how to repot when roots are out from vent holes

[maedanosetchan]

My orchid is very healthy. It has given me such gorgeous flowers and delighted me for so long. However after blooming, when I tried to repot it, I found its roots are all over from the air vent holes and circulating the clay pot. ( See pic.) It's almost impossible to repot it without damaging the roots. The pot was expensive; however, I am willing to break the pot if necessary and put it in a bigger better pot. Even if I break the pot, if I try to repot it, some of the air roots will go inside the pot. Is that OK? Or in order to preserve the roots, should I try to remove the media carefully and keep the same pot, and change the media only?

[Roberta]

First, Welcome!

The plant is doing very well. I would just shake out any media that is easy to remove, don't worry about the rest, just add some fresh bark. The roots outside the pot are doing just fine, no need to repot beyond that... basically, you have a healthy "mounted" plant that is in a very suitable environment. It is getting what it needs, no need to alter anything. If you can attach a hanger to the pot and have a place to hang it, that would be perfect.

[maedanosetchan]

Thank you so much for your quick answer!! I am still a beginner and was about to kill my gorgeous orchid by repotting to a bigger pot, damaging the majority of the roots, since I learned that I had to repot it every after bloom. I will do as you say since it is an entangled mess.

Thank you again,
Setsuko

[Dusty Ol' Man]

I'm confused. Why do you have to repot it after every bloom?

[Mountaineer370]

+1 on Roberta's advice above. Your plant looks perfectly healthy, and I have never heard that an orchid must be repotted after every bloom. (It doesn't.) I have heard that once a year or so is recommended, but not everyone adheres strictly to that advice. It can vary a lot depending on the plant and the circumstances.

I think, in your situation, doing what Roberta suggests will be an excellent substitute for a total repot. You'll be providing a good portion of fresh media, without breaking a beautiful and expensive pot, and without disturbing those nice aerial roots.

I spent part of today repotting a half dozen orchids. In two cases, I cut the pot off to save roots that had grown through the holes, but all of mine are in clear plastic pots, so I was willing to make the sacrifice.

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

[Roberta]

I have never heard of potting after every bloom either... you repot when mix is broken down so that you don't have a wet mess suffocating roots. If you just remove most of the old medium and replace it with a new open mix, you have achieved what is needed. And with the roots growing out of the pot (and maybe back into some holes) you don't have to worry about a larger pot - it will just make a nice ball of roots.

[camille1585]

I would also do what Roberta suggests.

I would also take the suggestion one step further, and consider replacing the old medium by something inorganic, such as expanded clay pellets. Then you never again have to worry about repotting or picking out old bark from between the roots.

I did this for my Phal gigantea which hates being repotted. It does need to be watered more often, but it really enjoys the quicker wet/dry cycles and grew tons more roots.

[Shadeflower]

Well if that was mine, ie someone just gave it to me I would 100% repot it - just to save the nice pot.

If you don't repot now then there is no saving the pot - it will be hammer food.

I always try to save roots but for a multiphal I wouldn't. They are not the fastest root growers but they do regrow roots just fine.

Sometimes we lose roots to rot anyway - it happens. Should be avoided but these things happen so damaging a few roots during repotting is ok to save such a nice pot.

The orchid certainly does not need a repot or to be repotted after every flowering, more when the bark has degraded but if the roots are left to tangle any more then more damage will be done in future if it ever needed to be removed.

So if it was me I would try to loosen as many roots with warm water as possible, try to thread them through the holes but if they have grown too thick then just snap them off.

Will it cause a bit of stress? Yes but it will save the pot and won't affect the orchid too badly since not many roots are affected yet.

This is a personal opinion though. You do what you feel is best. Some just like what I call uppotting. IT is something I personally could never do.

It would be lke putting on a fresh set of socks ontop of my old pair. You have to remove the old pair, wash it and put new socks on, if you just cover the old socks with new socks they might look clean but the smelly ones will still be underneath.

[WaterWitchin]

Were it mine...

Shake out old media as much as possible, replace with an inorganic media such as LECA and rock wool cubes, then hang it and know you'll have to water more often. (as suggested by Roberta/Camille).

OR

Soak it well, tease out what roots you can without breaking them, tease out the others whether they break or not. (as suggested by ShadeFlower). Repot into a plastic pot same size as ceramic pot, with bottom only drainage on the plastic pot, and put inside the ceramic pot. It's a Phal, and they're pretty easy going on both repotting and cutting roots. Use a "good" mix of bark medium such as Orchiata so you won't have to repot as often.

You only need to repot when a bark medium breaks down. If I were to do a bark medium, Orchiata is my go-to because it's much longer lasting although more expensive upfront. In the long run, it will outlast a cheap bark.

I have three pretty expensive hanging baskets of similar design (holes all over sides). I've learned over time to use a cache pot, plant something in them that won't grow through the holes, or be willing to cut up the plant if needed. One now holds a Vanda with roots going wherever they please, one a plastic pot inside, and the largest a rabbit foot fern, which has totally grown around the whole pot and you can't see pot anymore. Some day if the soil becomes completely worthless and the fern starts to die, the fern will be cut down and a portion saved. It's been in the same pot for seven years... I don't even want to know what's inside that pot now.

[Leafmite]

If you worry about the roots outside the pot, you can always stick the entire thing into a larger, clear container for extra humidity after the medium has been changed. The orchid is beautiful and it looks really healthy. Good growing!