should I repot this now or later?

[VickiC]

Thank you, Tucker...
The first thing I did was break the pot away from the plant because I couldn't remove the orchid otherwise. The blooms were fading and weren't pretty to look at anymore, so I chose to go ahead and repot it now. (I typed most of this in a re-reply to James, so I would appreciate it if you will read that and give me your opinion, please.) If I decide to up-pot an orchid in the future, would you advise teasing the media from the center or simply dropping the entire plant into a larger pot as it is? By the way, as I was browsing threads recently, I ran across one of yours (as I did James') and your orchid was so pretty and dainty, but I really liked the pot, as well. I'm including a picture of it. Would you mind telling me where you got it? Do you know if I can get one like it online?
Thanks again...I appreciate your reply and advise,
Vicki
(By the way, we have a major excess of heat up here [especially in my HOT gh]. If it was possible to transfer some down to you in Florida., we would be more than happy to share if we could, that is if you happen not to have enough.)

Originally Posted by tucker85

Orchids that bloom in the summer are always a challenge when it comes to repotting, because we want to let it bloom first. Your safest choice is to wait until you see new roots starting to grow and carefully repot it, trying not to damage the new roots. But you could also repot after the blooms finish if you're careful not to disturb the orchid too much. Don't try to divide the plant. That usually stresses the orchid and sets it back. Break the pot with a hammer, if necessary, and put the entire rootball into a slightly larger pot, like James said, and fill in some media around the edges. I've done that with a minimum of stress on the plant and the plant barely knows it's been repotted. Luckily you live in the South and have a long summer. That gives the plant more time to grow some more if you repot it now. Good luck.

[VickiC]

Hi Ceci,
Thanks for your reply and advice. I like your idea of including a little sphag to an inert media. Now that you have mentioned that you do this, it makes good sense that it should add moisture to the inert mix plus you get the added advantage of it not creating a decayed center. Do I understand this correctly? What are your thoughts on lava rock and/or leca? I would appreciate it if you will read my re-replies to James and Tucker. Any comments you may have would be most welcome.
Thanks again,
Vicki

Originally Posted by Orchidflowerchild

this is why I like clay pots for cattleyas. If you use a relatively inert media (I like to rough chop a little sphagnum with some pearlite and charcoal and granite chips/pea gravel, to give weight) you can just slip the whole pot into the next size up. If you keep light on the sphagnum it decaying is no issue, as it doesn't ever glop up into an anaerobic mess. The extra weight of the pot and the rock in the mix keep even the sloppiest growing cattleyas (and incidentally, tall dendrobiums) from being all top-heavy. I learned that from Ervin Granier. His specimen cattleyas were TO DIE FOR back in the 90's. He mostly grew in straight gravel or pearlite/charcoal, half-filled with styro peanuts. He'd show up at judging and all the judges had to start figuring out how to count all the flowers on these these giant plants in 30" pots, all of which nested down to a 4" pot lol.

-Ceci

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by VickiC

Thank you, Tucker...
The first thing I did was break the pot away from the plant because I couldn't remove the orchid otherwise. The blooms were fading and weren't pretty to look at anymore, so I chose to go ahead and repot it now. (I typed most of this in a re-reply to James, so I would appreciate it if you will read that and give me your opinion, please.) If I decide to up-pot an orchid in the future, would you advise teasing the media from the center or simply dropping the entire plant into a larger pot as it is? By the way, as I was browsing threads recently, I ran across one of yours (as I did James') and your orchid was so pretty and dainty, but I really liked the pot, as well. I'm including a picture of it. Would you mind telling me where you got it? Do you know if I can get one like it online?
Thanks again...I appreciate your reply and advise,
Vicki
(By the way, we have a major excess of heat up here [especially in my HOT gh]. If it was possible to transfer some down to you in Florida., we would be more than happy to share if we could, that is if you happen not to have enough.)

Vicki, I'm sorry to disappoint you but those pots are only available in Homestead Florida, as far as I know. The owner of Banjong Nursery is from Thailand. He and his wife designed those pots and have them made in Thailand and shipped to Miami. They won't sell them through the mail because they're too fragile to ship. They only sell them at their nursery in Homestead.

As far as removing the old media, if it's bark and it's breaking down, you probably need to remove as much as possible without disturbing it too much. I use media like lava rock and hydroponic rock that don't break down so I can move the entire rootball to a larger pot or basket. Rock media works well in our hot humid environment. I don't know how it would work under your growing conditions. The roots of you plant look very good so I think you're doing a good job of growing them. If you're being successful you may not want to change anything. Good luck.

[james mickelso]

Yeah I love that pot Tucker has. But I haven't found any like it and now know why. My remedy is to punch a larger hole in the bottom of a clay pot by carefully using a hammer and nail, flat screw driver, or end of a file. Put the pot open side down on something hard with a towel under it. Open the towel fully so just a little cushion is there. Then take the pointy end of whatever your are using as a punch and right at the edge of the hole, pop it with the hammer. Once you have a small chip or piece out of the edge of the hole just keep punching away at the area next to that chip. It's called spalling. You slowly widen the hole until it is whatever size you like. I do this to all of my clay pots so I get the maximum air flow through the media in the pot. Helps to keep the inner part of the media/rootball drier. Cuts way down on root rot. Here's a picture. Here also is a plant clip you can make, how it is attached to the pot to help stabilize your newly potted orchid, a couple plastic pots with extra holes melted into the sides for more air flow, and the large screwdriver I use to heat up and melt through the sides and bottom of the pots. I use a small HD propane plumbers torch to heat the screwdriver up. It's very easy and the extra holes really help in cutting down on wet stale conditions in the rootball. Hope this helps.

[Orchidflowerchild]

Originally Posted by VickiC

Hi Ceci,
Thanks for your reply and advice. I like your idea of including a little sphag to an inert media. Now that you have mentioned that you do this, it makes good sense that it should add moisture to the inert mix plus you get the added advantage of it not creating a decayed center. Do I understand this correctly? What are your thoughts on lava rock and/or leca? I would appreciate it if you will read my re-replies to James and Tucker. Any comments you may have would be most welcome.
Thanks again,
Vicki

Yeah, it's not really a lot of sphag, anyway, just enough to kinda have little pockets of moisture retention among the inert matrix. THe idea is specifically to keep there from being any large rotting organic clumps trapped in the middle. Alternately, you can use a fully inert media and top-dress if you like. I have a few Catts in straight pea gravel with a topdressing of fine treefern/sphagnum, for example. Not a lot, just enough to cover the rock and provide a little more moisture retention.

The caveat to inert media is they are also not generally very absorbent. You will need to increase water frequency, especially if you are using clay pots. With plastic, you'd slide the whole root ball out of the pot, then place into the next larger, fill in the gap, and bada-bing! But the benefit of not causing a setback with every repot is worth needing to be a little heavy with the water lol. I have never dealt with lecca or lava rock, though I know people have had success with both. Lecca is too round for me...it rolls EVERYWHERE, if you spill it. :-/

Another great thing is to keep styro peanuts on hand. You can fill deeper pots as high as you want to decrease the volume of area with potential decaying media.

Also, seeing the pot clip that someone else mentioned got me to thinking, wire hangers. I keep wire hangers around so I can make a quick pot clip, pot hanger, or mount hook, any time.

I am the queen of jury-rigged DIY lol

-Ceci

-Ceci

[VickiC]

Thanks for explaining about the pot, Tucker. Yes, I'm a bit disappointed, but that's ok. I'll just enjoy seeing your pretty orchids growing in them....that's a treat.

I've finished repotting my orchid. I started to use a bark mixture, but changed my mind.....simply to test how well a different mix works with my conditions. This time I decided to pot with leca and charcoal mixed with a very small amount of chopped sphag. We'll see how this turns out.

Thanks again for all of your help,
Vicki

Originally Posted by tucker85

Vicki, I'm sorry to disappoint you but those pots are only available in Homestead Florida, as far as I know. The owner of Banjong Nursery is from Thailand. He and his wife designed those pots and have them made in Thailand and shipped to Miami. They won't sell them through the mail because they're too fragile to ship. They only sell them at their nursery in Homestead.

As far as removing the old media, if it's bark and it's breaking down, you probably need to remove as much as possible without disturbing it too much. I use media like lava rock and hydroponic rock that don't break down so I can move the entire rootball to a larger pot or basket. Rock media works well in our hot humid environment. I don't know how it would work under your growing conditions. The roots of you plant look very good so I think you're doing a good job of growing them. If you're being successful you may not want to change anything. Good luck.

---------- Post added at 07:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:36 PM ----------

Thanks for explaining the steps to enlarge the bottom of the pot. I really like your idea, and am going to try it... but gosh...I hope I don't break the pot during the process ?? Anyway, I'm gonna give it a shot next time I repot something.

I was just telling Tucker that I've finished my repotting task. It seemed to turn out well, but time will tell if the mix I used will work with my conditions.
You've helped me very much, James...thanks again,
Vicki

Originally Posted by james mickelso

Yeah I love that pot Tucker has. But I haven't found any like it and now know why. My remedy is to punch a larger hole in the bottom of a clay pot by carefully using a hammer and nail, flat screw driver, or end of a file. Put the pot open side down on something hard with a towel under it. Open the towel fully so just a little cushion is there. Then take the pointy end of whatever your are using as a punch and right at the edge of the hole, pop it with the hammer. Once you have a small chip or piece out of the edge of the hole just keep punching away at the area next to that chip. It's called spalling. You slowly widen the hole until it is whatever size you like. I do this to all of my clay pots so I get the maximum air flow through the media in the pot. Helps to keep the inner part of the media/rootball drier. Cuts way down on root rot. Here's a picture. Here also is a plant clip you can make, how it is attached to the pot to help stabilize your newly potted orchid, a couple plastic pots with extra holes melted into the sides for more air flow, and the large screwdriver I use to heat up and melt through the sides and bottom of the pots. I use a small HD propane plumbers torch to heat the screwdriver up. It's very easy and the extra holes really help in cutting down on wet stale conditions in the rootball. Hope this helps.

---------- Post added at 08:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:50 PM ----------

Hi Ceci,
I've repotted my orchid and it went fine. Since I've never tried adding a small amount of sphag to an inert mix, I decided to try that this time. It will be a good test to find out if the mix and my conditions work well together, so keep your fingers crossed for me, please.
Thanks so much for your help,
Vicki

Originally Posted by Orchidflowerchild

Yeah, it's not really a lot of sphag, anyway, just enough to kinda have little pockets of moisture retention among the inert matrix. THe idea is specifically to keep there from being any large rotting organic clumps trapped in the middle. Alternately, you can use a fully inert media and top-dress if you like. I have a few Catts in straight pea gravel with a topdressing of fine treefern/sphagnum, for example. Not a lot, just enough to cover the rock and provide a little more moisture retention.

The caveat to inert media is they are also not generally very absorbent. You will need to increase water frequency, especially if you are using clay pots. With plastic, you'd slide the whole root ball out of the pot, then place into the next larger, fill in the gap, and bada-bing! But the benefit of not causing a setback with every repot is worth needing to be a little heavy with the water lol. I have never dealt with lecca or lava rock, though I know people have had success with both. Lecca is too round for me...it rolls EVERYWHERE, if you spill it. :-/

Another great thing is to keep styro peanuts on hand. You can fill deeper pots as high as you want to decrease the volume of area with potential decaying media.

Also, seeing the pot clip that someone else mentioned got me to thinking, wire hangers. I keep wire hangers around so I can make a quick pot clip, pot hanger, or mount hook, any time.

I am the queen of jury-rigged DIY lol

-Ceci

-Ceci

[james mickelso]

Just remember to start right at the edge of the hole. You just want to chip off a piece of the edge. Once you get the edge piece off move around a little further and whack it some more. It will continue to pop off a piece without cracking it all the way to the outer edge because it goes to the nearest edge and that is the inner edge where you are smacking it. Simple. Just don't get greedy. You should get about a dime size piece off each time. I'll trry and remember to take some pics of the process for anyone else interested.

[VickiC]

Thanks James...
I'm thinking I might just get one ready for my next repot one of these days. I'm looking forward to it, I know it'll make a world of difference.

I think I have a small amount of wire somewhere that was used on my bench tops. If I can find it, I'll use that, unless you have another suggestion. Speaking of suggestions, if you ever feel like sharing more with us, feel free! I need all the help I can get.
Vicki

Originally Posted by james mickelso

Just remember to start right at the edge of the hole. You just want to chip off a piece of the edge. Once you get the edge piece off move around a little further and whack it some more. It will continue to pop off a piece without cracking it all the way to the outer edge because it goes to the nearest edge and that is the inner edge where you are smacking it. Simple. Just don't get greedy. You should get about a dime size piece off each time. I'll trry and remember to take some pics of the process for anyone else interested.

[james mickelso]

Wire clothes hangers work very well. And if you can get a small pair of needle nose pliers that is all you need. And to tie off the pbulb to the wire clip I use the twist ties you get in the supermarket. They are very handy for tying up flower spikes to shish ka bob sticks too. I'll continue show and tell until someone yells uncle.