Most useful pot sizes? - Orchid Board

PaxTea · #1 03-27-2013, 03:50 PM

I'm gearing up to do an order from repotme, because I haven't had much luck finding a local source for clear pots with good drainage. I went to rays first, but I'm not keen on the aircone pots because they look more frosted than clear.

The shipping for repotme is almost $10, so I am thinking that I should probably get extra pots, so that I don't find myself doing a second order any time soon.

I'll be getting a 2.75, 3, and 3.25 as options for the mini-phal.

I'll also be getting a 5.5 and a 6 as options for the new yellow phal.

Beyond that, what sizes am I likely to get heavy use out of? I think it's safe to assume that I will eventually own more than three orchids, although I am going to try to slow down and make myself wait until these three have lost their blooms...

SlipperGirl · #2 03-27-2013, 04:23 PM

$10 lucky its always $15 and up for me.

Bud · #3 03-27-2013, 04:40 PM

Its best to order pots if you need to really repot....sometimes the pot the plant came with is ok....and the plant needs to acclimatize to your environment first then decide to disturb the roots(because no matter what kind of orchid it is: the roots gets disturbed when you repot)
except with my Phals....I need to check out the roots as soon as it arrives but I use the same pot it came with....
I dont even bother to repot if it came from my regular reputable growers

Gail · #4 03-27-2013, 04:43 PM

I was thinking the same thing. Was looking at Kelly's Korner site, but will have to look into repotme. Thanks for asking what I was wondering.

PaxTea · #5 03-27-2013, 04:49 PM

Good to know!

In this case, the mini is a "just add ice" orchid and it's in a little plastic bag. It actually looks fine, but I can't leave it there forever. The bag is in a cache pot with no holes in it, and it can't stand up on its own.

The new yellow phal came from home depot and it has three spikes with a lot of buds that I don't want to disturb, but it's in an opaque plastic pot and it almost looks like it might be in soil. Whatever it is seems to be very fine and dark. Soil, or very old bark or moss...

Edit to add: Ah, I see what you mean. I don't necessarily need to stock up on pots, because not every new orchid is going to want a new pot.

Gail · #6 03-27-2013, 04:52 PM

Bud,
Does it make sense to unpot new phals, pull off and separate some of the medium (moss) until the new pots arrive? Mine is in a standard green pot (no slits) and I can't see the roots. I would like to use clear ones.

Thanks,

Bud · #7 03-27-2013, 05:07 PM

Gail, as I said: I like to check out the roots on my Phal as soon as it arrives home, even if it is in bloom.
Some of these plants have a center moss ball under the roots....this can cause root rot since the water will not dry evenly.
put it back with the moss loosely around the roots until the new pot and mix arrive.
yes, I too like to have clear pots with slits so I can monitor the root growth.

---------- Post added at 04:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:00 PM ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaxTea

Good to know!

In this case, the mini is a "just add ice" orchid and it's in a little plastic bag. It actually looks fine, but I can't leave it there forever. The bag is in a cache pot with no holes in it, and it can't stand up on its own.

The new yellow phal came from home depot and it has three spikes with a lot of buds that I don't want to disturb, but it's in an opaque plastic pot and it almost looks like it might be in soil. Whatever it is seems to be very fine and dark. Soil, or very old bark or moss...

Edit to add: Ah, I see what you mean. I don't necessarily need to stock up on pots, because not every new orchid is going to want a new pot.

Your description of the plant situation really calls for a repot.
seems that the soil-like fine dark mix is decayed media....
'just add ice' orchids come with good mix and all you need is to remove the inner plastic pot from the cache pot to water, then let it drain and put it back inside....but you must have inherited one with a decaying midia mix

PaxTea · #8 03-27-2013, 05:45 PM

Yeah, the little guy (the Just Add Ice orchid) seems to be in pretty good media, and the roots look happy from what I can see.

The yellow phal with the scary soil-like mixture is not a Just Add Ice orchid. It's just whatever Home Depot is selling. I could repot it immediately because I do have some fresh sphagnum moss, but I was planning on waiting until I had a clear pot for it.

I could also be wrong about the home depot orchid. It has moss on top that looks okay. I just found the soil looking stuff when I stuck my fingers in to check the moisture level after I got it home.

Gail · #9 03-27-2013, 06:01 PM

Thanks, Bud. I'm off to take care of it.

tucker85 · #10 03-27-2013, 06:56 PM

I use clear plastic pots for phals and paphs. The sizes that I use the most are 3", 4" and 5". I like to use the smallest pot that the roots will comfortably fit in. My 3" ad 4" pots have solid clear plastic sides but for 5" pots I use the ones with slots in the sides. 6" is a pretty big pot. I've never needed one that large so far.