When to repot (general advice)?

[JungleWriter]

Are there some simple general criteria of when to repot an orchid? My Doritaenopsis has been in the same pot three years, and seems quite happy, so "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," right? But I also bought a few weeks ago a Miltassia and Oncidium Beallara which are both practically crawling out of their pots. The vendor said that they liked to be pot bound so not to bother. But on one of them, the pseudobulbs are wrinkled. So I was wondering if it needed repotting, or what other advice people might have.

[Kelo]

The PB's could be wrinkled due to lack of water. Can you post any pics of your plants? If plants haven't been re-potted in three years then I would suggest that they are ready to get new medium because at around three years the medium will begin to break down and go sour and stale. If they are exploding out of their pots I would be re-potting them but that's just how I would do it.

[camille1585]

Wrinkled bulbs is not uncommon on the older bulbs, since the new ones are sucking energy off of them. If it's the new ones that are wrinkled, they may need more water. Sometimes though if a bulb has had deep wrinkles in the past, even with correct watering it may never entirely plump back up.

Your Phal really should be repotted. 2 years is the generally guideline for bark mixes (and 1 year for sphag), because after that the medium starts to hold too much water as it further decays. Better to repot before you get obvious problems.

For the Onc types, I personally think there's a difference between pot bound (snug) and busting out of the pot. If they have a solid mass of roots when you pull them out of the pots, going up a pot size will give them some growing room. Any pics of them?

[tucker85]

The most important reason to repot is if the medium is breaking down. Decaying medium creates a poor environment in the root zone. It promotes bacteria that use up much of the nitrogen in the fertilizer and it prevents air from getting to the roots. If you're growing in a non-organic medium like hydroton it won't break down and the orchid can theoretically stay in it indefinitely. Phals don't mind being repotted and they don't tolerate a buildup of fertilizer salts in the medium. For those reasons many growers repot them once a year or every two years like Camille said. With cattleyas and oncidiums if the medium is OK then room is the consideration. Both these can grow out over the side of the pot, which won't hurt them and many people like that look, but if you like a more formal look then repot them when they are starting to grow new roots, usually in the spring. Be careful with bifolate cattleyas. They hate to be repotted and will often skip one blooming season. Generally if an orchid is doing well and the medium is not breaking down I don't repot (except phals which I repot every year). Good luck.

[JungleWriter]

Good advice, everyone, thank you! Here are pics of my plants. How about the wrinkly pseudobulbs?

[orchidsamore]

The advice you have been given is good, but I wonder why you did not want to believe the advice from the vendor.

It seems if you do not trust the vendor you should not be buying plants from them.

An orchid nursery will see or own thousands of Oncidium Intergenerics so why not trust their experience rather than hobbyist on this forum, who try to give good advice but from a limited experience base.

If you were just looking for a confirmation of the advice I understand, but sometimes second hand advice will be misleading.

[JungleWriter]

I trust the vendor, but sometimes judgement can be subjective; whether or not a plant is pot-bound for example. So, yes, I was looking for a broader opinion.

[Cym Ladye]

Originally Posted by orchidsamore

The advice you have been given is good, but I wonder why you did not want to believe the advice from the vendor......

If you were just looking for a confirmation of the advice I understand, but sometimes second hand advice will be misleading.

Jerry,

There was a time when one could trust a "vendor" of orchids at shows and assume they were the grower/hybridizers and knew of what they spoke. Sadly in today's mass marketing of orchids, we are getting many sellers who are merely buying plants and then reselling them and know very little about the specific genera they are selling. They will buy anything in bloom they think the public will buy at that particular show.

The bottom line is to know from whom you are buying and are they legitimate orchid nurseries with a serious knowledge of and experience with the plants they sell. Those recommendations I would follow but the other resellers probably have less knowledge than the most novice members of this OB.

Cym Ladye