How to get new media into a phal root ball? Especially LECA

[JeffreyR]

Last question... I promise... maybe? I really appreciate all the help over the past few days.

When I report an orchid, especially a big-box orchid, it often has a big ball of wet moss at the center, with the roots wrapped around. Almost like a cage. Orchids from other growers are better, but still often have a bunch of roots wrapped around some medium.

It usually isn’t too hard to get the old medium out. And to transplant, I can usually untangle some/all of the roots and get a good amount of medium into that “cage” before putting it back in the pot. There is no large gap in the pot and the medium comes up to the bottom of the phal. It is well supported.

When I try to plant using LECA, I have more trouble getting the media in and filling that cage of roots. The balls are too big to go through near the top, and I can’t seem to manage to put a handful in before putting the plant in the pot. The plant ends up with a gap between the bottom of the plant and the start of the LECA, and doesn’t seem as well supported as when in traditional media. I also may have some voids in the pot where roots are dense.

Is there a trick or method to getting the LECA to go between the roots and fill in well? I’ve found that bigger pots help, but that doesn’t seem to be a great answer all the time.

Thanks again for all the advice.

[Roberta]

You can add the medium in small amounts, and tap the side of the pot to shake it into the open spots. However, don't worry about air space - that is good - the medium will hold enough moisture to make "humid air", which is what those roots want anyway. You don't want it packed tightly, just enough so that the plant is held firmly in place. new roots will naturally seek out the medium where it is more moist. Also, with those spaces, you can water freely (let it run through the pot), you won't have to worry about over-watering.

[JeffreyR]

I'm not so concerned about packing in the media or about the gaps in the pot. The bigger concern, and perhaps it is unfounded, is that the plants seem much less stable / more wobbly when they are not sitting on media that fills in the "cage" of roots fully. When the media fills in that gap, the plants seem stable as soon as transplanted.

Not a concern and it'll tighten up and become more stable by itself?

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by JeffreyR

Not a concern and it'll tighten up and become more stable by itself?

You definitely don't want wobbling, because that damages the growing tips of new roots. But if you can stabilize the plant with staking (wood barbecue skewers work nicely), then once the new roots fill in the spaces it won't need the stakes any more. Perhaps a smaller size of LECA might also be useful, to be better able to slide into the gaps.

[SouthPark]

This situation is faced by most orchid growers that use hard sizeable media, like leca, rocks, etc.

Sometimes we just get used to just taking time to hold the plant steadily in a particular position, and slowly fill the pot, a bit at a time. Once there's enough media to hold some roots, it is then possible to use both hands to fill media.

The 'tap and shake' method - every once a while seems to work well. That allows the media to redistribute and hopefully fill some gaps between roots. That's the method of tapping the bottom of the pot on the ground, to generate enough vibration for the media to jump around in the pot, and redistribute. And when it redistributes, it may allow you to fill a bit more media into the sides. And you can also tilt the pot on an angle while tapping as well.

I don't think every big gap needs to be filled. The media should hold the plant nicely when enough media is placed into there.

[Ray]

1. Fill the pot with LECA so that it is deeper than the level the reservoir will be. 1/2"-1" is plenty.
2. Make a mound of LECA in the middle of the pot. (Yeah, tough to do with "marbles", but try.)
3. Spend more time opening up that root ball.
4. Smash the plant down on the mound so that the roots spread out.
5. Add more LECA around the root ball.
6. Shake the hell out of it while adding more and more.

Get one of these, and stand in it while repotting:

[Diane56Victor]

I can sympathise with JefferyR, its a pain to spend time trying to repot only to find a drunken plant at the end of it.
I love how JeffreyR is also fostering a love of orchids in his daughter....I thought the coloured orchid trial was a lovely thing to do with her.

😂 Oh the photo Ray put in set me off laughing, and each time I think of it I set off laughing again! I hope I can do the shopping today without breaking into laughter otherwise they might call out the 'white coat' mob.

[JeffreyR]

Originally Posted by Ray

...
2) Make a mound of LECA in the middle of the pot. (Yeah, tough to do with "marbles", but try
...
4) Smash the plant down on the mound so that the roots spread out.

I had tried Ray’s 2 and 4 (maybe not “smash”) and ended up laughing at myself. Now that I know it is doable I’ll be more persistent next time.

Thanks again

[WaterWitchin]

My aunt used to have one of those jigglers. All us kids LOVED to go to her house... we'd take turns in it, and talk with our shaky voices. Cool lady.

I do the tap tap on the counter thing when filing with LECA. Also use a chopstick and tap top of LECA, which also helps to move it around and get more down around the roots.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by JeffreyR

I had tried Ray’s 2 and 4 (maybe not “smash”) and ended up laughing at myself. Now that I know it is doable I’ll be more persistent next time.

Thanks again

"Smash" with moderation. "Careful" when repotting is a good thing. Being "delicate" is not, in my experience.