Should I repot my Laeliocattleya now or wait?

[ceropegia]

I just bought my first Laeliocattleya ("Pisgah Fantasy"...I think it will be all-white with deep violet tips on the petals and lip since another plant with that exact label looked that way) today for 30 percent off at a local greenhouse! It has a bloom spike with four fat buds on it, and it has a lot of healthy pseudobulbs as well.

My question is about repotting. The plant is potted in peat moss with perlite...your standard potting mix for most houseplants. I'm not sure why this is, since this greenhouse is pretty well reputed and had a lot of healthy plants...

I was thinking of repotting it in a mixture of fir bark and sphag, but I'm afriad to do it while it has a bloom spike and ready-to-bloom buds. However, the media is very thick and soggy, and I don't want the plant to get root rot either. So should I repot now, or do it later?

[johnblagg]

Yes if it is the same sort of mix you would find every common house plant in repot ...carefully but I would at least remove it from the pot and see if it was in bark and just plunked into a bigger pot with potting mix around the bark mix to go up a size to sell for more.
It never makes sense to me to let one die just to see the blooms before it does ..I will repot in a heart beat if I think the mix is crap ...because that is the best way to not only lose the buds but the entire plant.

[Izzie]

Absolutely positively get that orchid out of houseplant mix.

[trdyl]

I completely agree with John and Izzie.

[Lagoon]

I've grown catts in peatmoss & perlite for years without any issues. You say the plant is healthy looking and blooming to boot. I would say this catt has adapted quite well in this mix.
If you're not used to growing in this mix, then its just fear of the unknown.
I would not repot and risk the blooms since the orchid is healthy. Just becareful of the waterings (alittle goes along way) and keep it fanned, keep the lights nice & bright just the way catts like it.

[johnblagg]

Lagoon has a very good point and good advice ...but in my care that would be a disaster each of us has to find the medium that works best for us...what works for one person may end in disaster for another.

Have you much experiance with orchids ? Peat moss is going to hold water more I think and you need to watch how much you water for sure. Overwatering will kill it very quickly.

[orchidsamore]

Lets say as a commercial grower I re-pot every day of the year and many plants when they are in bud.

That said I would say to wait on yours. If I lose a flowering season from re-potting it is only a commercial expense. If you lose yours it hurts.

There is no reason to re-pot yet.

If it is soggy medium just do not water it again. Cattleya can easily go a month without water. Let it dry out hard. Read Dr. Motes book about growing orchids in Florida and you will see he recommends a hard drying for Cattleya to condition them for our rainy season.

I would say to enjoy the flowers indoors as the heat this year is killing flowers in only a few days. Orchids do not need sunlight for short (a month) periods.

By the way the Laelia in this orchid has been re-classified as a Cattleya so this plant is now plain Cattleya Pisgah Fantasy. You will have a very hard time finding a Laeliacattleya as very few still exist after the name re-classifications.