Dendrobium speciosum repotting

[aliceinwl]

I have a very small Dendrobium speciosum I got last July. It looks like it could use upsizing but I’m not seeing any root growth yet. Should I be patient and wait for it to start pushing roots or can I repot now?

[kg5]

Hi aliceinwl

Have no idea if 9b area is a warm place or a cold environment but here goes. I am in a sub-tropical area.

Have the best large orchid nursery in my back yard and they do heaps of business.

At the beginning of spring they always have around 25 pallets of large bags of 15mm or 5/8" potting bark and 10 pallets 0f 10mm or 3/8" and another 10 pallets of 20mm or 3/4". All the rest of the year they have only 2 or 3 pallets of all 3 sizes.

But when they have all the potting bark stock in my Dendrobium speciosum are flowering or I am hoping they will flower. So I wait for them to stop flowering or the end of the flowering season before I repot them.

When I buy my potting bark it looks like everyone else has well and truly finished potting by the amount of potting mix bags that are left.

I buy and repot my Dendrobium speciosum at the end of the 2nd month of summer. It is a great time to repot them as I get a new flush of growth come Autumn.

[Roberta]

Since it is small (not blooming size) I think you'll be fine up-potting it now. If the new roots/growth haven't started yet they will soon. Don't go overboard on increased pot size. While these can become beasts (depending on which variety(ies) are in the background) they grow slowly, and like to be potbound. I would just shake off any medium that comes off easily but don't try to remove anything that is attached or stuck in tight spaces. Just add some new bark. Eventually I give up with the up-potting, and end up with bunches of upward-pointing "birds nest" roots. Also, shallow pot is best - in nature these grow into cracks of rocks, so they are accustomed to not having a lot of root room.

[aliceinwl]

Thanks all! It’s been repotted.