Cymbidium LECA repotting question
 

Howdy S/H folks. I have a cymbidium in S/H that just finished blooming. It's been in same pot for a couple of years. I hate to repot since it's doing well, but the middle is dying out.

Do y'all think I should repot? Or let it be? A couple of pics of it in bloom so you can see its vigor, and a couple of pics now that I've cut off the stalks so you can see the dead parts now.

Thanks in advance for your opinions!

Personally, I would unpot it, and pull it apart into at lease two parts from that center. It might easily separate into more, but try to keep each division at least three old growths and the current active one.

Get rid of the spent pseudobulbs in the center, but if they are still firm, you might be able to get more plants by nestling the individual back bulbs about 3/4" into moist perlite. They often sprout readily that way.

It's a beauty!

Thanks Ray. I know nothing about cymbidium. It's the only one I have, but am looking at getting another soon. Did note that some of the bulbs seemed firm rather than dry, and I'll try that.

Was thinking if repotting was in order, I'd take out the middle spent ones, then put all back into same pot. Would like to keep it large if possible. If so, I would just remove and just repot rest into the middle, correct?

If you separate the old leafless back bulbs, don't put them into the same pot with the newer growth. They will grow at a different rate than the newer growth and be overwhelmed by the more vigorous newer growth.

Most people pot up back bulbs singly in a pot that just holds them, in a cym potting mix. Then pot up again after they make the first growth. Keep them just moist before new roots form or they may rot.

I have one much worse than yours but, because I'm lazy, I don't repot it. It is giving me lots of flowers each year but, next repot, I'm considering about dividing it.

You can pot a single bulb but chances are that it may take at least 3 to 4 years to give you blooms.
If you pot 3 or more bulbs, probably it needs only one year.

Question: I'm not sure what "cym potting mix" is, as I've always had this in S/H since I got it (repotted on purchase). And, it's my only cym and I know nothing about growing them. It just grows. So, query is, is there a reason to repot it in other than S/H? Ray saying perlite, E.Seca saying cym potting soil?

And yes, Rbarata... it's a combo of lazy, but more not really knowing what I'm doing. And since it blooms, I've not tried to fix what isn't broken up til now. I just know the middle looks burned out and new stuff has no place to go. :)

As we don't have anything here called "cym potting mix", what I use is coarse pine bark only. By coarse I mean bark bigger thanchunk pieces of bark something around 1,5 in.

Most Cym growers in ideal climates like California use potting mixes quite different from plain bark, and more water-retentive. Most people use a different mix starting back bulbs. It needs to stay moist, but not wet.

Mine are in deep clay pots, over 12 in in diameter so they stay moist for almost a week in summer. But there's a particularity about them, they almost never get sun, only about 2 hrs max by late afternoon in summer.