Dividing/repotting plants in S/H

[calvin_orchidL]

I'm sure this topic has come up and I tried to do a search, but decided I might as well ask again rather than sift through 335 posts

I've had limited success with S/H but I have one catt that seems to enjoy itself. Unfortunately, it's decided to climb it's way out over the edge of the pot. I repotted into a larger container a months ago and it hasn't skipped a beat, but I really had a lot of trouble getting the new growth closer to the middle of the pot. Since I don't relish the idea of repotting every year and ending up with a huge gallon tub of hydroton, I thought - hmm maybe I should remove some of the back bulbs so I can get the plant nice and centered...and then I realized: Wait...how do you do that!?!

Below you can see the new growth and roots...you can see where I tried to pull some of the hydroton off on the other side to try and create some space, but despite my efforts, the new growth is basically right up against the edge of the pot and I will likely have to repot again next year.

Ideas?

[quiltergal]

I've been wondering the same thing myself Calvin. I've got a couple of Onc. alliance plants in S/H and they are growing like weeds. It won't be long and they will have outgrown their pots.

[TylerK]

Is it possible you just didn't remove enough hydroton from the other side? If you could remove 1/4 to 1/3 of the hydroton from the area of the back bulbs you could squash them right up against the side of the pot and have the new growth closer to the center. If you pull some of the hydroton out of the empty spaces between the roots, it should be easier to get at the ones stuck to the roots. Once a few key pieces are removed it should collapse like a bag of marbles, except for the stuff actually adhered to the roots.

Looks like it's taken to it really well though. I haven't had the courage to try any of my catts in SH yet. Just angs, phals, a couple dens and three cyms. Not everything is doing great, but nothing has died...yet.

Tyler

[Ray]

In reverse order...

Tyler - Catts take to S/H quite well, BUT you had better time it right - just when new growths are forming and their roots are just nubs. That way the new roots are immediately tailored to the new environment and they begin to support the plant quickly. This is true for all plant and all transplants to new media (s/h or otherwise), but catts are, for some reason, pickier than many.

As to dividing a plant in S/H, you might try some variant of this: Start with an old knife that needs to be sharpened ('cause it will anyway). Position it near the rhizome at the point you want to divide it, and with great effort, push the point straight down into the root mass/medium. Then, using that buried tip as the pivot point, press the sharp edge in.

It may only move a little, but that will let you push it deeper to repeat, eventually separating the mass.

[calvin_orchidL]

Thanks for all the replies
Tyler - I couldn't get anymore off without ripping off roots...the roots are essentially glued to the hydroton, and even with soaking maintain the rigid shape...basically the shape of the container.

I have also found that how successful SH is depends critically on when you do the transplant....also, the other little lesson I learned is that once roots grow into the reservoir, they become 'water' roots and then if you let them dry out too long, they die. I just put a few more catt types into it, mainly because I despise watering, and this makes things ultra easy. I can even put the plants outside without worrying because as long as the little reservoir is not empty, I know my plants are moist enough.

Maybe I should have just ripped off the roots...it's growing new ones anyway!

[TylerK]

I'm not there so I can't see what you see, so I apologize if I'm repeating something that you've already said is not the case, but it does look like there are gaps here and there (ie: top left hand corner of the picture) where there are pieces of hydroton that aren't attached to anything. If that were the case, and you could remove hydroton from the center of the mass you could almost fold part of the plant in and shift it towards the side of the pot without tearing up any of the roots.

I just say this because I was just in a similar position removing bits of decomposing bark from a couple root bound cymbidiums that I now have in sh. It looked like one big solid network of roots until I managed to pull a few peices of bark out. Once a few key pieces were removed, the rest just seemed to crumble.

Maybe it's best to just remove the back bulbs though

Tyler

[Orchid313]

It doesn't hurt to remove leafless back bulbs, and I put the oldest bulb right up against the pot wall, leaving as much space as possible for new growths. If you wet the roots thay will be more pliable and you can more easily compact them. Do not use an old knife to remove the bulbs. Use a sterilized tool or a fresh razor blade, then throw it out. You don't want to transfer virus.