Seeking repotting/up-potting advice

[qbie]

What would you recommend doing with this rescue Sarcochilus? Never repotted it since picking it up 2 yrs ago and the original grower used inorganic media. More roots are growing now as well as basal growths from the "bare" stem.



One of the main things I've learned here is the importance of maintaining a healthy root system and disturbing roots as little as possible seems to go a long way to preserving them. Would it be OK to just put this in a larger pot and top it off with bark so it covers the bare parts of the exposed roots and provides media for new roots to grow in?

Seeing how plants can grow large over many years (at least for the dendrobium) it appears sometimes one doesn't even repot but just puts the whole thing in a bigger pot and it essentially keeps growing on top of itself and what's below is dead/decomposing. Is this also true of larger Sarcochilus specimens people eventually have even though bark was used for the potting medium?

Thanks for your advice.

[Blueszz]

To start with, you might want to check this topic. Project 2023 Spring Sarcochilus

We had a plant project with Sarcochilus.

What I learned over the years is that they don't like to dry out, they need to stay damp in between waterings. Not soggy, but slightly damp with good airflow between the medium/roots.

I'm not familiar with the climate you live in but any how, I think in an inert medium it is hard to keep up with watering this baby.

I did a plop and drop with the Sarcochilus plants I have. I even added a little bit of Sphagnum to keep it damp a little bit longer. The new bark I used was almost water repellent. When I pulled it from the original pot, most of the old medium fell out the pot by itself.

BTW, the new growth in the picture you show from your Sarco, looks like a flower spike to me. Time will tell.

[aparnamane]

Originally Posted by qbie

What would you recommend doing with this rescue Sarcochilus? Never repotted it since picking it up 2 yrs ago and the original grower used inorganic media. More roots are growing now as well as basal growths from the "bare" stem.



One of the main things I've learned here is the importance of maintaining a healthy root system and disturbing roots as little as possible seems to go a long way to preserving them. Would it be OK to just put this in a larger pot and top it off with bark so it covers the bare parts of the exposed roots and provides media for new roots to grow in?

Seeing how plants can grow large over many years (at least for the dendrobium) it appears sometimes one doesn't even repot but just puts the whole thing in a bigger pot and it essentially keeps growing on top of itself and what's below is dead/decomposing. Is this also true of larger Sarcochilus specimens people eventually have even though bark was used for the potting medium?

Thanks for your advice.

Hi Qbie,

I am not expert but I have 5-6 Sarcochilus hybrids and I potted them in inert media (lava rock) and they are doing good in SoCal here is San Diego. I had some in terracotta pot and small ones in plastic pot, I agree with Blueszz that inert media is hard to keep with water so I keep those pots in dish of water but I think they are lithophyte in nature, most of them from Australia.

As Blueszz suggested the new growth might be flower spike as its the season my Sacs also putting multiple flower spikes.

[qbie]

Originally Posted by aparnamane

Hi Qbie,

I am not expert but I have 5-6 Sarcochilus hybrids and I potted them in inert media (lava rock) and they are doing good in SoCal here is San Diego. I had some in terracotta pot and small ones in plastic pot, I agree with Blueszz that inert media is hard to keep with water so I keep those pots in dish of water but I think they are lithophyte in nature, most of them from Australia.

As Blueszz suggested the new growth might be flower spike as its the season my Sacs also putting multiple flower spikes.

Is the water dish so the lava rock can wick up some water?

Would love to see pics of your hybrids when they're in bloom

[aparnamane]

Originally Posted by qbie

Is the water dish so the lava rock can wick up some water?

Would love to see pics of your hybrids when they're in bloom

Lava rock won't wick, but terracotta pot wicks water in the dish, and a plastic pot remains a bit moist b'z of evaporation/condensation, so I think it works very well to keep roots hydrated for a couple of days in summer.

I have some of the orchids in a semi-hydro setup with lava rock with small pebbles as the top layer and I think its working for me so far.

I will post some of my Sarcochilus photos once I get a chance to take a nice picture of them.

Thanks

[Roberta]

Looks to me, also, like you have a spike developing. After it blooms, repot if you want but if the medium is inorganic, not likely necessary - Keep in mind that it IS Vandaceous - so along with moisture, roots need lots of air. If it is rooting, it likely is happy.

[qbie]

Thank you everyone.

I wasn't sure whether to post this in the Sarcochilus project thread or not. Figured an administrator would move it if more appropriate there

Sorry, that long growth is definitely a spike. I should have included a closer picture of the "bare" stem where you can see there are at least 3 basal growths coming from it here.



Since it is a lithophyte, I was considering lava rock too since you wouldn't have to worry about bark breaking down at all. The original grower mixed a little lava rock in his inorganic media too. But I don't really have any experience using inorganic medium. This is the only sarcochilus I have left that I kept in grower's original inorganic media just for the experience instead of repotting in bark. There was another but I threw it out because of signs of continued pests.

So I guess I have 2 questions:
1) Should this be "topped off" now with more media (whether bark or continue with something inorganic like lava rock)? Or when the basal growths themselves begin growing roots?
If now:
2) If this was topped off with bark, by the time bark has broken down, like a dendrobium, would the older growths (roots and leaves) have also died off by natural senescense and eventually become part of the "medium" the rest of the plant is essentially growing in/on? Then it may not matter whether to use bark or rocks.

Thank you!

[Roberta]

I'd just top it off with lava rock or similar inorganic. It's happy. As for basal growths, that's just what Sarcos do.Totally natural, they make clumps.

[qbie]

Thank you. One more question please. I kept some of the original grower's inorganic medium when I unpotted. It's been almost 2 years, but just in case there's some critter's eggs still dormant in there, is boiling for 5-10min sufficient to sterilize for reuse? Thanks

[Roberta]

I don't re-use medium, but it's the same plant so it's OK. If it didn't cause a problem before, it's not going to be a problem now.