Divide or Pot up?

[ag_roe]

I have a healthy Ionocidium Popcorn "Highlands" that I believe should be divided this spring, once the buds drop. It has 6 pseudobulbs, and twice that many leaves. Also, it is producing aerial roots aggressively. It is currently in a 3" plastic orchid pot.

However, this was my first miniature purchase, and I did not realize that it would dry out much faster than my other plants, thus requiring constant watering.

My question is: Can I pot it up to a 4 or 5 inch pot, instead of dividing it? I would want to do this, with the hopes that it would cut down my watering requirements.

Thoughts?

[Zoi2]

I don't believe I would divide it with only 6 pbulbs. You shouldn't have a problem repotting in a 4-5" pot.
What is the potting media you're using?
Joann

[Matilda]

I think you should keep it together.

[ag_roe]

Hey,

It is currently in a bark mix. I just bought it, so I don't know what the mix is, but it is mostly bark.

[WhiteRabbit]

definitely pot up! Myself - I only would divide plants that are too big for where I want to grow them (windowsill) or in the case of cyms, when they would just be too large for me to manage. Or, if I was sharing a division. Bigger is better!

[Lagoon]

Bark can dry out very fast, you may have to do some deeper soakings to keep this moist.

I like bark with sphag, if you coupled these 2 medias together you would be able to reduce some of the watering times.
I use to pot up many of my orchids tightly - I no longer do that - too much watering for me. So I use more sphag, peatmoss or over pot up a size.

Theres' many ways to grow you just have to find out what works best for you.

If this was mine I would not divide this up yet. I like to wait til I see 8 to 10 bulbs.

Sup to you

[ag_roe]

Wow, thanks for the advice. I wasn't sure if division was something you had to do frequently or not. I will definintely pot up, as that seems like the easier option to me. I also like the idea of mixing in some spagnum moss to keeps things moist.