Stanhopea tigrina nigroviolacea 'The Predator' FCC/AOS arrived!

[JScott]

Got this plant today, and it is HUGE! I got it from Orchid Design, and they were great. Very friendly and helpful. They say that this is an actual division of the original awarded plant. I don't know if that is true or not, but I have no reason to think she would lie about that, and for what I paid for it, it makes sense. It had 5 spikes, but when they moved it to take pictures for the listing, she didn't put it back where it was before, and she thinks it got too much sun and not enough water and all the buds blasted, but the Orchid Design lady (I don't think I ever caught her name) was very kind. The list price was 200. She sold it to me for 150 because of the bud blast. I don't consider that necessary. The way I see it, I'm buying an orchid PLANT. It it has buds on it, great! An added bonus! But I don't expect plants to be budded (unless I order from someplace like Akatsuka who specialized in budded plants for the gift market). But anyway, that was super nice of her to give me a price break and I really appreciate it. She said it is still early in the blooming season, and I may get blooms later on anyway.

As you can see, the plant is huge, growing in all directions, over the side of the basket and then down the basket. I have no idea how to repot such a plant. Do I just drop the whole thing into a bigger basket? Do I just leave it and let it do its thing? I have no idea. My issue with the latter example is humidity. I don't have high humidity in the winter, and I'm afraid that if the roots are totally exposed, they won't grow, or maybe even dry up and die.

Anyway, it's a great plant and I feel lucky to have it. You should all check out Orchid Designs.