Do you repot right away?

[Leafmite]

For me, it depends on the orchid, the growing season and how I am growing the orchid. Growing under lights is different than growing in the window, so there are some orchids you can re-pot any time of the year if growing under lights where it is a little risky when growing in the window if you don't wait until spring. Still, Autumn isn't the best time to re pot Angraecums or those once-a-year blooming Cattleyas so I remove most of the bark from around the roots (without taking the orchid from the pot) and just wait until spring.
Most of the time, though, I prefer to re-pot right away. I usually don't need to worry about pests but I like the check the roots and have the orchids starting as soon as possible in the mediums with which I am most comfortable (red lava rock or LECA).

I have been buying quite a few mounted orchids recently which makes the entire question moot.

[theloyalplum]

Yes and No. If I know they came from a careful vendor like Ray, I probably won't. If I know they've been recently repotted, I won't. If it's in media I know won't work with my culture, I won't. But otherwise, I would.

[rbarata]

I always avoid buying orchids in bloom for two reasons: I like the feeling of not knowing which flower will grow (color, size, etc). Second, after blooming the plant is more vulnerable due to the energy she lost in the process. Hence, it makes the adaptation process more critical.

About repoting, I always buy flowers that look healthy. If they don't, I don't buy them. And if they are healthy, that's because they like the medium inthe pot. So, why repot? If it's just for the pleasure of repoting... Well, I don't have a garden to it's a mess in my balcony. Also, I'm lazy.

[Optimist]

It depends. I repot phals right away, and cut their spikes. I've had good luck with this technique. It may just be a personal superstition, like an athelete never washing his socks.

I think you should do whatever you need to do to get the roots established first. No roots =no flowers. I can wait another year for the flowers.

If the plant is in good medium and is growing well, I do not repot. Many plants can stay for several years in the same pot.

I have had several orchids planted in small lava rock. These never need to have the medium taken from their roots. To repot you remove the pot, or break it, and set in a larger pot with lava. The roots are never traumatized by repotting. This is ideal imho.

[ashley05]

I have started repotting as soon as I get plants home because of a bad experience with waiting.

I ordered two catt allaince hybrid seedlings from a vendor. In his directions, he said not to repot for 30 days. The bark that I could see looked good, so I left it. After a while, I noticed that the top was dried out completely, but the bottom was still soaking wet. I pulled out a plant, and not only was the bark on the bottom broken down, but the plants were still on foam.

I repotted them. One of them still had several good roots. The other had none. All of the roots were either dried out or completely rotted.

Between that,bringing home tropicals full of fungus gnats, and the junk that my last two tropicals came potted in, I repot everything as soon as I can.

[bil]

Originally Posted by ashley05

I have started repotting as soon as I get plants home because of a bad experience with waiting.

I ordered two catt allaince hybrid seedlings from a vendor. In his directions, he said not to repot for 30 days. The bark that I could see looked good, so I left it. After a while, I noticed that the top was dried out completely, but the bottom was still soaking wet. I pulled out a plant, and not only was the bark on the bottom broken down, but the plants were still on foam.

I repotted them. One of them still had several good roots. The other had none. All of the roots were either dried out or completely rotted.

Between that,bringing home tropicals full of fungus gnats, and the junk that my last two tropicals came potted in, I repot everything as soon as I can.

Yep. Me too. Some have been unnecessary, but I would have lost a lot had I not repotted. Now I do it automatically. Stuff from garden centres is the worst.

[Spirytman]

I repot right away regardless of who the vendor is. I have a small indoor growing space. I don't want to kill all my plants because I trusted the grower. I made the mistake once of not checking and the next thing I knew, I had bugs all over and in every one of my plants. I even repot and remount from reputable growers like Andy's. He once told me he was having a problem with bark beetles. That was enough for me. I took cork bark that I had and put the old mounts in the freezer. Sure enough the next day I took the old mounts out of the freezer and "viola" all these dead bark beetle and beetle larvae came falling out. So I trust no one. That's my 2 ¢.

[bil]

Originally Posted by Spirytman

I repot right away regardless of who the vendor is. I have a small indoor growing space. I don't want to kill all my plants because I trusted the grower. I made the mistake once of not checking and the next thing I knew, I had bugs all over and in every one of my plants. I even repot and remount from reputable growers like Andy's. He once told me he was having a problem with bark beetles. That was enough for me. I took cork bark that I had and put the old mounts in the freezer. Sure enough the next day I took the old mounts out of the freezer and "viola" all these dead bark beetle and beetle larvae came falling out. So I trust no one. That's my 2 ¢.

Actually, that's quite cute. We tend to forget that extreme cold is a bug killer.

[JDEH]

I always repot mine when I get them home. I have never had blooms fall from repotting it. I like getting what ever media it came packed in away from the roots. Here are some examples:

I purchased a Paph at a nursery for Mothers a Day. The bark was breaking down and there was a worm crawling around in it, in addition the roots were curling from the pot being too snug. The plant was just beginning to open, but I was willing to risk the bloom to repot it. The bloom fully opened and still looks great.

Phals typically come in flimsy plastic containers with spag. moss packed inside root ball.

The stores where I live sell Miltoniopsis that are packed in potting soil! The center roots were completely choked out.

I never wait on mine. It helps to know the condition of the roots and if anything is living in the pot when you bring it home.

[bil]

Originally Posted by JDEH

The stores where I live sell Miltoniopsis that are packed in potting soil! The center roots were completely choked out.

and people wonnder why I repot everything I get, as soon as I get it.

I have to say, I have noticed that the flowers on some of the hard cane dens have dropped, long before they should. However all of them have either thrown a new spike, a new shoot, or both!