I was in the middle of repotting a couple of small catt's and thought I would pose this question to all of you experts.... Some of my catt's have this brown papery skin covering the bulbs. I'm wondering if I should remove this when repotting the orchid. I had one person tell me he thought it should be removed and I was wondering what the general consensus was on this board? I've included a pic to hopefully explain what I am talking about.....
I would remove it too...sometimes too much moisture resides there. I've received a catt that had rot there that killed the plant 2 days after I got it! Needless to say I don't purchase from that person anymore...
I carefully peel mine off and then once the plant "sheds" it, then I don't feel like I have to "rip" it off and cause the plant (and me!) stress!
I never remove the skins as I have caused some damage in the past by prying them off. I think it's an esthetics issue, not a cultural issue. More bugs hide in the crevisses of the leaves than in these dead tissue areas. Just my opinion.
I don't take them off anymore either. All the ones I did peel off had nothing sinister lurking inside, but I grow indoors not outside or in a greenhouse. That might make a difference.