Repotting rupicolous laelias

[NatalieS]

So, this was a first for me and a bit nerve-wracking since I have read these HATE being repotted. I hope I've done a good job. I'm interested to know how others here on the board pot their 'rupis'.

The 'rupi' in question is Laelia lucasiana. It arrived with lots of moss growing on the top of the media. Very pretty, but I was completely unable to tell how wet/dry it was. Also, when I would give it a good watering I could smell that faintly sweet, pungent, rotting media smell. Added to that, a new growth that it's been working on was growing right up against the side of the pot. That was the clincher.

I have read recommendations for potting these in gravel, aquarium gravel, sand, and even cat litter. In the end what I went for was a mix of aquarium gravel and CHC of roughly the same size. Anyone else try this combination?

It was a good thing I removed all the moss as well. It had grown quite thick and, too my sadness, I noticed several blackened growths that had been smothered and rotted. The only reason the new one survived was because it came up in a gap between the side of the pot and the media.

Anyway, I've attached a few pics. All comments and suggestions welcome - as I said, I'm eager to hear how other people pot their rupicolous laelias.

[Bud]

Very nice. You are set for the next couple of years. Its also a good time to repot since you have new growths and new roots.
You have done well.
As for me, I am scared to disturb the roots ...I just get a bigger pot and put the whole old pot inside it(cut some holes on the sides for new roots to come through) and fill it in with fresh mix...

[NatalieS]

Thanks Bud! That's very encouraging.

I was also scared to disturb the roots. If you drop the old pot into a new pot each time, what media do you use? I assume it's something that doesn't break down?

[ezil]

Mine arrived this spring in a moss mixture as well, and I wasn't confident that that would work in my conditions. I repotted it in a bonsai pot in Leca pellets and some chopped sphagnum, that, when it breaks down, can be removed with tweezers. When the time comes to repot, I won't have to disturb the roots. So far, so good. I just don't have much luck with CHC.

[keithrs]

I use hydroton and top dress with seedling bark(orchiata) in a clay pot.

[naoki]

Interesting topic! I recently got 3 Rupicolous Laelia, and I don't know much about the culture of this group, so I'm curious to hear about the success story of other people. You probably seen this, but I thought that this site is informative:
Rupicolous Laelia Potting Demonstration

My L. lucasiana has only 3 bulbs, and it's probably deflasked this spring. They are all in 100% sphagnum moss. I got them from Olympic Orchids, and she recommended to leave them in sphag for another year before moving to other mix. So I'm following this recommendation for now. They have been growing pretty actively and making lots of new bulbs and roots. L. alvaroana and L. liliputiana are growing a little faster than L. lucasiana.

They do need lots of light to flower, right? Has anyone successfully flowered them under T5HO light?

[eggshells]

I mounted mine in a piece of bark horizontally with a padding of sphagnum moss.

[NatalieS]

Everyone seems to have such varied potting techniques with these - really interesting. I've certainly never heard of them being mounted. That really surprised me!