[kid a]

Right! As of now If it got too much bigger I don't know where I would put mine either, lol!

[patticake]

Hi, Kortney! I really wouldn't divide it. if you re-pot, you can do it in a nice bark mix. ( I like Schultz) I would get a bigger pot, hold the plant w/ the root-ball intact in the new pot, and pour dry bark mix around the perimeter. I would keep the oldest growth near the edge. Tap the pot really well to settle the mixture, and then soak it. I usually soak my mix ahead of time, but I think this will cut down on any shock to the plant. I wouldn't disturb the roots unless they look bad. This way, there will be little disturbance to the plant. Good luck. Let us know how it goes!

[kid a]

Thanks Patti! I have used for a few of my other orchids and had a hard time with it. One of my other catts was in bark but it was hard to keep from getting the roots dried up so I may try to use the same as the other cats and see how that works out or maybe just run over some of the bark and get it to be a little smaller. Do you think that would help?