Repot cattleya now or wait - Orchid Board

ttn · #1 12-25-2010, 11:30 AM

I just received 5 inch cattleya with 3 spikes (total 4 buds ready to bloom soon). There are big bunch of root growing outside the pot. Should i repot it now or wait until it finish blooming? Thank you very much for your help.
Tinh

CTB · #2 12-25-2010, 11:41 AM

Wait, unless it's looking bad. Catts. like to have roots outside the pot. Welcome to the Orchid Board, hope you'll make lots of posts.

tucker85 · #3 12-25-2010, 11:47 AM

I would wait until it finishes blooming for two reasons. First, I buy orchids for the flowers so I want to take every opportunity to enjoy some nice blooms. Second, Cattleyas love to grow outside the pot. They often grow better hanging out over the pot with lots of aerial roots than they do confined inside it. I would only repot if the potting medium is so deteriorated that you worry about root rot.

ttn · #4 12-25-2010, 08:46 PM

Thank you for your help. The media still looks ok. I worry the 40 -50% in the house can keep the air root form dying and put the root inside the pot may improve it. I will wait until it finish the blooming. Another question is why some cattleya have very fat roots and others have very skinny roots.

tucker85 · #5 12-26-2010, 09:58 AM

From my experience and what I've read, Cattleyas can tolerate lower humidity for a while than some other orchids. I think that's especially true during the winter months. I let my catts get very dry between waterings and I soak them really well when I do water. As for the size of the roots, it's hard to say. The roots will get bigger as the plant gets bigger. Some varieties may naturally have thicker roots than others. Also nutrition may play a role. I started using liquid seaweed as a supplement and the roots on my orchids grew noticably thicker. Good luck.

Orchid126 · #6 12-26-2010, 12:26 PM

You might consider misting the roots once in a while.