New in NC -- Impulse Control Problems

[MisterGuy]

Originally Posted by Ray

CAVEAT EMPTOR!

I recommend against doing a "wholesale" switch to S/H culture. Considering the loss of existing roots and need to grow new ones, it puts the plants under a lot of stress, and may not be the best idea for someone starting out.

I usually recommend that folks switch over ONE PLANT that they have otherwise mastered growing, and see how it goes. Once you've adjusted to the change in needs, THEN try something else.

And ALWAYS it's best to transplant a plant just as new roots are emerging from the base of the plant, hastening the recovery.

Caution noted. I'm only repotting purchased plants in moss that I consistently kill, and brand new plants with no roots at all in SH. I am eager for the method because it fits the type of culture options I have and my tendency to fuss very well. I'm sure I'll lose something at some point, and won't cry at all

[Ray]

One more piece of advice: S/H culture is not necessarily the best way to rescue a plant.

Because of the need to "upgrade" the root system to the new conditions, ANY repotting is stressful and because it tends to be SO much different from the "old conditions", moving into S/H can be extremely so.

That said, if the plant already has no roots, and you have the wherewithal to keep it alive until it does, pot it up any way you want, as whatever new roots it grows will be adapted to those conditions.

[Dollythehun]

If it were me, I'd soak it, cut the pot off carefully and repot it in a pot that will take a years growth. Put the new growth toward mid pot, old growth against pot wall. I'd pot it in a clay pot but, that's my preference. You don't say what it is but, it looks vigorous.

[MisterGuy]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

If it were me, I'd soak it, cut the pot off carefully and repot it in a pot that will take a years growth. Put the new growth toward mid pot, old growth against pot wall. I'd pot it in a clay pot but, that's my preference. You don't say what it is but, it looks vigorous.

Oh sorry, it's not all about me is it

This is the Oncidium unk hybrid that I thought I had posted in this thread but in fact had only posted in the ID thread.



That 6 inch orchid pot it's sitting in has about an inch and a half of clearance between the roots at the bottom of the pot and the clay pot. I was going to pot it up in that, but not against the side because I wanted it balanced and centered. I have the fine part of a bark mix that I've been rejecting and collecting for my phals that I could use as a mix in that pot, but I was REALLY tempted to put it in lavastone and clay pellets and put it it on the ledge under the waterfall.

[Dollythehun]

I only gave you the general guidelines I've been given by many OB gurus. I generally listen to their advise, sifting it to suit my conditions and habits. It is your plant, and you are free to do as you see fit.

The reason they say to pot off center us to make ample room for new growth.

[MisterGuy]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

I only gave you the general guidelines I've been given by many OB gurus. I generally listen to their advise, sifting it to suit my conditions and habits. It is your plant, and you are free to do as you see fit.

The reason they say to pot off center us to make ample room for new growth.

The plant agrees with you completely. It was SO root bound, there was no way I was willing to try to get the old material loosened and out of there, so it got soaked and pressed up against the side and back filled! Thanks!

[Leafmite]

That is a gorgeous Oncidium!

[MisterGuy]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

That is a gorgeous Oncidium!

Thank you so much! I wish I could take more credit for it, but it was a stunning plant before the spikes opened just gushing with promises and I couldn't resist it. It was ginormous and plump compared to the others on the table. I would love to know how long it takes to get to this size because it is setting the bar for what I want to grow my Sharry Baby into. It doesn't even need blooms to make a beautiful house plant.


*Edit*
Edited this to add some pictures from the waterfall plants this morning without bumping my own thread too many times! I was delighted to have the koi that are intended to provide the fertilizer for my hopeful aquaponic system come up to check me out closer than they have ever been willing to before, even though I was moving around. I fed them again, and for the first time ever, they were willing to eat with me moving around and trying to take pictures of them from only a three or four feet away (my hand at least)!


Grown from a flask by a Triangle Orchid Society member and picked out by my wife at the member sale, this Phrag Rosy Charm looks like it's going to deliver on the grower's hope it would flower this year. I've only had it a few weeks, but clearly it's not too mad at me:

[MisterGuy]

I saw someone quote Ray in another thread saying a common beginner mistake was getting a bunch of different plants instead of spending years mastering one type.

Er. Bingo!

Also, update and root porn on the best of the new canes:

[estación seca]

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