I am transferring my Laelia anceps into vanda baskets. I've been thinking for a while that they are overpotted, and today as I was repotting them, I saw my hunch was right.
I bought some landscape cloth made out of corn by product to line the basket, and I used the hydroton that was inside the clay pot. A lot of the hydroton went unused, and so I am going to bleach and sanitize it to reuse it.
In 99% of the plants, the roots were perfect, but there was a huge space just ful of hydroton and nothing else. I was inspired by Tucker and his success with Vanda baskets and cattleyas.
I have been trying to get to Homestead for a while, but just never seem to make it there; today I went to home depot to get something unrelated, and said to myself, "what the heck," let me just try this. I have to go back tomorrow and get some more 6" (which basically have a 4" center) baskets. I'm pumped.
I"m doing this now because they Laelia anceps are in their growth cycle.
I also repotted a Laelia purpurata and my Cattleya Fulvescens 'Peaches Immortality' that recently bloomed. The Laelia purpurata had fallen over, and the Cattleya Fulvescens wanted to jump out of the pot. Both are in new vanda baskets as well, and I was happy to see the roots in those were perfect.
I also bought some 18" wood stakes and FINALLY stabilized my renantheras. Those suckers are a pain to get stabilized. I bought some nursery pots, large egg pebbles and tied them to the stake with some twine. They are steady as a rock. I"m thinking of staking some vandas this way, although I would need a bigger board and a bigger pot.
wish me luck!