How tightly should an orchid fit in it's container?

[kyra wilson]

How do you know when to transplant? I have no idea how small a container should be, or rather, how tightly an orchid should fit in its pot.

I transplanted a new orchid and think it was a mistake. I have a feeling the container was too large for it. And now I'm having problems with the cattleya orchid.

I removed it and looked at the roots, only the ones at the top of the planting medium appeared healthy. They are white. The rest of the roots father down look dark and dead.

This is the same plant that has the leaves with wrinkles.

It seems I have no common sense with orchids.

[Paul Mc]

IMHO, it depends upon the orchid in question. But many orchids want to be pot pound as the medium tends to dry a bit faster in smaller pots. Again, I think it depends upon the orchid in question and I have no experience with Catts

[tucker85]

You often see well grown orchids in ridiculously small containers. Don't worry, common sense doesn't apply when it comes to orchids. They are so different than other plants. As you know orchids grow attached to trees where the roots are out in the fresh air. Many orchids are grown well on mounts with no pots but in a pot one of the main things is that the pot is small enough that it will dry quickly. The pot should have enough room for one or two new psuedobulbs. It should also be in chunky enough media that it dries quickly. When I think about getting air to the roots rather than retaining enough moisture my orchids always do better. Good luck.

[PaphMadMan]

The answer varies a lot depending on the type of orchid. With a Cattleya type I would choose a new pot that will allow room for 2 new growths out from each lead. Repot at least every other year regardless of wether it still fits the pot or not. Repot sooner if the next growth will go over the edge of the pot. The best time to repot is just as a new growth is putting out its first roots.

It sounds like your plant doesn't have enough healthy roots, which probably accounts for the wrinkled leaves. The plant will struggle until it gets a flush of roots with a new growth but it should survive. Don't repot it again unless the pot is much bigger than I described, just make sure it isn't wobbling in the pot. New roots can't really take hold if the plant isn't stable. Use a stake if it needs it. Probably all it really needs now is time and TLC.

[WhiteRabbit]

I don't usually pot up a size unless the plant is busting out of it's pot (new growth growing over the side, or new growth smushed up tightly against the pot), or if I am repotting to give the plant fresh media, and either roots and some media won't fit back into the same size, or there's not room for a year or two's new growth.
I'm always in favor of smaller pots as much as possible (and confess to being one of those who's orchids sometimes appear to be in ridiculously small pots - but that's usually after they have been in those pots a year or two).