Is now a good time to re-pot?

[Floridan by Choice]

I have a very overgrown NOID Cattleya, that has probably been in the same pot several years and that absolutely needs re-potting and probably needs to be divided and I think it is healthy enough now to do it. The plant almost completely fills the 8’ pot from side to side, is growing over the side in at least three places and has eyes and new roots growing all over the place. The older roots - got to be at least a hundred of them - have pushed the entire rhizome two to three inches above the level of the top of the pot. Strange looking thing believe me but I guess if I had to live in media that old I would be trying to get out of it myself. While I want to help this thing I need some advice before doing so.

Is now a good time to divide and re-pot this Cattleya – it did not bloom this year as far as I know?

When I do re-pot, should I put the rhizome back down to media level or leave it up in the air like it is now?

Thanks for your help

[silken]

I would go ahead and re-pot. Otherwise it will spend all winter like that. I am still re-potting cattleyas. I would probably try and set the rhizome on top of the media rather than have it growing out of control in the air.

I had a monster like that and I divided it into 3 good sized plants this spring! There were roots growing on top of and across other roots and rhizomes and it was a nightmare to divide. I think I killed a couple pseudobulbs in the process, but the piece I kept looks real happy now. I always soak the cleaned up root mass in some seaweed solution before planting it and roots seem to take off.

[Cattleya17]

I'd says so! Before you unpot the plant really make a plan as to what you wanna do before you start! I have grown a plant to specimen size and divided it with out a plan and it was a disaster! You need three growths minimum to have a healthy division. It is not limited to three per division you can decide how many growths per division you want but always start wih at least three.
Be careful not to damage the new roots they are the only ones that the Catt will make this growth cycle in abundance that is, they are crucial to establish quickly. When dividing the actual rhizome use some shears or big scissors. The new leads are quite tender as well so grip from the old pseudobulbs when handling I've snapped quite a few off. You can leave the divisions to sit a day or so for the wounds to heal, although I have not waited and there were no problems. Let the plant stay dry for the first few days after you pot up the divisions extra healing time then you can water with some K-L-N to really jump start the establishment.

As regards the climbing into the air 2-3 inches. It may do this again anyways but if you want you can tilt the end downward slightly so that it will be level with the pot. I always plant slightly below the pot rim 1/4-1/2 inch below. Sounds like a really tenacious grower you shouldn't have any problems keep the plant warm as well I hope this helps.

I would like to see this plant can you post some pics?

[Floridan by Choice]

Thanks for the replies.

I'll absolutely make sure I know what I'm going to do with it before cutting into it. There must be close to two dozen pseudobulbs on this beast but it's not a tall plant - and should get several plants off without any trouble.

Can't post pics yet - not enough posts so far but will take a pic and stick it in as soon as I clear 5 posts.


Cecil

[Lagoon]

Nice to have you here. Welcome to the forum Cecil

[InspirChid1712]

I would say GO FOR IT! But, do have a plan, and expect to spend a few hours working on the plant! I'd consider putting the entire thing in to a large basket and letting it continue to run wild! But then again, I'm a big fan of 'specimen' Catts! (its probably why I'm nearly out of space!!!)

[Floridan by Choice]

Thanks Gloria. Having 7 of these aged, unruly Cattleyas - that I have to do something with - will certainly bring up a lot of questions since I have almost no knowledge of what I am doing. Appreciate all the help that I can get.

Cecil

[tucker85]

I agree with the previous posts. I've successfully repotted cattleyas at all times of the year. One thing to consider is that many large cattleyas bloom in the fall and winter. If there are a number of sheaths on the plant you may want to consider waiting and letting it bloom. If you decide to do that, then I would repot in the spring. March is my favorite time to repot catts. Personally, I agree with Elliot, I love specimen size cattleyas. I would consider putting the whole plant in a shallow 10"-14" pot or basket. If you do decide to divide it, the larger the divisions are, the better they'll do. I like to have at least 5 pseudobulbs or even more. After dividing or repotting I always use Maxicrop Liquid Seaweed on the plant, like Silken suggested. Other rooting hormones would probably work also. Good luck.

[Floridan by Choice]

Okay, with the first 5 posts under my belt lets see if I can attach a pic of the Cattleya I am talking about.

Wow, the pic uploaded okay! The picture is a little small but you should be able to see it okay.

I have officially named this one my CATT-erpiller

[dounoharm]

looks like it is at least a year overdue....separate chunks of at least 3-5 psuedobulbs and repot into clean hard chunks of bark medium...or some such chunky medium....i pot mine hard, using pressure from a 'dibble' to push the bark in close to the roots....cattleyas like their medum compacted well....gl