Yikes! I made a potting mistake! help!

[brighteyez]

I recently repotted 3 seedlings, a paph and two dens. I thought I knew what I was doing, but after talking to you guys about it, I realized I made a big mistake! I didn't wet or soak the potting mix before repotting. Will that make a big difference?? I've been watering them everyday since I repotted them because they are really dry every morning. Also, I'm worried because the plants seem to be a little lose if you know what I mean. They sway a bit when I move them, and they feel like if I pulled on them at all they would come right out.

What should I do?? As of right now, they look ok besides being lose in their pots. Should I repot them, or leave them be for now? I don't want to hurt them by constantly messing with them? Is this a really big mistake, or do you think my plants will be ok??

Please help i'm really worried!

[Swamper]

BUMP...since I really don't know but I'm pretty sure you don't want them moving around.

[priz_m]

I have no idea, I would stop watering every day and just unpot, and repot in media that has been previously soaked, and adopt a new (less frequent) watering schedule according to their needs.

hope this helps

[cb977]

Hi Whitley

Keep in mind that new medium will always be drier than older stuff...so potting without soaking first just kicks that up a notch.

I would use pot clips to stabilize the plants...they'll adjust and the pot clips will keep them from moving around.

[JennS]

I agree. It's not the end of the world that you didn't soak the medium, but it will take a bit longer to start holding water then it would have if you did soak. If you can get the rhizome clips them do that and it should help. You can repot if you want, but it isn't really necessary. Just keep a close eye on them. You could try putting a chopstick (the wooden kind that you get sent home with when you get sushi to go) in the pots to see how quickly they are drying out so you don't overwater. The top of the medium will always dry quicker then the parts contained in the pot. Good luck!

[Becca]

Whitley, where did you purchase your potting medium from? The company I buy most of mine from advertises that the medium doesn't need to be presoaked, just rinsed once since they presoak and rinse there potting mixtures when they are making them. Even in the bag....it always appears to be moist, but not wet. This may not be your situation, but that is the reason for me asking.

[blackorchid]

When you do repotting, you will probably damage some of the roots and when you water everyday, the roots stay wet and the wounds don't have a chance to heal. That will easily lead to root rot if kept too wet so I suggest to water less often for the Dendro. Plus, dendro needs to dry out in between watering anyway so there's no need to keep the plant wet all the time.
Paph roots is a little more durable so hopefully you didn't break any. Paph does need more water than Dendrobium so instead of watering them often, placed them in a warm, moist and low light place. I think that's better for your plant.
About presoaking medium, if it's bark, it's better if you soak them, if it's charcoal, perlite, coir, sphagnum, peat, chopped treefern or the like, rinsing and wetting it is good enough. For coconut husk, clay pellet, it's a must to soak over night with plain water and soak them again with Magnesium and Calcium salt to get rid of the salt within the medium. go to First Ray orchids and read about the procedure of soaking the medium.
Being loose in the pot is not a good thing at all. So stop moving your plant around and keep them stable by any mean, including using the chopstick. Do not unpot them often to check the root because you will also risk damage the good root tips. If you must do it because you suspect that something is wrong then do it gingerly.

[unhappykat]

What size pot did you use for repotting, paphs really hate too be over potted and really dislike swaying in their pots, when you potted it it should have been stable in the pot because swaying damamages root tips and prevents proper recovery of plants. If your media is really chunky and not holding moisture for more than a day you may want to unpot and use something more water retentive, because an orchid looks dry at the top doesnt mean its so below the surface, if you can use the chopstick to gauge water levels or you may rot away all the roots and kill the plants.

[blackorchid]

Or using clear plastic pot to watch the moisture inside?

[philoserenus]

i agree with the people here. i would just leave it alone. the new stuff with always dry off quicker than the old stuff b/c itz new. and the other think i would take note of is the pot size--big pots for a tiny plant is very bad. always underpot than to overpot if you're not sure