Best time to repot a Psychopsis?

[camille1585]

I've had a Psychopsis for a number of years, growing in bark in a net pot, placed inside a slightly larger transparent pot. That has worked pretty well for me, and the plant has 4 spikes that have been blooming for years (6 years for the oldest spike).

However, I've noticed that the medium is starting to look rather old and it could also do with a slightly larger pot. I've heard that Psychopsis really really don't like having their roots disturbed, so is it a good idea to be repotting it now, or am I better off waiting until spring?

I'll admit that it has never been repotted, my orchids were living in a complete state of neglect for the past 2 years - life was in the way. Now that things have settled down (finished my PhD, finally) I'm nursing what's left of my plants back to health. But the bark is still suprisingly decent, must be the net pot that that helps it dry out faster and not break down as quickly.

[PaphMadMan]

A couple questions: Are the roots stuck to the outer transparent pot, or could it be slipped out of the pot with little or no root damage? How much bark is actually left inside the net pot; has some of it completely disintegrated?

If the net pot is partly empty or you can get it that way by pulling some bark out, and the roots are not attached to the outer pot, just remove as much of the outer layer of bark as you can and replace it with fresh, and slip it into a larger outer pot. If you can do that with minimal root disturbance I see no reason not to do it now. Definitely don't wait if you think the roots may be in trouble from bad bark before spring.

Or wait until spring with new growth coming on and use the same approach with the minimum root disturbance you can manage.

[camille1585]

It took a bit of gentle tugging, but I got it out of the outer pot. And I can hardly see the state of the bark, there are too many roots and moss growing. The bark is rather large chunks and the few pieces I could pluck out are not as decayed as I thought. So repotting could wait until new growth starts next year.

But it's going to be a huge challenge. See where I stuck the white label in the first photo? That's the bottom of the net pot! The roots have been growing underneath, and formed a solid mass. And there's live moss all over the sides, I had to gentle peel it away to take the photo.

The only way to possibly repot is to cut the net pot into pieces and carefully wiggle them out, and then remove the bark. Then the challenge is what to repot it in, with all those roots? A much larger net pot? Ultimately it either needs to go into a larger pot or I cut away the rim, because there is no space for new growth.

[PaphMadMan]

I would just cut away the rim and leave the rest of the net pot, with as little additional disturbance to the roots as possible. Pull out some of the old mix in the center if you can reach it with the rim removed but don't worry about it if you can't. Plop the whole thing into a new pot with lava rock or something similarly coarse and not water retentive under it, or use an inverted net pot under it, and fill in with coarse bark mix around the sides. I don't think you have to worry about the center staying wet if the rest of the pot is very well aerated.

[camille1585]

Thanks for your help! That's what I'll do. I've run out of bark, but the timing is good since I'm picking up some more at a show next saturday.