Cym to S/H

[rschluss]

I have a cym in a 6" pot that was literally bursting out of the pot. It finished flowering and is now sending out growth for 3 new pbulbs that I can see. I decided I want to move it to s/h and will be putting it in an 8" s/h pot. I want to keep it as 1 large (currently 12 pbulbs + 3 new growth) plant. I had to cut it out of its old pot, and now I am left with something that is basically a solid mass of beautiful roots with a soil/bark mix nougat center. I am afraid to break the roots apart to remove all the media. Any thoughts/suggestions?

Thanks,
Bob

[Hummer344]

Although the plant wasn't re-potted in s/h, it was a bear to get done. You have to just tease the old potting medium out of the roots, cut off the broken and rotten ones and plunk it in a new pot.

[rschluss]

what if there aren't any broken or rotted ones? it is a mass of beautiful white and juicy roots formed perfectly into the shape of the pot. i know there is medium in the center, but i can't get at it without damaging healthy roots. is it okay to do that?

[syndywindy]

There's a video out I believe on Youtube that shows a cym being divided and repotted. The guy uses a machete to chop the cym into pieces and makes a few plants out of it. I have 3 cym's and one was very similar to yours and the video. You either chop it to get what you need or you can sit forever and pry it apart bit by bit. I started out being careful and then chucked that idea into the 2nd hour. I've had no issues with it having chopped away.

[rschluss]

Chopping it is! I just spent 2 hours teasing roots apart and there is still more to do... I like chopping. That will also allow me to put them back together closer and close the small gap in the center.

OMG, I just found that chopping video! the horror!

YouTube - Split and Back Bulb Demonstration 10 August 2009 Episode 16

poor plants!

[orchidea]

As Synda was saying, I took the Youtube vidio as a guide...
So, I took the biggest knife I could find in the house and.... ....... sliced this huge mass of roots right in the middle..... Next time I think I'll use my chain saw....., I am not kidding.....
Now I have two Cyms 4-5 PB each. The vidio suggests not to be gentle with this plant. So I was not.....
I'll report to you guys if it ever blooms again........

[rschluss]

okay, so I can't stop watching Paul's videos. What a saga. Poor guy and his wife. The plant euthanasia episode breaks my heart. And for him, not for the plants.

oh, i chickened out... it ended up taking 3.5 hours of work to untangle the roots. i broke a lot of them, but got most of the medium washed away. i'm glad i was home alone today. my partner wouldn't let me live it down if he saw me crouched in the shower in my trunks with a big clump of orchid spraying the soil away from its roots. i'll never tell.

[exasperatus2002]

What is that oberon stuff he refers to the plants being negatively affected by in the videos?

[rschluss]

it is an insecticide that is no longer in production because it decimated crops in new zealand. video 1 is where he explains what it is.

[berkeleysgr8]

Wow, that YouTube demonstration was shocking! For anyone who thinks orchids are always delicate little plants, they should check out that clip. He was far from gentle with splitting that plant out. That Cym was HUGE!

[Hummer344]

I have had to use the chopping method on some of my bigger cyms. I first saw that method at the SF orchid show. Kept hearing a THUD in the back of the hall and when I went to investigate, the local orchid society was seperating the bigger cyms with a machette. Hey, if it was good enough for them!!!!! They sterilized the machette between plants with a blow torch.(I think)

[Irene]

A few weeks ago, I purchased a cym that badly needed a repot. So I searched on here and found the thread with that video.

Oookay...

So I pulled it out of pot, soaked it, got rid of as much of the old media as I could, wacked the roots off about half way down with a butcher knife. Repotted.
It was kind of cathartic after all the bowing and scraping we do to keep our plants alive

A few weeks later and it is looking great.