What sort of pots do you use?

[dounoharm]

i think catts prefer clay, and for the larger plants in my collection i try to find the old clay slotted orchid pots...

[peeweelovesbooks]

I have everything in plastic.Could never get used to the clay pots. All mine are healthy.

[Lady Tottington]

Alrighty, so good to know they can live in clay or plastic, depending on how I water. Thanks everyone!

[Ray]

Originally Posted by Lady Tottington

Alrighty, so good to know they can live in clay or plastic, depending on how I water. Thanks everyone!

Exactly!

The choice of pot should be combined with the choice of medium, your conditions, your personal tendencies with watering, and the plant, of course.

[smweaver]

I like plastic pots for the same reason that Ted mentioned, namely that you don't (normally) have to subject the plant to a tug-o-war. I do, however, like to slip the plastic pots into clay pots when the plants go outdoors for the summer in order to keep them from easily getting toppled during storms.

Whatever you do, I would seriously give strong consideration to avoiding wooden baskets. I know that they have lots of fans, and I will admit that a well-grown cattleya in a basket is quite attractive. But in my opinion, baskets are even worse than clay pots as far as getting an established plant out once it's made itself at home. I have a C. Bob Betts that I placed in a basket a few years ago. The plant and the basket are now pretty much one unit, with every wooden slat being engulfed in a vigorous network of roots. Obviously the plant likes the basket. But the 14" basket is pretty much at the extreme range of what I want to deal with, and there's no way I'll ever get good old Bob out of his basket without doing serious damage to him. So whenever I anxiously consider just how to go about "re-basketing" this plant, I generally concede defeat, go grab a bottle of whiskey and force myself to think about something else.

Steve

[peeweelovesbooks]

Originally Posted by smweaver

I like plastic pots for the same reason that Ted mentioned, namely that you don't (normally) have to subject the plant to a tug-o-war. I do, however, like to slip the plastic pots into clay pots when the plants go outdoors for the summer in order to keep them from easily getting toppled during storms.

Whatever you do, I would seriously give strong consideration to avoiding wooden baskets. I know that they have lots of fans, and I will admit that a well-grown cattleya in a basket is quite attractive. But in my opinion, baskets are even worse than clay pots as far as getting an established plant out once it's made itself at home. I have a C. Bob Betts that I placed in a basket a few years ago. The plant and the basket are now pretty much one unit, with every wooden slat being engulfed in a vigorous network of roots. Obviously the plant likes the basket. But the 14" basket is pretty much at the extreme range of what I want to deal with, and there's no way I'll ever get good old Bob out of his basket without doing serious damage to him. So whenever I anxiously consider just how to go about "re-basketing" this plant, I generally concede defeat, go grab a bottle of whiskey and force myself to think about something else.

Steve

WOWOWOWOWOWOW.

You don't think that soaking will do the job? Or maybe dismantling the basket itself?

[trdyl]

Steve,

It almost sounds like a job for power tools.

[smweaver]

Originally Posted by peeweelovesbooks

WOWOWOWOWOWOW.

You don't think that soaking will do the job? Or maybe dismantling the basket itself?

I think that dismantling the basket will entail dismantling the orchid. But it's got four leads, so perhaps splitting it into several plants might eventually be my only option.

Ted, power tools would be helpful--or maybe a machete.