A potting experiment...

[NatalieS]

I've just repotted my beallara peggy ruth carpenter into a bonsai pot. Bonsai being my first horticultural obsession, I have loads of beautiful pots going unused at the moment. I gave up with bonsai because friends and family would kill them whenever I went on holiday. It was so much time and effort, and too heartbreaking to come home to dead plants all the time. In my opinion orchids are easier that way - I know some will disagree!

Anyway, I bought the beallara not long ago, and its condition went downhill shortly after flowering, so here it is in its new pot (I've wired it in). It may or may not survive, but I think the shallower pot might work for it. I know the japanese have many different styles of bonsai gardening which include orchids so this isn't a new idea, but I've never seen a beallara in a bonsai pot before.

[Bud]

the spikes of that plant when it blooms gets to be tall and it will be top heavy and topple the whole plant...you need a compact smaller opening pot and a bit taller to hold the weight and height of the plant. as of now there is no balance, you dont have the depth deep enough to hold a stick to hold up the flowering tall spike to train it to be upright.... that plant will get taller and bigger and will fall because there is nothing to hold it...

[tucker85]

I think that might work. I use shallow pots for some of my orchids although not quite as shallow as your pot. Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

[dounoharm]

i have to agree with bud on this one....looks too shallow to suit me....get some little baby plants and put them in there, a compot! gl

[orchidsarefun]

I was at a talk where it was mentioned that bulb pots/tulip pots are ideal for onc. group as they are fairly shallow rooted. These pots are slightly deeper than yours. Hope you are able to water frequently/ have chopped in some sphag to keep the plant happy.

[NatalieS]

Originally Posted by Bud

the spikes of that plant when it blooms gets to be tall and it will be top heavy and topple the whole plant...you need a compact smaller opening pot and a bit taller to hold the weight and height of the plant. as of now there is no balance, you dont have the depth deep enough to hold a stick to hold up the flowering tall spike to train it to be upright.... that plant will get taller and bigger and will fall because there is nothing to hold it...

The spikes for the beallara aren't very tall - this one had four and it was quite compact. If I'd wired this plant to a mount and hung it, depth wouldn't come into it, and the plant would grow across the surface of the mount. I'm hoping the same thing will happen here. Also, I can potentially use bonsai wire for any spikes.

If you think about bonsai trees, the pots always look really small, and depending on the growing style, they sometimes look like they wouldn't stay upright, but it's all about wiring in your plant properly and using the width of the pot to your advantage. I think the concept is sound, but it is just an experiment and I'm open to the possibility of failure.

[NatalieS]

Originally Posted by tucker85

I think that might work. I use shallow pots for some of my orchids although not quite as shallow as your pot. Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Thanks tucker! I will post an update - even if it turns out to be a fail!

Originally Posted by orchidsarefun

I was at a talk where it was mentioned that bulb pots/tulip pots are ideal for onc. group as they are fairly shallow rooted. These pots are slightly deeper than yours. Hope you are able to water frequently/ have chopped in some sphag to keep the plant happy.

I actually bought a hygrometer last week and have been putting it in different locations around the apartment. Even though we live right by the sea, I was expecting the humidity to be quite low in the apartment with the central heating. Not so! Average is about 60%, rising to 80% at night and when I mist some of the plants in the mornings, 90%. Over-watering is an issue for me rather than under-watering. This might suit the onc better.

[Gage]

Since you're a bonsai person, I don't think stability should be an issue. I'm sure you have it wired in there pretty well. But the problem will lie in the amount of extra potting media you have in the pot. You could pot this orchid in a pot the same depth, but a fraction of the diameter. Remember, you want a pot just big enough to fit the roots in, with room for 3 growths (which isn't much room). Excess potting media with no roots in it equals media staying wet too long, which equals rotten roots. But you could probably put another 6 oncidiums in with that one and it could do great!

[NatalieS]

Originally Posted by Gage

Since you're a bonsai person, I don't think stability should be an issue. I'm sure you have it wired in there pretty well. But the problem will lie in the amount of extra potting media you have in the pot. You could pot this orchid in a pot the same depth, but a fraction of the diameter. Remember, you want a pot just big enough to fit the roots in, with room for 3 growths (which isn't much room). Excess potting media with no roots in it equals media staying wet too long, which equals rotten roots. But you could probably put another 6 oncidiums in with that one and it could do great!

More orchids in the pot! That's a great idea. I have been thinking of orchid landscapes...

You could be right about the media - I did have to add a handful or two extra over and above what went into its previous pot. However, the plant actually has a substantial number of roots and filled the rest of the pot quite nicely (imagine them spread out right to the edges). Factor in that the increased surface area of the wider pot is going to equal an increased rate of evaporation, and that the pot is much, much shallower, and I'm sure that will balance the use of a little extra media.

[Gage]

Originally Posted by NatalieS

More orchids in the pot! That's a great idea. I have been thinking of orchid landscapes...

You could be right about the media - I did have to add a handful or two extra over and above what went into its previous pot. However, the plant actually has a substantial number of roots and filled the rest of the pot quite nicely (imagine them spread out right to the edges). Factor in that the increased surface area of the wider pot is going to equal an increased rate of evaporation, and that the pot is much, much shallower, and I'm sure that will balance the use of a little extra media.

Good point! Can't wait to hear how it goes!