When to repot various orchids?

[ChatteringCat]

I have a few orchids that likely need to be repotted, but I have been hesitant to do so for various reasons.

1) The white and purple IKEA phal: This one was purchased in bloom, as many are. Last September, I believe. I figured I would wait until the blooms fell off, and then repot. I am still waiting. The original blooms started wilting around mid november, but the same spikes started extending further from the ends, with new buds. It actually looks quite odd now, since the orignal blooms are gone, leaving bare spike, but the spikes extend further now with many blooms pointing every which way. No sign of them wilting yet, and a NEW spike was sent up and it is already at least 8 inches long. I am afraid it will bloom again before the current flowers drop. It's new leaf is also a good inch and a half longer than any previous leaf. I suspect this phal likes it here. Why it needs repotting: The roots are pretty crowded. Over 50% of the clear pot inside is covered in roots (also with new growth) and roots are growing through the bottom holes and sending up aerial roots reaching away from the pot. Also I got it from IKEA. Who knows what is in there. I am mostly hesitating because it seems pretty happy. When is the right time to repot this? Is it safe to wait until there are no flowers? Will there ever be no flowers?

2) Dendrobium Nobile (also IKEA): This one is planted in some kind of coconut husk or moss maybe? I have no idea, which is why I want to repot. It holds its moisture VERY well. It is sending up its third cane currently, and other than accordion leaves at the top of the second cane (I really thought winter rest was a thing... I guess not?), it seems healthy. There are little nubs on the second cane, but I am not sure what they are... flowers or kekis? It is also sending up aerial roots which are growing fast. Why it needs repotting: I don't know what is in there. Also, I have no idea what the medium is. Do I try to find a similar media to pot it in, or do I use straight bark like my local orchid nursery does? It also seems happy right now, but I don't know what aerial roots mean in this case.

3) Two different cattleyas (unknown hybrid and Hawaiian Splash) from local nursery: These are both having alot of new root growth over the side of the pot. The unknown hybrid (seriously, the language barrier at the local nursery is annoying, I need to learn better German) also has what might be a new bulb hanging out over the edge of the pot. I am hesitant because these both have a "healthy" green moss growing on the top of the media. Is this there for a reason? I assume the cute little clovers are not something I want to keep, but what about the moss? Questions: What type of media should I pot these in? Straight bark, a Seramis / bark mix, or something else? Do I save the pretty moss?

4) Oncidium Sharry Baby (from local nursery): Quite honestly, I forgot I hadn't repotted. It sent out two new bulbs close to the pot edge that are about half grown. I am not sure it needs repotting, other than the fact I don't know what is in there. It is potted in a large bark mix, and seems happy. The pot isn't clear though, so I don't really know about the roots. It has sent up some aerial roots.

5) Vanda (random hybrid): This one is in a terracotta pot with holes all over the pot, and large bark pieces. There are actually two in there, a big one, and a little one (with a plastic pot in there someplace. I was SURE I would kill this one, so I wasn't overly worried about when this would need repotting. I am pretty sure it doesn't now. This one did not in fact die, but it had a quite interesting adjustment period. The nursery told me I only had to water it once a week since it was in a pot. I quickly realized that was incorrect, and I managed to water it more often (a good long soaking of 15 minutes or so every second or third day), but not before large sections of the roots outside of the pot went crunchy. I have no idea what the roots in the pot look like. I trimmed off the crunchy bits recently, and within a week, there were new roots coming off the previously damaged ones. The next week, a new aerial root made its way through the stem about an inch above the bark (and the lower two leaves), and a flower spike went up. The spike is now about 4 inches long, and another root is coming up out of the stem about a quarter inch higher than the other new one, but on the other side of the plant. Questions: Again, I am pretty sure I don't need to mess with this one, but what do the new roots mean for the plant? Does it mean anything for the leaves below the roots? The pot also smells kinda like algae... is that bad? I think there is algae on a visible root also.



So, that was alot. I haven't actually had any major orchid disasters yet, so I may be a bit timid waiting for the first one to hit. Advice is really, REALLY welcome. I am generally trying to go with messing with my orchids as little as possible so I don't kill them with too much love. Almost everything I have repotted (a phal and several oncidiums) are in the Seramis/bark mix since that is easy to find locally. Everything so far seems pretty happy in it.

[Ray]

The best time to repot ANY orchid is right when brand new roots are emerging from the base of the plant. When, exactly, that may happen, is dependent up the type of plant.

However, if the potting medium is in such bad shape that it threatens to suffocate and kill the existing roots, "now" is the best time.

Understand that when you move a plant from one medium into another - even if that's a fresh version of the current one - the roots that grew in the old medium will not be optimized for functioning in the new one, so will need to be real end by the plant. If you repot when the plant is growing new roots, they will be optimal, and will support the plant.

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by ChatteringCat

I have a few orchids that likely need to be repotted, but I have been hesitant to do so for various reasons....

Before going into details, they all sound pretty happy, so I don't think you should be in any rush to repot. Also what Ray wrote about repotting when in growth is important. And I'd add that I prefer to repot when it's warm for warmer-growing orchids, and it's not yet springtime for Germany.

Originally Posted by ChatteringCat

1) The white and purple IKEA phal:....

I would leave it alone, because it is doing so well, and especially because you can see big healthy roots. I am probably of the minority opinion. Crowded big fat roots and big fat roots growing out of the pot are not problems.

Originally Posted by ChatteringCat

...Is it safe to wait until there are no flowers? Will there ever be no flowers?...

Yes. Maybe not.

Originally Posted by ChatteringCat

2) Dendrobium Nobile...accordion leaves at the top of the second cane (I really thought winter rest was a thing... I guess not?)...

Are you sure it's a D. nobile hybrid? Accordion leaves are not common on Dens and it sounds like yours is growing well in any event. The bumps might be buds; this is the right season for nobile buds. Most nobile hybrid leaves are thin and bend easily. D. phalaenopsis hybrids have thick leaves that break, not bend, and their spikes come from the stem apex or axils of the top few leaves. Winter rest for nobiles means temperature drop (cold nights) and no fertilizer. Den phals don't need a winter rest.

Most people grow both in bark. Seramis is fine too.

Originally Posted by ChatteringCat

3) Two different cattleyas (unknown hybrid and Hawaiian Splash) from local nursery: These are both having alot of new root growth over the side of the pot. The unknown hybrid (seriously, the language barrier at the local nursery is annoying, I need to learn better German) also has what might be a new bulb hanging out over the edge of the pot. I am hesitant because these both have a "healthy" green moss growing on the top of the media. Is this there for a reason? I assume the cute little clovers are not something I want to keep, but what about the moss? Questions: What type of media should I pot these in? Straight bark, a Seramis / bark mix, or something else? Do I save the pretty moss

German isn't that hard for an English speaker. English is just a form of German with degenerate grammar and a lot of French words.

The moss is there because they grew in high humidity. It's neither good nor bad. The moss will live or die depending on your relative humidity. The clovers are noxious weeds with exploding seed capsules that can fling the 100% viable seeds 10 feet / 3 meters. People use bark or Seramis for Cattleyas with great results. The most important things with these are bright light and letting them go dry between waterings. If it is already growing out of the pot, it is time to repot. Wait until there is plentiful new root growth. If that is now, go ahead.

Originally Posted by ChatteringCat

4) Oncidium Sharry Baby (from local nursery): ...It sent out two new bulbs close to the pot edge that are about half grown....

Repots when making new roots and when about to overgrow the pot. From reading here it seems Oncidiums are easy-to-grow house plants in most of Europe. People grow them successfully in all kinds of media. They don't like to be dry for very long, if at all.

Originally Posted by ChatteringCat

5) Vanda (random hybrid):

Leave it alone. Most roots normally grow out in the air. The pot and bark are just for convenience and are completely unnecessary for Vandas. As it gets bigger, you can attach hangers to the pot and dangle it in front of a window. The root branch and grow all the time. Remove the bark as it starts to break down. It is fine to have a Vanda in a pot full of nothingness. You figured out they need a lot of water, but they also need to go dry in between. Algae on the roots suggests they aren't drying out enough, but algae itself won't hurt the roots. As long as roots are swinging in the air, staying moist isn't a big threat to root health, but it invites fungus attack.

Water Vanda roots when they go dry. This is usually about once a day. Many people dunk them in buckets.

[ChatteringCat]

Thank you both for your replies. I really appreciate it. This board has a very nice community.

It really isn't quite spring yet here. Despite some warmer weather recently, my neighborhood got almost 6 inches of snow earlier this week.

The cattleyas will be repotted shortly (I have been pulling out the clovers, but they are growing back from roots, I think), and I will carefully consider the others. I may pull the bark out of the vanda just to see what is there, although I really don't want to mess with that one until the flowers are done. I still suspect I will kill it eventually.

For the dendrobium, I did a google image search for a similar one, and this link looks like mine did.

http://tinyurl.com/hpv4jhs

I know alot of orchids can be fairly forgiving, but after what happened with my Nelly Isler, I really hate to test that too much. The extreme accordion leaves will serve as a reminder for a long time to come.

[cjm3fl]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Leave it alone. Most roots normally grow out in the air. The pot and bark are just for convenience and are completely unnecessary for Vandas. As it gets bigger, you can attach hangers to the pot and dangle it in front of a window. The root branch and grow all the time. Remove the bark as it starts to break down. It is fine to have a Vanda in a pot full of nothingness. You figured out they need a lot of water, but they also need to go dry in between. Algae on the roots suggests they aren't drying out enough, but algae itself won't hurt the roots. As long as roots are swinging in the air, staying moist isn't a big threat to root health, but it invites fungus attack.

Water Vanda roots when they go dry. This is usually about once a day. Many people dunk them in buckets.

Pretty much this

I have 2 Vanda, both I mounted in the branches of a potted tree.
After a few years of lack-luster growth, mostly just roots, I removed them from the tree and placed in baskets with no medium at all.

This was 4 months ago and the new growth is AMAZING, even during the winter (although I'm in central Florida)!

Bare-roots, water when dry (I let morning dew be my 1st watering and then I pull out the hose about mid-day), and a lot of sun. Vanda's love sun, but I do have shade for Florida's mid-day, summer, fireball-in-the-sky.

[Leafmite]

I have also grown Vandas in basket pots with red lava rock. It works to keep the humidity around the roots without suffocating them.

Phals and Vandas can be re-potted at any time. Cattleyas and Oncidiums do best if you can pot them with new growth. I sometimes pot them out of season but I need to be very careful not to damage the roots and to let them heal before watering.

German is a very easy language to learn. I went to Germany as an exchange student and though I took German in school, I quickly discovered that my teacher had not taught us anything except how to spell the most basic of words. I couldn't understand anything! My host parents knew about five English words and the hand gestures were a difficult way of communication so I had to learn it quickly. Most people that I encountered might have understood English but they didn't want to speak it. I read the newspaper, dictionary nearby, and carried a tablet to write down words I didn't know to look up later. If you are mostly only around those who speak English to you, it is much more difficult to learn the language so it is important to ask those around you to speak only German so that you able to learn it. If you make the effort, you should be speaking it rather quickly.

[bil]

Get some weedkiller and treat as many of those clover leafs as you can with an artist's paintbrush. They are a very invasive spreader.

[ChatteringCat]

The idea of the Vanda in a bark and hole-y terra cotta pot was attractive to me since I am often gone during large parts of the day, or even for a couple days, so frequent watering is a little difficult. And my orchids will remain indoor plants (critters and bugs, oh my!). I am willing to consider other options however.


German is fairly easy, I know. Most of my neighbors like to practice their English however. In casual situations, I do like to practice my German, which often results in laughter (the "ch" sound on "Ich" is difficult for me, still). When I am trying to get a harried clerk with absolutely no English to answer a question I am asking in poor German though, I take what I can get. I am looking into the immersion courses offered by a local Volkshochschule. That should get me on the right track.

[Leafmite]

Good luck with your classes. I am sure you will quickly be speaking it like a pro! I did have the advantage of hearing German when I was a small child which probably helped me later, when I had need to speak it.
The sound that was difficult for my children was 'z', such as in 'Zeitung.'

[malteseproverb]

For "1) The white and purple IKEA phal", I recommend potting it. I had the SAME thing happen with me and an IKEA miniphal: it was blooming from the same stem for an entire year. When that stem finally died, it was November and not a good time to repot (in my experience). Then a new spike emerged. It's in full bloom now, but as soon as I get new bark I'm repotting it despite the pretty flowers. It was fine for the first year in its sphagnum moss, but this winter many of the new roots it made in the summer withered up, probably from the broken down sphagnum mix being too wet. I regret not repotting it in a bark/sphagnum mix last spring. Don't make my mistake! It's healthy now, but it's also a good time to repot. You could wait til later in the spring, and you can probably use the same pot, I would just put in some better potting mix. Phals aren't that testy about being repotted anyway. I've repotted phals in full bloom and they don't skip a beat.