Repotting Cymbidium Now (Nov 2)

[Clawhammer]

Hello everyone! Is it ok for me to repot (drop and plop) my cymbidiums in November in North America (Oregon) or should I wait until spring?

[Canadienne]

Well, I dropped mine this past week, pot broke, so drop and plop rootball in new pot. Doesn’t seem to have suffered. Was same size pot though, and no change of media.

[Roberta]

Drop and plop should be no problem - you won't be disturbing the roots. If the goal is just to give them some more space, that will be fine, they'll grow into the fresh medium when they are ready. This will also make the next "real" repot easier, the roots will tend to spread out. But do schedule the plants for that thorough repot next spring, so you can clean out any nasty medium stuck in the middle.

[varda.elentari]

If you feel the roots need the space, I don't see any harm in potting up now. As Roberta says, it'll make the next repot easier since the roots won't get as potbound as they would if you keep in the same pot. And Cyms are such vigorous rooters, they recover easily!

[Roberta]

Drop pot is fine, roots don't get disturbed. A note... when you repot, choose a pot size for no more than 2 years' growth. Overpotting is good way to rot roots...(Don't expect it to "grow into" a too-large pot, more likely it will get smaller, decline.) And Cyms like to be potbound. (One commercial grower put it this way, "They like tight shoes.") I have seen again and again, they bloom best just before they break the pot. So if the pot is bulging, and it's winter, just put the whole thing, pot and all, into a heavier pot just to keep it from falling over. Save the actual repotting until spring.

---------- Post added at 09:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:33 PM ----------

The ideal Cymbidium pot is tall and narrow - for smaller plants, I really like the Asian Cym pots. The largest pot of this form is just about the width of a 1 gallon (4 L) pot. Just in general, the pot should be tallker than it is wide to accommodate those long, vigorous roots without adding dead space in the middle.

When they get too big for the largest tall-form pot, they can go into the 1 gallon (4L) size. Big ones go into 2 gallon (8-L)pots... when they outgrow THOSE, they get divided because I can't easily lift 3-gallon Cyms and plants that big are hard for me to manage at repotting time. Younger, stronger folks can get away with dealing with the "gut-busters" if they want to.

[varda.elentari]

I didn't know Cyms like to be rootbound! I always assumed they're only tolerating it. I guess I tend to overpot then so better follow Roberta's advice, not mine!