Why is repotting a new orchid such a pain - Orchid Board

nogreenthumbs · #1 07-11-2017, 12:31 AM

I bought a Miltassia Oncidium about a week ago. I could tell that it was in tightly packed sphagnum

, but I was hoping to wait a bit to repot because it's got an active inflorescence plus a new inflorescence that looks like it'll bloom in a bit. Besides, the nursery that grew him managed to keep him alive, so why can't I?

I haven't given it much water and have been waiting for it to dry out and watching a bamboo skewer for wetness.

Tonight, because I hadn't watered in for a few days, I decided to check the roots. I pulled it out of the container and the smell of mold hit me and it was spotted all around the outside of the root-ball with fuzzy green spots of mold like you might see on old bread. Darn it!

So I soaked the root ball in water for a bit. It wasn't as pot bound as my last new repot. I managed to get the sphag out. With this sort of thing, there's just no way around damaging roots, but I figured it was important to get the stuff into a new environment and not take any of the old sphag with me.

What kills me is that once you've gotten the old stuff out and untangled the roots, it's really a pain to stuff the roots into a new, slightly larger pot with media. What's the secret.

This is the old pot and the new pot. It does't look like it, but the black pot fits neatly right inside the new round pot, but getting the roots in AND media is horrible. How do you manage without cramming the roots in and without going up several inches of pot?

Roberta · #2 07-11-2017, 01:55 AM

Now that you see all those nice roots, be kind and give them a little more space - pot needs to be a bit larger. By disentangling from the broken down spag and using open media, you are letting them breathe.

bil · #3 07-11-2017, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nogreenthumbs

the nursery that grew him managed to keep him alive, so why can't I?

it's really a pain to stuff the roots into a new, slightly larger pot with media. What's the secret.

How do you manage without cramming the roots in and without going up several inches of pot?

1. The orchid would have died with them too. They only allow media etc to last to sale. That's why i ALWAYS repot as soon as I get them home, even if it does shorten bloom length.

2. Use a wide shallow pot.

3. Seriously. Small pots are for people who have no space and wish to stuff as many orchids in as possible. If you wish to do the best for the orchid, use a pot that is at least 8 inches in diam, and 4 inches deep AT THE VERY MOST. 3 inches would be better.

nogreenthumbs · #4 07-11-2017, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bil

3. Seriously. Small pots are for people who have no space and wish to stuff as many orchids in as possible. If you wish to do the best for the orchid, use a pot that is at least 8 inches in diam, and 4 inches deep AT THE VERY MOST. 3 inches would be better.

Over-square pots like that are hard to find.

bil · #5 07-11-2017, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nogreenthumbs

Over-square pots like that are hard to find.

Tell me about it.

Well, I use round pots, and I make my own from the top of a 25cm and the bottom of a 30cm and weld them together.

It's a fag, but how else do you get a wide shallow pot?

rbarata · #6 07-11-2017, 03:20 PM

You can do your own clay pots. They are good fot plants that like to keep their roots cool.

Dollythehun · #7 07-11-2017, 05:39 PM

I see, bil, that repotme.com has plant pans that are similar to a pie plate.

Mountaineer370 · #8 07-11-2017, 07:22 PM

Steve, I had a similar experience a few months ago in repotting an oncidium that turned out to be very tight and rootbound in the pot it came in. I went from I believe it was a 4 or 4 1/2-inch diameter pot to a 6-inch one, plus about that much more in depth, to give me enough room to be able to get the huge root ball entirely in the pot and still have room for media. It is indeed a painstaking process, and I don't have any tricks, but I would just feed a little at a time into and around the roots, tap the side of the pot and/or shake it gently with each addition, and eventually, the plant seemed settled and secure in it's new pot.

Experienced members here are always telling us that orchids teach us patience, and I'm sure that's not just in reference to waiting for them to grow and bloom.