Advice for repotting large Oncidium spachelatum
 

This very large - and very heavy - Onc. spachelatum bloomed in March with 80+ spikes. I received this orchid as a gift from someone who could no longer care for it. I have done nothing to the plant in nearly a year, following the advice of the previous owner.

Original potting was a plastic pot, now cracked and largely lost in the foliage. The original owner then placed it inside a plastic milk crate, which now is ready to burst. I am fearful that the plant will bust open the plastic crate and literally fall over

So, I am looking for suggestions as to how to go about repotting this lovely beast. It is very heavy. I've thought about lifting it (with help!) into a very large barrel-like plastic pot I found at Lowes. Might that work?

My eventual goal is to show the orchid at an orchid show in Florida.

Thanks for any advice you provide.

TheAMP

I don't know if this is relevant to the main issue (how to repot such a BEAST safely), but I recently read a blog post where someone used styrofoam cups to improve air circulation around the roots of orchids who are very very large and have strong root systems.

Here is a link to that post. It looks pretty good to me!
Ricardo's Blog, orchids, parrots, fish and people: Sometimes I use Styrofoam cups instead of foam chips or stones to increase drainage and aireation of the media in which large orchids will grow.

It will also make the overall pot you're using a bit lighter because it will decrease the amount of media you use.

I hope to have this problem with an orchid someday! That's a gorgeous gift you've received.

That is an incredible orchid. Is it naked in that milkcrate, or is there media?

If it's naked as if it were a vanda in a small plastic cage, then if you can't get a bigger milk crate, I would build a stainless steel cage around it with lifting points to help you when you move it.

Sphacelatum can grow very large. I have seen them grown in laundry net baskets.

In most cases, at this point my advise would be to divide it. If you are trying for a record specimen plant, you need to figure out some custom solution, which shoulf include:

Growing container for the plant
Some sort of stand, as it will be too heavy for a bench
A method for 3-4 people to lift it

You might have someone fabricate a basket out of chainlink fencing. If you line that with the coconut mats used in wire planters, ti would hold in coarse bark.

It needs to rest in a metal frame cradle, ideally with detachable lifting bars.

I don't think that you have to go to SS. Galvanized steel is probably OK.

My employer could probably do it, but it won't be cheap.

In South Florida most growers mount spachelatum on trees. They grow like weeds and get as big as a car. I don't know if you can leave it outdoors all year or if it gets too cold in your area. If you want to keep it in a container, I would get a large wood basket and just set the entire root ball in the basket without any new media. I've seen wood baskets up to 14".

I'm not entirelly faceitious when I suggest this.

Why not build it a wheeled stand to sit in? That way it would be very easy to move about.

Instead of strofoam cups, how bout little mini pots?

Lifting it might be a hassel. Can you re pot it onto a wheeled cart?

Massive plant. Green eyed here.

---------- Post added at 04:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:30 PM ----------

Lol bil, great minds think alike. Yes, I could see it on a kind of rustic South of the border cart.