It's official! I'm an orchid hobbyist!
 

My daughter brought home this sad, yet beautiful chief sweet orange cattelya orchid the other day. Probably 75% of the roots were rotted, so emergency surgery was performed. With the rotted roots cut out, we left the plant to dry overnight. The next day, our search for clear slotted pots of sufficient size for this plant turned up nothing. So we decided to make a clear slotted pot for it by recycling a Starbucks Cup.

This involves getting out some scissors, an X-Acto knife and some patience. While cutting the bottom of the cup with the X-Acto knife, I misjudged the thickness of the plastic on the bottom of those cups. The knife slipped, my thumb slipped toward it and I received what the doctor called a "textbook laceration." Apparently, if you're going to get a laceration, you may as well do a good job at it, and I managed to accomplish that with ease, if not grace.

The good news is the orchid has been potted, and will hopefully be saved. The bad news is I have three stitches in my thumb and a pressure bandage wrapped around it. You have no idea how difficult is to put on your deodorant in the morning without the use of your left thumb.

I hope that other beginners will learn from my experience and instead of trying to create your own creatively recycled clear plastic slotted pot, just order them off of the Internet and save yourself the stitches.

Now that I have bled for this hobby, and my daughter, I think that I can officially say that I am an orchid hobbyist.

I would say you have joined the club! Hope you and the orchid heal well!

Sorry about your injury, hope the orchid appreciates it and blooms for you soon.
I use non-flexible see-through plastic drinking cups a lot, but instead of cutting them, the holes are poked at the bottom and on the sides:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K43NDfCVnP...anderianum.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-khms_bMCIN...ianum_root.jpg

My mom was visiting this summer and she perfected her skills in this using some sharp pointy tool from my husbands toolbox.
She perforated whole package of 50 cups ($3.99 at Canadian Tire) for me so I could move my phals from moss to bark in these cups:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-myok0gr3U6...son_cherub.jpg

Sorry about your thumb but now you have joined the rank and files of orchid growers.

Welcome! heal soon!

A small tipped soldering iron works well for this too. Just don't inhale fumes or get burnt!

hah that's what I do too. I use some old scissors with plastic handles and place just the tips on a burner. I just have to be extra cautious with any potential fumes so I make sure to have a fan and/or a window open. But it works great and cuts right through the plastic cup without injury! Hopefully your thumb heals fast...

I have one sitting in my basement too! Why didn't I think of that? I think that poking holes in the cups with a pencil might be safer though. LOL!

---------- Post added at 11:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:33 AM ----------

Thought I would share with you all, the offending orchid in question and the pot, after I earned my stitches for it. It's lovely and I hope that we can keep it alive, it also seems to be somewhat fragrant.

Pot. Chief Sweet Orange is it's name. Not sure I got it right in my original post. I hate how the daughter brings home an orchid, THEN researches it later.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3834/9...067ebd972e.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3700/9...9452d65c10.jpg

Thats really nice looking,good luck with it

NO you are not a mere hobbyist....you are a serious bonafide Orchid Grower!
but you need not bleed yourself....at all times be careful using your tools and materials.

---------- Post added at 05:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:43 PM ----------

You can pot expertly and neatly a lovely Cattleya as that as if a professional florist did it.