Beginner Cymbidium - when to repot?

[WhiteRabbit]

Cool!

I use the "jet" setting on my hose sprayer to help remove media

[ajeatoo]

Darn should have done that. I wasn't sure how delicate cymbidium roots are. I did get 99% of it removed though.


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[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by ajeatoo

Darn should have done that. I wasn't sure how delicate cymbidium roots are. I did get 99% of it removed though.


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I'm sure it's fine. As I said, Cyms aren't very fussy

It's hard to do too much damage to Cyms Besides using the jet setting, I whack the pot against a low brick wall, to help get the plant out of the pot; have been know to whack the root mass and media on the lawn; etc ...

Roots get damaged during repots, but usually it's not a problem for a healthy Cym. Following advice I got from a Cymbidium guru OB member - when repotting Cyms with huge root masses, I now cut off the bottom third of the mass - and it really does not slow the plants down at all - I think they like the abuse

[Optimist]

I love big thick roots! Well, maybe that sounds wrong, but give me an orchid with fabulous roots any day!

[Fairorchids]

If you harden the plant carefully (outdoors, but only a few hours of morning or evening sun) for 8-10 days, you can move it into full sun thereafter.

It should be watered every couple of days while in full sun. Also, Cymb are greedy plants, you should give moderatedose of fertilizer every 3rd watering.

For.best flowering, Cymb should have pale yellow/green leaves. The odd sunburned spot on leaves does not harm the plant.

I leave mine outside till first frost, whether it snows or not.

[ajeatoo]

Ha ha Optimist! I was surprised at how springy and strong the roots are!

Fairorchids, thanks for the info. I'm bringing it in at nights cause I think the low temps might be too much difference for what it is used to. But it's supposed to warm up Friday so might leave it out overnight starting then. Since it is in bark I think I may have to water frequently. I bought some liquid seaweed fert today so will alternate that with my regular fert every 3rd watering as you say. I have a feeling it will dry out quickly. Where I've been putting it it gets full sun starting 7am to 12-1pm. Has a nice breeze as well.


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[james mickelso]

Herein lies the problem by not repotting in a timely manner. The roots grow way beyond necessary. This should have been repotted two years ago when the roots could have been untangled and new media placed all around and within the roots. Now there will be empty pockets within the roots which will dry faster than the media. It's an age old problem we all face. Not to worry. Fill the voids as best you can before putting it into the pot and then fill all around the remainder. This is the very reason I repotted the cattleya I showed this weekend. To get folks thinking about repotting when it is appropriate so as not to do it too late when you may cause the plant some damage. Nice looking cym by the way.

[silken]

Your Cym looks very healthy. I have 3 that I put outside last week and our temps have gone to 7 or 8Celcius a couple nights. No harm to the plant. I don't like it to get too cool in spring or it might get confused and try to start blooming right now. But I put them in those cheap wrought iron plant stands. They have 3 legs and are just for 1 pot. I've seen them at Walmart or HD etc. This way they are a foot or more off the ground and I usually don't have any bug problems. We don't get too many slugs on the prairies tho. I set mine against the wall of the garage facing south. So they get a lot more than morning sun. Just introduce slowly as someone mentioned. Mine do get some shade as there are some trees that block the sun for part of the day. But they get a fair bit of late afternoon sun also. They seem very hardy and I leave them out till just before it freezes. Then I keep them in the greenhouse for the winter which is heated to 65F in the day and 55F at night. They have bloomed faithfully for a few years now. By late summer one of them had spikes already the last 2 years.

[ajeatoo]

I am a little concerned there are air pockets in the roots. I wasn't sure just how to get the medium in all the way but I did keep putting the finer medium on top of the crown and pushing it down through with my fingers and I also gave the pot a good shake and shimmy which settled quite a bit of the medium so hopefully the voids aren't too large.

I like the idea of a plant stand silken, I'll check out Walmart for a cheap one. At the moment it is sitting on top of the hot tub cover which isn't the best and I don't like that ants and whatever's can gain easy access.

I found a pic of what it's blooms look like, hopefully I'm successful in getting it to bloom again for this winter!


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[silken]

It's very nice. If it gets lots of sum and a good chill in fall, it will likely bloom. I think they need decent light in winter too.