Beginner Cymbidium - when to repot?

[silken]

Well, maybe it is OK. Just monitor and don't keep it soggy wet. I use nursery pots too but they have holes at the sides right at the bottom. My pots are the same width top to bottom and the pseudo bulbs don't have that much room from the edge of the pot at the top. But if you were advised to pot it like this by others, I am sure it will be fine. I just have three of them so am no expert for sure.

[james mickelso]

Though cyms don't like to be "wet", they do like to be a little more than damp. They are semi terrestrial in nature. The pot size is fine for a cym but watch your watering. Just damp is fine.

[ajeatoo]

Well I haven't watered since last week, I think it was Friday. I watered with seaweed fertilizer. The bark was fine then. This stuff is a powdery green.

When I repotted I was looking for nursery pots but couldn't fine them at the time, of course I have seen them since! Figures lol.

I guess I'll just keep an eye on it, maybe I'll try to "turn over" the bark medium so the top drier layer gets mixed down.

[Cym Ladye]

WOW! Ask a question of 10 different people and get 15 different answers. Some of the info you got is good, some is so/so and some is just plain wrong. Congratulations on wading through!

Since you have already repotted your plant, leave it alone! I suspect the green stuff you see may be paint on the bark from the harvested trees. If it doesn't "grow", that is probably the cause and not a problem.

Do not stir your bark around. It will settle and be just fine. More important is to find a spot with morning sun and afternoon shade. Leave the plant out (if you can avoid the critters) as long as the temps are above 32F. Fertilize regularly weekly/weakly with either a balanced fertilizer to keep it simple, or get some slow release pellets which can be applied every 4-6 months and release as you water when the temps are over 65F.

If you would like a copy of an article published in the Cymbidium Society of America (CSA) journal a few years ago on Repotting Cymbidiums, send a request to goldcoastcymgrowers@gmail.com and I will see you are sent one. They also have a very good care sheet for Cyms. published by the CSA.

The main advice I have is stop fretting about your plant and relax. Cyms thrive on "studied neglect" and do not like to be babied.

Cym Ladye

[ajeatoo]

Thanks for your reply Cym Ladye! I will definitely send that email! I have my cym outside where it gets the sun from sunrise to about midday (12-1pm). Then is in the shade for the remainder of the day.

As for the green stuff it definitely isn't paint, it is a powdery mold of some type, it wasn't there when I potted it and now allot of the bark has either this green stuff or white. What concerns me is the roots, the top ones in any case, seem mushy and brown. Like they are rotting. I don't know what the rest are like, these roots are just below the surface and the bark around them is barely moist.

One thing I keep forgetting to ask is about rain, I am thinking I should pull it in under cover if it rains to keep it more dry?


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[Pilot]

What a fascinating post. Thanks all for contributing. As I write this in my highland desert, my large cyms are outside on my deck swaying in the wind . I love this time of year!

I cannot add much to this discussion save to say I grow all of my cyms in sh culture and they seem to love it. They've not grown through a full growth cycle yet but I'm seeing loads of new p bulbs and root growth is nuts. The trick for me is keeping these plants happy and initiate spikes. My winters are far too cold to overwinter outside but with only two large cyms, they may get a special spot in the sun room that gets sun but stays cold (not freezing) during the winter.


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[Cym Ladye]

If the "green stuff" is growing, I suspect it may be mold. After reading the Repotting Procedures I sent you, it may be you will have to purchase new mix.

If you did not remove all the old roots from the leafless BBs, these may be the roots which you see dying. It is really hard to diagnose without photos.

Soaking the plant in its existing pot and mix with Physan 20 may be an option, but I think it is more a bacteriacide than a fungicide. I personally have had no occasion in recent years to use Physan. Others on this Forum may be able to chime in on a good fungicide or try the search link on the Forum menu. I know we have had several questions on the topic.

CL

[ajeatoo]

Hi I'm just getting back to this, will try to post some better pics today. I have left the cym alone since I last posted and just checked it today. It seems slightly worse in that some of the bulbs seem shrivelled for lack of a better word. The green stuff is still there. And as I was watering my Phals I noticed one of them has some of this green stuff too. I had repotted 3 of my Phals from the medium they came in from the store into a bark mix. Up until now I've used a sphagnum bark mix from repotme.com that I have really liked and my Phals have done very well in it. But the shipping was so expensive i thought I'd give a local bark mix a try. I am finding I don't like bark mix, it dries out in a few days and I'm constantly watering the Phals it seems like. Anyhow... One of the Phals has a small amount of the green stuff growing on the bark just like the cym has, this bark mix came from the same place. So I'm thinking this mix was not sterile.

SO, do you think I should purchase some mix and repot the cym? Since I live in Canada I can't get allot of the fungicides that are available in the US. I'd have to order the physan in any case so I may as well order new proper mix.


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[ajeatoo]

Here are pics from today. I went ahead and ordered so e cym potting medium and a new pot too which is slightly smaller since I now know you can cut some roots if need be to make room for the root ball, hopefully will arrive in a week.

[WhiteRabbit]

Good job