Brassia pot size

[judiwa]

Another potting question, my orchids are looking great with your advice so I am back. My Noid Brassia needs new bark and I can't decide if I should just dump as much old out as I can and fill in around the roots or repot entirely.

If it comes out of the 6" it is in I don't know if I can get the roots back in and I wondered about putting it in an 8". My climate is dry and I seem to get away with over potting a bit and always get a lot of roots on my plants.

I don't know if it is off cycle, I kept it too dry for awhile and it just finished blooming. I can see an 'eye' psb swelling and getting ready to grow.

Anyone ever put one in an 8"? Thanks for any comments.

judi

[Dollythehun]

A picture would help.

[camille1585]

Yes, pictures would help, but if the root system is massive enough that you think it'll be hard to stuff it back in the same pot, it sounds like you could go up a size. I do have an Onc in a 15cm pot and a large maxillaria in a 16 or 18cm pot (so somewhere around 6-7" I think).

One trick I like to use when using fairly large pots for any orchid- before adding the plant and new medium I place a small inverted net pot or small pot at the bottom. That way the plant has the extra room it needs, but the inverted pot opens up the center to let the middle of the pot dry out faster.

[Orchid Whisperer]

There are a few ways you could step up to a larger pot size without the usual overpotting risks.

Take a 'net pot' and place it up-side-down in whatever pot you plan to use. If you don't have a net pot, create a substitute by cutting a lot of holes in the bottom and sides of a regular pot. The inverted pot creates an air space in the bottom of the pot, similar to an air cone pot. This helps keep the medium from becoming over-moist and stale.

If you have a large net pot that will hold all the roots, pot the plant in that, place the repotted plant/net pot into a slightly larger container that will leave a small air gap between the net pot and container.

Another way of accomplichimg the same thing is incorporating a lot of inert material that is not water retentive into the bottom of the pot. Materials that are ok for this are styrofoam, non-porous rock,and similar marerials. This will increase aeration and drainage in the bottom of the pot.

[judiwa]

I'm sorry I do not have a photo, technologically challenged old lady here but I do plan to remedy my lack at some point.

Thanks for the great ideas, I will be able to use them at some point, I suspect my plants grow lots of roots in self defense to cope with the low humidity here and I usually have bazongo root systems and go crazy trying to figure out what to do with them. However right now tragedy has befallen me. I was suspicious of the color on the base of the older psbs about 3 months ago and actually cut into one high up on the discoloration to see if it was rotting but it was not. Now they are. So I cut off everything suspicious and all I have left is the newest psb, I was tempted to toss it but it had a lot of roots so I cut larger slits up the side of a clean 6" and was able to ease it into that. I don't know if it will develop rot or if it will be worth keeping if it doesn't.

I've had orchids for over 30 years, this is the first one I ever had rot and I posted a few weeks ago because I had white mold in some of my bark. All of these years they have lived happily by an open window overnight and on cooler days in the summer but this year the wildfires are so bad here in the west I have had too keep windows shut for weeks because I can't breathe the smoke. I guess I should have put a fan on them or something.

Thanks again even though I no longer have a big plant and am sad.

judi

[bil]

As soon as you do over 4" deep with fine bark, you move into all the problems associated with overpotting. The diameter doesn't matter it's the depth that kills

[Dollythehun]

Judi, I'm guessing I have a few years on you, so cheer up! Also, I am so sorry about your environmental disasters. We have it easy here and I am grateful but sad for those who don't.

[judiwa]

I dont use fine bark and would like some wide, shallow pots but I think I would go nuts trying to keep things watered, our humidity is around 15%-20% in the summer and we normally have a lot of sun and wind. I just ignored the ventilation in a warm room.

I will be 70 this year and to that I say LOL! The fires are terrible, it gets worse every year.

Thanks again, I keep saying I will get a camera and post more, I have a Zygo in bud if I haven't done something bad to it too.

[bil]

Originally Posted by judiwa

I dont use fine bark and would like some wide, shallow pots but I think I would go nuts trying to keep things watered, our humidity is around 15%-20% in the summer and we normally have a lot of sun and wind. I just ignored the ventilation in a warm room.

I will be 70 this year and to that I say LOL! The fires are terrible, it gets worse every year.

Thanks again, I keep saying I will get a camera and post more, I have a Zygo in bud if I haven't done something bad to it too.

70 eh? Good for you. I'm 64, so it looks like I might be good for a few more years yet.

There's a number of tricks you can use to ease the pain of watering. Remember, the vital thing is that you must allow the air to reach the roots easily. To ensure that, it is vital to keep the media shallow. Go above 4" and it starts to get dangerous.
You might like to try this.
Take a wide, shallow container, and put 1" - 2" of moss on the bottom.. Spread the roots out and place the plant on that. Cover with at most 1" of fine bark, sieved to remove all the fines and dust. Put a few rocks on the top to hold the plant steady.
When you water, the moss will hold a lot, but because that layer is shallow, the air will peetrate. The fine bark layer is only there as a mulch, to hold the water in, and stop algae from growing.

[judiwa]

Thanks, that sounds like a good idea. I may have to change the way I grow if our weather stays wonky.