Root bound Psychopsis

[nevermore44]

I recently stopped in a Smith and Hawkins store and found they had 3 very large Psychopsis Mariposas. 10-12" leaves... 7+ non-shriveled bulbs... all had apparently been in multiple spike... which were cut off once the flower was finished with the other orchids they hack back. So now they are on sale for $20.

So I snagged one. Now I know that they don't like their roots messed with too much, but i pulled it out of the pot to give it a check and it was absolutely root bound... not much media left at all. You can't even see past the outer ring of roots to see the media unless you pull apart the roots a bit.

I can tell that many of the roots are dead. With this time of the year... should i attempt to do some surgery and remove the dead roots and old media and repot? Or should I wait until the spring?

[Lagoon]

Its good you we're able to get a look at the root zone. I would add new media, so yes repot now. Without any media you might find the watering to be a real chore.

Cut away any brown/mushy roots before replanting. I would keep dry for a day or (2), this will help seal up any breaks, then just water as normal.

G'Luck

[Ray]

Also, for the future, remember that you should never cut the spikes on psychopsis, as they rebloom over and over on them.

[nevermore44]

Yeah I will definitely not cut the spikes. I had a psy a while ago, but lost it to rot in the winter. So this one, i am keeping out of my orchid cases to keep it a bit drier.

The stubs of the spike that they cut are really thick too... so the flowers must have been huge.