Did I repot these Cattleyas correctly?

[Syrinth]

Hello all, I was doing some repotting last night and made my decision, but looking at this... I'm very unsure if I did it right?

The pot seems kind of large, but at the same time, it's the only one that would fit all of the p-bulbs.

[JScott]

They look kind of tight in those pots. Is there room for new growths, or are they going to end up smushed up against the side of the pot, or hanging out over the edge? And I would strongly suggest you get rid of the sphagnum. Use a bark mix. If you have extensive experience successfully growing Catts in sphag, the I guess go for it, but if you don't have much experience, I think the sphag is going to be a disaster.

[Syrinth]

It's not extensive, but that's what they've been growing in for two years or so and they seem happy enough but I'll def try to switch to bark!

And yeah, that's the problem I have with pots, they never seem wide enough, yet they're always so deep... Should I split them apart and put them in smaller pots or get an even larger pot or...?

[Bayard]

A division of 4 pseudobulbs is adequate.

[Syrinth]

But they keep growing in a line, how do I get them all into a pot???

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Syrinth

But they keep growing in a line, how do I get them all into a pot???

Look around for bulb pans - more width, less depth (probably you'll need to find them online) Another trick, if you have a pot that is wide enough but too deep, invert a small plastic pot in the middle, under your plant. It will create an air pocket in the middle of the pot that otherwise would hold too much water and not enough air. Or use baskets (plastic or wood) to get air flow, as well as a better width-to-height ratio.

Orchids such as Catts that grow on a rhizome will march across the pot... that just how they grow. (I have found that they grow best after they escape over the edge of the pot, which is why I am going more and more to baskets, the plants are telling me that they didn't want to be in a pot in the first place)

[JScott]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Look around for bulb pans - more width, less depth (probably you'll need to find them online) Another trick, if you have a pot that is wide enough but too deep, invert a small plastic pot in the middle, under your plant. It will create an air pocket in the middle of the pot that otherwise would hold too much water and not enough air. Or use baskets (plastic or wood) to get air flow, as well as a better width-to-height ratio.

Orchids such as Catts that grow on a rhizome will march across the pot... that just how they grow. (I have found that they grow best after they escape over the edge of the pot, which is why I am going more and more to baskets, the plants are telling me that they didn't want to be in a pot in the first place)

I was just going to suggest bulb pans, and you beat me to it! i have started growing a lot of my Catts in bulb pans, and they're great. In the winter, I have to bring my plants in and put them by the windows and under lights. A pot bigger than 8 inches is just too tall to fit under the lights, so I switched to bulb pans, and not only do they fit under the lights better, but the plants are healthier and happier. The root systems are healthier. When I used to repot my Catts, I would always find that the roots toward the top of the pot were in good shape, but the roots toward the middle of the pot were all dead. I recently repotted a Catt that had been growing in a bulb pan for two years, and found healthy roots throughout the entire pot. It's a great solution to a plant whose rhizome is too long to fit into a smaller pot, but doesn't have enough roots to fill a bigger pot. And yes, I order them online.

---------- Post added at 08:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:24 AM ----------

And most people would recommend against sphagnum for Cattleyas, but if you've been growing them like that and you are getting good results with healthy plants, then go ahead and use the moss if you like it. If I had a Cattleya planted in moss, it would be dead by the end of the year, but different things work for different people.

[Syrinth]

Thanks for the advice, now I just need to figure out where to buy the damned things...

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Syrinth

Thanks for the advice, now I just need to figure out where to buy the damned things...

Green Barn Orchid Supplies just calls them "shallow pots" but same thing... wider than they are tall. (I don't recall where I last got bulb pans, but I like the mahogany baskets that Green Barn has because the slats are close enough together that the bark doesn't fall out)

---------- Post added at 12:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:33 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Roberta

Green Barn Orchid Supplies just calls them "shallow pots" but same thing... wider than they are tall. (I don't recall where I last got bulb pans, but I like the mahogany baskets that Green Barn has because the slats are close enough together that the bark doesn't fall out)

Don't know how much of a beating on shipping you'll take in Canada, but no doubt easier than plants.

[DirtyCoconuts]

for what it is worth, i shop there in person quite a bit, great folks and they are really into plant which is great.

If they wont do intl shipping or it is abusive let me know and i can try to help you once movement is allowed again