To divide or repot this cattleya??

[orion141]

Hi all,

I have a question about dividing a cattleya. The plant is currently potted into a 6 inch pot and is growing in two directions (north and south). The plant has grown too big for the pot and as such face the decision of either repotting it or dividing and repotting it. Currently there is new root growth on both leading growths (north and south). The plant has about 9 pseudobulbs on it now. Would you all recommend repotting it (it would have to go into a 9-10 inch pot to give it 1.5-2 inches of room at both leading growths) or dividing it into 2 and repotting it that way. To note I am growing indoors under light so space is some what of an issue. Thanks!

[IncurablePlantHead]

Well 2 6 inch pots will take up more room than 1 10 inch pot if you want to keep both the divisions. If you could spare the room, I would go for a big specimen plant in a 10 inch pot. Otherwise, you could trade or sell one of the divisions.

[tucker85]

I'm not a fan of dividing cattleyas but I definitely understand that it sometimes needs to be done. Personally I like to place the entire plant in a larger pot while disturbing the roots as little as possible. Cattleyas seem to grow better and bloom better for me when they're large. Sometimes, when I divide a plant, it sulks for a while or occasionally it doesn't recover at all. If both new leads were going in the basically the same direction, I would recommend that you don't divide it but with leads going in two opposite directions it presents a problem to try to repot without dividing. I think it's entirely up to you. I can't really give you an opinion.

If you do repot the entire plant, I recommend using a shallow pot like an azalea pot or bulb pan and a chunky mix. There's just too much volume in a 10" standard pot and it won't dry out quickly enough. Good luck.

[james mickelso]

Another option I prefer is to divide and repot both divisions in the same pot. Cut the rizome back leaving three pbulbs on each division and repot with the oldest back pbulb at the edge of the pot so that each lead will grow toward the center of the pot. This will also stimulate the back older pbulbs to sprout new growth buds. Just putting this in a larger pot won't initiate new growth leads. And you run the risk of having lots of old leafless pbulbs with just two flowering growths. As Tucker said, use shallow azalea pots.

[orion141]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I went ahead and just put it into a larger clay azalea pot that I drilled some additional holes around the sides on (for some air flow and drainage). Potted the plant in a CHC, charcoal, and sponge rock mix.

On another note, I have to say though that I really despise re-potting plants that have been potted in sphagnum moss. It is absolutely dreadful!!!