Should I repot a blooming orchid

[Rhonda Svoboda]

Hi,
I have an oncidium Sherry Berry in bloom. Its desperatly needs repotting. Should I wait until the blooming period is overr? Its in tight spike now but I don't want to risk hurting the flowers.

[estación seca]

I would wait. Just be careful watering.

[Ray]

Like most orchid-related questions, “it depends”.

As ES stated, you can “baby it” through flowering by moistening the potting medium without saturating it, which could suffocate the roots in old potting medium, but if the medium is SO bad that it risks damaging the root system anyway, you must decide if you’re willing to risk losing the flowers or risk losing the entire plant.

[Leafmite]

What I have often done in this situation is to remove the roots and medium (in one large clump) from the pot as carefully as possible and then set it in a larger container. This allows more air to penetrate and prevents the loss of roots. If the medium is really, really bad, I will often try to gently shake the orchid to see if some of the medium can be removed. The more air that can get to the roots, the healthier they remain.

[Rhonda Svoboda]

Thanks. I am going to post some photo's because I really don't think I can wait. There is no potting media left because the pot is so small and the roots so overgrown that the plant can't possibly be getting any nutrients from it.
I like your idea of not disturbing the roots.
Thanks

[SouthPark]

There was a general rule that I once saw from somebody - that I agree with. It was - if an orchid seriously needs a re-pot, which probably came with an obvious queue - such as leaf deterioration (yellowing etc) ----- then definitely unpot - check roots, and repot ----- and this may need to be done at any time.

If the leaves look fine, and the orchid is flowering - and if it appears that re-potting could hold-off until after the bloom finishes, then that's ok too.

If you suspect the media is broken down very badly, or there is 'no media' left (as you described), then that could be a reason for immediate repot.

One way of looking at it is - sometimes, immediate action can save an orchid.

Another way to look at it is - if the media had been in that particular state for this long, and the leaves are still looking just fine - then maybe surely with a workable (satisfactory) watering strategy - (not too much water and not too little water) ------ the orchid could most likely hang on until the bloom finishes. And the repot could then be done later.

So - it all depends on actual situation and circumstances.

But importantly - flowers can always come around again - next time. The orchid and its health are the most important items on the list. And also - not all orchids will drop their buds/flowers after a repot.

[estación seca]

Rhonda - overgrown roots like that are doing fine. That's not a reason to repot. Don't break up the old roots when you repot. Just put the root block into the new pot and fill in around them with the new medium.

[Dollythehun]

That plant us pretty close to indestructible. Follow ES common sense.

[Rhonda Svoboda]

Okay, so I am going to repot (carefully) and this is why. As you can see (or not) the lower leaves are yellow, the psuedobulbs are shriveled, and there is dead material in the current pot.

[Rhonda Svoboda]

yoops!! Pic's attached