Is Laelia purpurata a roots or shoots first? - Orchid Board

MN Tomato · #1 03-16-2025, 11:18 AM

My seedlings (when do you stop calling them seedlings?) are getting tippy in their pots, and starting new shoots but I don’t see roots starting yet. I don’t remember how it went last spring and it’s not in the big purpurata article or the roots/bloom-first chart.

We have very dry winters here with the central heating and I’m thinking of just doing the small pot nested in the larger pot thing since they are in clay pots. Maybe just knock the bottom of the little pot out so the roots don’t really have any disturbance anyway.

estación seca · #2 03-16-2025, 11:54 AM

You brought up several concepts.

Cattleya alliance seedlings don't do well with root disturbance. It's almost always best to drop them into the new pot and backfill, unless you can get the old root ball out intact. What medium are they in? You might be able to get them out of the old pot if you soak it in water for an hour.

Cattleya / Laelia purpurata makes roots somewhat after the new shoot forms, but before it's mature. It won't be long.

Cattleya alliance seedlings should stay moist. They are set back if they get dry even once. In low humidity I wouldn't use a clay pot. They dry out much faster than other pots, especially when small.

rbarata · #3 Yesterday, 11:59 AM

Maybe this will help somewhat.

MN Tomato · #4 Yesterday, 12:10 PM

Thank you, estación seca! When I repotted them from their 2" Hauserman pots into the clay, I just slid them out and filled in around them in the new pot without doing anything with the roots, and that is what I plan to do again. I don't remember if I put them in these pots in spring 2023 or 2024, but I remember I did do it when the roots were starting to show. I have started a page for the orchids now in my garden journal so I can keep better track.

I am glad you posted about treating the seedlings differently. I don't know why the standard advice is always "don't keep them too wet!" because this is very confusing to new people who are starting with small plants like I did, or growing in a centrally heated house and not a greenhouse or someplace muggy like Florida. I have the "How dry is too dry" thread bookmarked and several similar posts with advice from you and Kim and Roberta and Stephen which helped me very much. I probably would not have ventured into cattleyas if it were not for reading lots of advice first on Orchidboard.

In the beginning I wondered if I was keeping them too dry or too wet, but they seem to be making relatively steady progress since I bought them as 2" pots in October 22. Maybe not quite as fast as an expert. I have been buying only "starter" seedlings from Hausermann to practice on. I know it is more difficult but if I lose them (I have only lost one so far since 2022, a Blc Maikai) it is not such a financial loss. It is probably about time that these two, and the Lc Gold Digger I also got in fall 2022, start to think about blooming though. If you have any advice about that let me know! The Gold Digger made some sheaths this winter but has since dropped them.

I decided to put them in clay because in the summer they went outside, and the weight is helpful to keep them from getting tumbled around on the deck during storms. Also the clay actually helps me manage the moisture a little better because I can feel the pot to see if it is cool or maybe even still little damp. They are in half small reptile bark and half coco chunks, and in the winter they are in ceramic cachepots, which keeps them drying too quickly.

And thank you Roberta! Yes I have that list bookmarked too and I vaguely remembered a version with some paellas on it but couldn't find it.

I am trying to remember how to post a photo but I did upload a picture to my gallery.