How to U turn an orchid

[PuiPuiMolcar]

I cant link youtube here but there's a Video about U turning orchids that tend to spill out of the pot by Bumblebee's Orchids.

I thought this was interesting, I've always been curious how cultivator grow their orchids more bushier and compact when all of my supposed mini catts will invade as much space as they want. I have tried giving them overhead light, leaning them against a surface, tying them etc.
Zygos and some oncidium frustrate me the most because they grow vertically.

[Roberta]

The ones that grow vertically along their rhizome are doing what comes naturally... In nature, they have evolved to climb trees or cliffs. Phrag besseae does this, and so do its hybrids, in spite of the best efforts of hybridizers to control the habit.

Sympodial orchids in general do that, Maybe you can get them to grow more in a circle, but mostly, they march along the top of the pot until they escape. If the plant is very healthy, so that it has more than one lead, it may present a bushier appearance since it is growing in more directions. So for Catts, you need to make them very happy. But you can't fight evolution - these are epiphytes, they climb trees. (Some Catts have smaller "footprints" because they have shorter rhizomes, maybe seek those out)

If you want plants that grow completely vertically, you'll need to stick to monopodial types (such as Vandaceous). The downside of those... they have one growth point and if you lose that, you often lose the plant. Symbodial orchids can sprout new leads from dormant "eyes" if they lose a lead.

[DirtyCoconuts]

like most plants, orchids can be trained into all sorts of shapes BUT it does not mean they will like it. i have a lot of cases where a new growth started against the side of a pot or SH container and it usually grows but it will rarely flower and often the plant will seem to start a new growth sooner and just move past it. If you tried to use wire or some other training method you might be able to make some difference but how much and would it effect the plant, i dont know

[Ray]

Every plant has a natural growth habit. Some grow laterally, some vertically, others in clumps, and others spread far apart. There are some paphs and phrags, for example, that do better if grown in shallow trays, rather than deep pots.

Trying to overcome it is folly, but something we all do because we like a plant, but get aggravated by its growth habits.

Alan Koch (Gold Country) was a proponent of using that information as part of your selection process when potting or mounting.

[Louis_W]

I partially agree with the others. You cant stop a plant from growing how it has evolved to grow. You can however use an understaning of the plants evolution to manipulate its behavior.

Orchids like a lot of epiphytic plants can be thought of as vines in theor behavior. If they dont get enough light they become "leggy." Whats really going on is rhizomes of the new growths elongate in hope of traveling into a brighter position. If they grow into a sunnier area the new rhizomes will shorten and the plant try to "stay put". Different orchids do this to different degrees.

Perhaps this is a controversial viewpoint but it is one reason I believe in growing plants as bright as they can handle. I want them in that "stay put" mode. They are more compact and the rhizomes are shorter which keeps them in the pot longer.

I know this doesnt answer the U turn question but i hope it helps a little bit.

[PuiPuiMolcar]

I agree all but one thing I am very curious... when it come to this topic regarding to "forcing" the plant the way you want to grow them vs abiding to what the plant do naturally. Then in that respect, would something like that be frown upon in orchid show/judging? I've seen many time in show where the plant sit perfectly in pot as if it nested itself there perfectly around the pot despite its standard growth habit. Do judges grade an orchid by its best form in term of natural-ness? or mostly by their presentation as is disregarding to prior manipulation?