Repotting Stanhopea/Coryanthes

[malteseproverb]

I have a Stanhopea tigrinum and a Coryanthes macrantha that I bought last year. The seller at the time said they weren't blooming size yet and to keep them in a pot as they get to blooming size and then transition to a net pot or basket for blooming. I understand baskets are necessary because the spikes go down through the media. Since last spring, they have at least tripled in size. They're each putting out several new growths and are outgrowing their pots. My question is are they ready to go in a basket? If so what size? I tried to give you an idea of their current size based on my hand, but the Stanhopea is putting out four new growths and the Coryanthes is putting out two.

[smweaver]

Putting them in baskets won't hurt. The coryanthes, in my opinion, looks to be blooming size (most coryanthes won't get anywhere near the size of an adult stanhopea, so I wouldn't compare the two plants you have with each other to judge size), so I think it's a good idea to at least transfer that one to a basket.

One friendly word of advice is that I would avoid the wooden baskets. If you can, try to find mesh plastic baskets. The wooden slat baskets are attractive, but I've had many stanhopea spikes get stuck trying to push their way through the wooden sections instead of between them. Most spikes will find their way out. But it's quite frustrating to repot (re-basket?) a plant and find the remnants of one or more aborted flower spikes that died because they weren't able to make their way out.

Good luck with your plants. I think you'll be quite pleased when they flower.

Steve

[DeaC]

The 4 Stans I have were recently repotted in plastic mesh baskets in which I cut out some of the plastic to make openings bigger and others are in wire baskets whose diameters are different sizes but have about 2'' openings. A Coryanthes bit the dust at still a young plant,my fault surely,but I'll try again. Love the look of blooms hanging over a pot edge or under neath. And what a fragrance!