Pots suitable for Catts.

[DirtyCoconuts]

I use 1.25-2” pieces at the bottom and .5-.75”pieces in my main mix

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Fran20

How large is the diameter of scoria pieces that you use at the bottom of the pot?

Hi Fran. For large mature catts, I just use scoria having minimum of roughly 10 mm diameter and up to say 15 mm. The bag of scoria I buy is really like a mixture. Some pieces could even be larger than 15 mm.

If you're happy that the scoria pieces will have a good chance of providing a satisfactory path for air to flow among and around the filled pot (of scoria), then that's the main aim. It's mainly for my smaller sized plants that I put in bigger pots - where I might put some large size scoria pieces to create a thick enough bottom layer - to prevent drainage holes getting blocked, and also to prevent having all small-sized (eg. 5 mm diameter) scoria in a relatively big pot ----- as I noticed that thick layers of relatively small diameter scoria rocks can result in a slurry mix ..... very watery --- that could just stay like that too long in the pot, and suffocate roots.

Usually - if there's no need to have different sized scoria for different layers, then that's great - and convenient. But sometimes - if you feel that something could help avoid some unwanted conditions, and it makes sense to change things up a little - then that's great, especially if it appears to be workable and effective.

DC appears to be doing something similar too sometimes, like having bigger sized pieces to create a bottom layer for assisting air-flow, or preventing a slurry condition in the pot.

[mkallen81]

Thanks so much to roberta and Southland for responding to me. I think i must have confused cymbidium with cattalaya, being so new to the hobby, i can't seem to keep all their names straight! I truly appreciate the detailed explanations. I am worried about my catt now as i really have no idea what I am doing. LOL i live on the mediteranean coast in france so it gets HOT here in the summer and pretty cool in the winter, but our apartment doesn't have good airflow in doors and the pot it came in is plastic with no holes in the sides, only the bottom for drainage. Hopefully it will all be ok until she is done blooming, then i will decide what to do for a new pot as I understand it is a good idea to repot all new orchids as they often have pests in their pots and dead roots. do you all think that is wise?

thanks! Melannie
thanks, Melannie

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by mkallen81

Hopefully it will all be ok until she is done blooming, then i will decide what to do for a new pot as I understand it is a good idea to repot all new orchids as they often have pests in their pots and dead roots. do you all think that is wise?

You can wait until it stops blooming. The ideal time to pot a Cattleya is when is is just beginning to make new roots. But for a plant in a not-wonderful container in old medium, you can go ahead... it is getting close to spring when new growth and roots are likely anyway. In the summer you can put it outside if can. The heat is not a problem if you can protect it from the hot mid-day direct sun, and it will appreciate the fresh air. During the colder months it will be fine inside with good light. If you have it in a pot and medium that provide good drainage and dry fast, the lack of air movement inside is less of a problem.

Melannie -
I just had a thought... are you certain that your plant is a Cattleya? Since you asked the question on this thread we have all been giving advice about Cattleyas. But you indicated some confusion on the ID. Can you post a photo of the plant? Then we will know whether we are giving the correct advice. (If the plant has a tag with its name, it is easier, but a photo could at least make sure that we were in the right place... a Cymbidium has very different needs than a Cattleya)

[Fran20]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

It's mainly for my smaller sized plants that I put in bigger pots - where I might put some large size scoria pieces to create a thick enough bottom layer - to prevent drainage holes getting blocked, and also to prevent having all small-sized (eg. 5 mm diameter) scoria in a relatively big pot -----.

It sounds to me like if one uses the proper variety of scoria sizes, then there is less need to worry about over potting a small plant. Is that accurate to assume?

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Fran20

It sounds to me like if one uses the proper variety of scoria sizes, then there is less need to worry about over potting a small plant. Is that accurate to assume?

Hi Fran! Absolutely right with your assumption. If we just so happen to not have a pot of the recommended size for the orchid, and filling a large pot with scoria of a relatively small size might create unwanted conditions (like accumulates too much water for long time, and cutting down air flow around some roots), then using scoria of other sizes (eg. bottom one-third to one-half of the pot being really big pieces, while the uppermost layer can be relatively small size pieces) is a way of overcoming the issue.

But - if we can have pot sizes matched to the orchid size (eg. diameter of pot and height of pot - eg. shallow/short pot), then using one-size (or similar size) scoria pieces is just fine (and convenient - since then our pot doesn't have a mix up of various sizes - which could become a consideration for re-useability of the scoria for future unpotting and repotting work.

[jldriessnack]

rePot me is a company that makes plastic pots with slats or narrow perforations in them, in many sizes. I use them for all my orchids, especially Catts, and they work very well in terms of drying out the medium quickly. Amazon sells them, I think ebay does too.

[groundpounder17]

Has anyone ever cut ~1-1.5” off the top of the larger Rand aircone pots and used those for Cattleya?

[Roberta]

I haven't but can't see any reason why it wouldn't work. Another approach... create your own "air cone" by inverting a small pot, or even better, a small plastic basket, in the center of the pot to create an air space in the middle of a large pot . However you approach it, the goal is to reduce or eliminate the soggy airless zone in the middle of a big pot. If you can find them, "bulb pans" are pots that are wider than they are tall, which also work well.