Roots: Trim or Re-Pot?

[Fedora]

I have a little dillema currently.

I took my phal out of it's pot to try to get it in the mulch a little deeper, but when I tried to pot it deeper I realized I couldn't. It has some really long, healthy roots, though it's not at all under-potted.
The plant itself doesn't seem big enough to move to a bigger pot, but I'd like to be able to get it potted at the right depth (so it's not tipped over...like it was before).

Is trimming the roots an option? I don't really like the idea of cuuting healthy roots, but I'm unsure of what else to do.
Also, it's better to do this once the plant is done blooming, yeah? The spike should be done in a week or so...

[WhiteRabbit]

You could try soaking the roots for a a while to make them more flexible - and/or, you can pot in a larger pot with a small over-turned pot inside to take up space ...

[Hedge]

A while back now someone posted a You tube link or such like to repotting Phals at a nursery. They took a Phal out of its pot and straightened out the roots, removed any dead ones and then cut all the rest off so that they were just long enough to fit into the pot again. It was quite brutal and more than a few of us winced!!!

What I'm trying to say is that it probably won't hurt in the long run. I have tried it on some of my more vigorous Phals and they seemed to have a rest for a while after before forming a new spike, but overall it won't hurt a healthy plant.

BTW some Phals will always grow over to one side - it's the way they grow in natural situations.

If you want to repot, after flowers finish is probably best, but spikes can survive this.

Happy growing

[Fedora]

Thank you both!

Well, my Phal is definitly a vigorous grower (after multiple, ameture-ish re-pottings) and quite healthy, so I think I'll try trimming the roots then.

I know I potted my Phal a little shallow ahwile ago, so the lean isn't only natural growth (though it has grown that way a bit since the last potting). Really there was about an inch or so that should have been beneath the mulch .

It's good to know that trimming the roots won't do too much damage!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

My suggestion would be to repot instead of trimming the roots. I think it's so much easier to repot.

I just feel that Phals are too much of a pain to grow to even risk causing it that kind of damage. Yes, they do go through a period where they stop growing in order to recover. Some may not, it depends on the individual, keep that in mind too.

Keep in mind that nurseries also deal with plants in bulk. If one or even 2% of the stock dies because it couldn't recover from the damage from trimming the roots, they're not crying so much. If your one plant croaks, you could be hurtin'.

Then there's the whole being mindful to sterilize the cutters between cuts. That's even more bothersome.

I'll also put it another way...

Do you really want to take an unnecessary risk?

Think about what the possibilities are for the action taken...

There are actually quite a few things that can happen from cutting roots, beyond just seeing the roots cut.

This is my .

But if you want to trim thems roots, it's up to you.

[stefpix]

Why would a Phal grow roots it does not need?
You can't bonsai it. Probably a Phal grows the roots it needs to grow healthy leaves and spikes.

Probably a new pot costs a dollar.
less than a new Phal.

[CTB]

I vote to repot

[johnblagg]

yes repotting sounds like the way to go ...I always go up a size if the roots demand it.

After all we are trying to keep the roots happy with the pot size not the leaves.

[Orchid126]

Does the plant have a long underground neck? Phals eventually develop this neck as it loses bottom leaves and roots. If it does, often this can be cut a bit shorter to get the plant deeper into the pot. Be sure to coat with cinnamon.

[Fedora]

Repotting does sound preferable, I probably will when I can get my hands on some clear plastic pots (which seem to not exist or something where I live, and no nurseries to buy any from, either D: ).