Very true! and i dont mind if it doesnt bloom! because then i have greater satisfaction when it does because i know that i did it and that my conditions and the plant match well! you are absolutely right! well i am awaiting the fun journey of growing this beauty!

Now question: the person i talked to in the greenhouse said that when they over grow the pot they just slip the whole plant pot and all into a larger pot with no medium or anything and let it scramble over the sides into the next pot! how does that work?

Lots of big blooming purpurata here in Florida. I recently sold one that would not fit in a 20 inch basket.

Lots of 6 inch pots available with 4-10 flowers. The season is ending for these to flower so flowering plants are becoming scarcer. They are early summer bloomers.

I really do not recommend putting these in a larger pot without removing the old medium.

Rot will become extreme in the old pot. Most Cattleya die in the middle of a pot if the medium is not removed and refreshed every two years or so.

Ok cool i will not do that then! thank you so much for answering my question!

If potted in granite chips - ? someone mentioned that - obviously granite wont rot or decompose.
Still - I haven't heard of potting the whole thing plant and pot into a larger pot - but if potted in granite chips you could remove plant with medium from the pot and place in a bigger pot and add media - tho I have not done this (will be trying it with some dens tho)

yah! ive actually done this before! with a really huge 16 growth Lc. Drumbeat Heritage i got from Odoms that i didnt wanna split cuz i wanted to make a specimen out of it because i love it so much! Imagine a drumbeat with all od those huge flowers! Have a plant like Mauro LOL, though i dont think i ever could! The original plant media was lava rock. so i just took ot out of the pot and slipped it into a bigger one with more lava. We will see how it goes. so far so great, it now has 4 bloom sheaths!

To clear up a few things and answer a few of your concerns.
I have been to Santa Barbara orchid estates, their nursury is huge, I talked to one of the workers in the nursery about the pot inside a pot and this it what he said and showed me.

Fist there is no media other than granit chips if it has any media at all.

Second he said it was easier and faster for them to place an overgrown Laelia into the next size pot, pot and all, this is to help contain the roots. They have a huge laelia collection and would be very time consuming to repot.

If you are ever in the Santa Barbara area you must visit them to see what I'm talking about.

Mike

yah def! i really will! and that makes perfect sense! when mine if it gets overgrown should i do the same? or just do it the old fashioned way and change to all new media?

Hooray! it just arrived! and the new growth is at the stage where the leaf just opened and where the P-bulb will be is still really thin and not expanded yet at all. soo even though you already told me that there probably wont be a sheath im still hoping! it could still be down there. i am hopeful! but i won't get my hopes up too much i promise! i will post pics i promise, of the plant