Brown root tips in Laelia

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by AnitadeWaard

PS So should I just cut the roots from the larger pot, or can I soak them or do something else to let them go from the outer pot without damaging them? Thanks!

No, just leave it... our messages crossed, note above.

[thefish1337]

repotting allows you to assess the whole plant for health right when you receive it. there is minimal danger in re-potting if the plant is healthy and you do not over-pot it (too big of a pot) so that slip you have it in will be the perfect size. the media its in looks a little broken down as well. take care to reduce root damage (wetting them thoroughly will make them more pliable) and the plant will be just fine.

the plant may dry out faster or slower when you repot so pick the pot up before and after you water the new media to get an idea of what dry feels like and what wet feels like this will help you hone in on your watering schedule. rainwater is good but you should consider using a complete fertilizer like, MSU, K-lite or dyna-gro foliage pro at 1/4 strength every time you water.

[AnitadeWaard]

Oh ok -- in that case I will just leave it as it is ! And try to keep the roots more moist, by putting it closer to the humidifier.

(Boy, I just have so much to learn...)

[Veksa]

Thanks for the pictures. I agree with thefish1337. You have a healthy plant with new growth, there is no need to worry about a few outside root tips. Keep researching, but if it was mine I would repot it in a single pot, give it a good soak prior to repotting to loosen up roots. There is a lot info on repotting cattleyas, main "trick" is to repot it so old growth is closer to the rim and new are facing cente, so you wont have to repot for next few years.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by AnitadeWaard

Oh ok -- in that case I will just leave it as it is ! And try to keep the roots more moist, by putting it closer to the humidifier.

(Boy, I just have so much to learn...)

I have been growing orchids for about the last 25 years, and I'm still learning all the time. That's the fun of it!

You could just drop the plant, nested pots and all, into a slightly larger pot, add some bark into the space between the new outer pot and the nested pots, to help maintain a bit more moisture in the root zone. These do like to dry out between waterings, so that bark in the outer area will give you the "humid air" that the roots really want.

[thefish1337]

Originally Posted by Roberta

There's a very large nursery in southern California (Santa Barbara Orchid Estate) that pots all their Cattleyas this way, quite successfully. Once the plant is established, when the plant outgrows its pot like this, they just drop it into the next size larger pot. Apparently the air space between the pots holds humidity well enough that the roots just love the arrangement. After all, if there were enough humidity, Catts would prefer to be bare root altogether. they seem to like this compromise. So don't worry about repotting this very happy plant... if you have low humidity you may want to add some bark to the outer pot when you up-pot it, but don't even worry about what's in the inside pot. (You could turn it upside down and see what you could shake out, but don't try to remove it until that oldest part dies, which it eventually will in a few years.

(I have bought plants from Santa Barbara Orchid Estate with 5 nested pots, bark only in the first one)

just to clarify my post- you *could* repot if you want to

i ran into a lot of problems keeping my orchids potted the way santa barbara orchid estate does their thing- eventually the roots just tangled everywhere and when I needed to do anything with the plant there was 3 pots with a tangle of unruly roots and decaying media at the center- there was a lot of damage and a huge PITA when I finally divided and repotted the plant a couple years later. the roots love the slip but I wish I would have started with fresh bark or leca or granite chips and used the technique with a solid foundation. just my $0.02

[Roberta]

I eventually repot those plants into a single container also (I have better luck with baskets than pots, but that's my climate and watering practice) but there's no rush. At the very least, wait to repot until new roots start to appear.

[AnitadeWaard]

In summary: I could repot, advantages: see how the plant is *really* doing, less trouble later on, disadvantages: might stress the plant more... Or not: disadvantages: might be a tangled mess soon, no idea what's happening under the hood; advantages: less stress.

I think I will repot and take some pictures of the roots, just in case anyone's interested !

This orchid business is really quite something. I've been gardening & had houseplants for all my life but suddenly am completely fascinated/addicted to these odd weird tropical epiphytes... I had no idea...

Thank you all so much!

[AnitadeWaard]

So, in case it's of interest to anyone (but remarkably, y'all seem to care !), the little Laelia's roots seemed to have grown all over the outside of the inside pot and the inside of the outside pot (see pix 1 & 2) and I figured that with the travel etc it would just be too traumatic to rip them all off, so I ended up going with Roberta's suggestion and stick (yet another) pot all around the whole thing, just to give the roots a place to go. (Not sure if that's even necessary since none of my other houseplant instincts seem to make any sense with orchids, but oh well...) Flushed it all with rainwater, will now give it some rest... We'll see! Thanks again for all the advice!

[thefish1337]

looks good!