Pot. Burana Beauty - potting mix?

[oceans0516]

My order from Hausermanns arrived with the wrong plant and now I have a pretty large pot of Pot. Burana Beauty. They were so nice to let me keep it and sending me the plant I ordered on Monday free of charge. Go Hausermann!

The media looked very broken down so even though I see buds about to come out, I decided to repot....Oh boy good thing I did...

It was hard to tell but I THINK...it was in large bark, perlite and sphag moss. It was very moist and some of the bark had turned pale with white goo that looked like balls of melted marshmallows. Am I glad I put on my gloves for this repotting because there was a worm living in there as well. I think this is the reason only 1 of the 3 newest mature growth produced buds. Luckily the roots were ok but I doubt for long had I not repotted.

Anywho, I repotted with the same type of media but i'm not sure if I should have left out the sphagnum moss? I read on a few places that sphag is a no no for cattleyas but the media was so moist i didn't want to shock it by potting it in straight bark so I mixed in some moss...It is around 60% bark, 20% perlite, 20% moss.

Did I mess up? Also not sure if I should be worried about the black spots?

Front & Back pics after repot

[wintergirl]

Wow nice plant. Personally I do not use spagh moss in catts but if you are used to watering with it, it might be ok with you. It does not look like you have a lot of it, so it might be ok with your watering style. I don't see any holes in the sides of your pot so it will stay moist for a long time, and your catt may not like it. I use plastic pots but I have holes all around the sides and bottom and chunky bark.

[Orchid Whisperer]

I would either remove the moss now, or plan on repotting again within a year. With the moss, you will need to be very careful with watering.

Personally, if it was mine I would repot in coarse bark, or coarse bark with coarse charcoal, no perlite, using a terracotta pot or a plastic net pot (both dry faster than plain plastic; you want fast drying).

[Leafmite]

It depends on what works for you. I have all my Cattleyas in LECA or red lava rock and basket pots as that is what I have found works best for me. I kill everything in solid plastic pots (even with LECA or red lava rock) and the only orchids that do well in bark for me are the Pleiones (though I love orchid bark for use in soil mixes for non-orchids).

---------- Post added at 08:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:54 PM ----------

Hausermann's is a great place. I've gotten quite a few great orchids from them.

[wintergirl]

Ya, if it was me I would take everything out. Put holes all though the sides of the pot. (I use a vise grip to hold a nail, then get it hot. Then punch holes in the sides. I use my gas grill outside. I also wear gloves.) Then I would repot in just chunky bark. I also sprinkle crushed egg shells on top of the media when I'm done potting.
The black spots are nothing to worry about. They look like old dry ones, not anything moist and rotting.

[oceans0516]

Thanks everyone!! My gut was telling me to unpot it to remove all the moss but im new to cattleya alliance so i needed reassurances. I just took it out and plucked out all the moss so now it is just bark and some perlite. I used my husbands dremel tool to add ventilation holes all around as well. Now if the buds dont blast then maybe i will have blooms soon!

[wintergirl]

Sounds good, you did the right thing. Keep us posted.

[oceans0516]

After repot all the old pseudobulbs shriveled up very badly. It is growing new roots so Im guessing its fine? The existing buds opened as well but now the newest pb are starting to shrivel as well. Is this normal after repot? Its been very hot here hitting 90-95F so i have to water twice a week. I hope the plant adjusts soon and plumps back up. How long does that usually take?

[Leafmite]

It is normal for the older pseudobulbs to shrivel if their roots were not good but the newest pseudobulbs should have remained healthy.
Can you see any of the roots from the newer pseudobulbs? Are they healthy?

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by wintergirl

Put holes all though the sides of the pot. (I use a vise grip to hold a nail, then get it hot. Then punch holes in the sides. I use my gas grill outside. I also wear gloves.)

I've used a Dremel tool with a wide grinding bit straight into the side, like this one:
516 Abrasive Point / Model: 516)

A friend uses a straight electric soldering iron to melt holes in plastic pots.

---------- Post added at 10:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:00 AM ----------

Your humidity is probably lower than what it grew in before. Its few roots were able to support it in higher humidity, but now it's evaporating more and the roots are struggling to keep up. Try and increase the humidity. The roots still need to dry out before the next watering or they may rot. It will grow more roots.