Root Bound Phrag
 

This Phrag Grande just completed a dramatic two spike bloom. I am particularly proud of this one as it came to me as a rootless ripoff from Orchids.com / Normans and now it is completely rootbound 1.5 years later. Seems mostly roots growing on roots, just a big hard clump of root material.

What would you guys do here? Repot or let it grow? If repotting is advised, how would you go about it? Removing the current pot, and moreso the media, seems like it would really set the plant back. Its been in this media for 1.5 years, watered daily.

[IMG]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ce0b1e62_o.jpgUntitled by Eric, on Flickr[/IMG]

The few Phrags I've grown are vigorous, sturdy plants. I would cut off enough of the roots emerging from the hole that you could pull it out of the pot. Then remove as much old medium as you can easily. Repot and resume watering. I bet it doesn't turn a hair.

I would be even less aggressive... cut off what you can of the pot, then just drop the whole thing into a somewhat larger pot, add some more medium (bark, sphag, or whatever you're using) and keep on doing what you are doing, since it clearly is working very well. I hate to cut good roots, especially any that are as beautiful as those.

Slice the pot into strips and remove what you can. As Roberta suggests, it is a drop in move that I would do.

Thanks for the advice friends. I'm going to break out the exacto knife and excise the pot from the rootball :)

that plastic is thin enough to tear it if you haven't cut it yet.
So use scissors (nail scissors are best) to make a small incision. Roll your thumb around the pot a bit to loosen the roots from sticking to the outside and gently peel the plastic down like peeling a banana.
I find that is the least intrusive way of removing a pot like that one. Using nail scissors helps to get into tight corners and do very small precise cuts without damaging roots.

Exactly what I ended up doing! It wasn't particularly easy, the plastic was pretty thick, but it worked like a charm :) The layer of algae acted as a lube

[IMG]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ef1eea02_o.jpgUntitled by Eric, on Flickr[/IMG]