Suspicious roots on bifoliate mini catt
 

This is my first catt. It's a mini, only about 5 inches tall. I know it's not good to buy plants with suspicious roots but it was A.) Cheap B.) Adorable and C.) If I can nurse a catt back to health then it's a good sign I can take care of healthy ones. This is actually how I generally get started with plants I've never grown before. So far it hasn't failed me.

I'm wondering if I should repot this plant immediately. I know bifoliates want to have new roots before repotting but the medium is moss and bark. I'm not sure how to balance the watering/drying cycle with moss. It just lost the blooms so it'll be a while until it grows new roots I think. :help

Also does anyone have any guesses at the parentage so I can get some general ideas on how to care for it? e.g. What are some common bifoliate parents for mini catts? Any common parents for yellow ones? etc.

Thanks :D

I suppose no one has any suggestions? :hmm

its hard to tell from your picture the exact state of the roots....i like catts in large bark with some chc and charcoal....packed pretty tightly.....i never grow them in sphagnum as it holds too much water for too long....when in doubt, repot....

Maybe I can pull out some moss and push some bark in gently and that would help until it starts growing new roots. I'm really itching to pull it all out though, it kinda smells a bit sour, not fresh and rainy like most sphagnum I've smelled. I don't have enough experience to really tell when it's "repot NOW" or "wait a bit and see." :confused:

Conundrum! I really don't want this plant to sulk at me if I repot now, or die if I wait too long.

I dont think it would be too critical to repot when new roots begin on that, as it looks considerably complex in its make up. What is the name on that plant?

No name. :( I'm sad because it's such a cute little thing in person. If I really had to guess I'd say it's a potinara of some sort.

I'm going to call Trader Joe's and see if they'll tell me who their vendor is. I've heard of people getting names for plants (or at least the parents) that way before.

In that case youre not going to run into the same problem as you wold randomly repotting a C dormaniana or the like. Personally I would rather get it out of a mixed media like it is and would do it soon if it smells like you prefer it doesnt.

Thanks, that's really helpful. :biggrin:
I had no idea that didn't really apply to complex hybrids. Now I can relax a little. Thanks again for answering my question.