Should I re-re-pot my Dendrobium?

[Lady Oscar]

I recently bought a Den. Samarai that came potted in a 2.5" plastic pot. The newest cane was growing entirely outside the pot and it was necessary to wedge the pot into something to keep it standing, so I decided to re-pot. It has a new cane sprouting, and some new root growth, so now seemed like a good time.

I moved the plant into a 3" slotted clear pot with Better-Gro orchid mix (a fairly coarse mix of charcoal, park, and perlite). Unfortunately, I don't think I did a very good job of it.

I was eventually able to cut the original pot off without (I think) doing too much root damage. The whole thing was basically solid roots, wrapped around some pieces of bark. I soaked the roots for several hours, but still wasn't able to remove some of the pieces of bark because they were just too far inside the mass.

The 3" pot was able to hold the roots and existing canes, but I could hardly fit any new media around the roots, and ended up with the top of the root mass above the top of the media. Also, I'm not sure there's going to be enough room for the new cane to really be in the pot (see picture). Does this look OK, or would it be better to repot into a larger pot?

Thanks, and sorry for the potting noob questions!

[AJW]

I don't know if you have seen this flower but the photos I have seen in Orchid Wiz indicates its a beauty.(Well done)
Everyone has different ideas about re potting in terms of when to and what size pot to put it in.
The only advice I would offer relates to an "if it was my plant" situation.
I would have it in a 6' pot (at least) . A solid plastic pot not a slotted one. This should give it a couple of stable years before re potting. Try just potting on method in other words take plant out of small pot and place into larger pot without disturbing the bark and pack fresh bark around it . I have found sometimes this will strengthen the root base.

[Lady Oscar]

Originally Posted by AJW

I don't know if you have seen this flower but the photos I have seen in Orchid Wiz indicates its a beauty.(Well done)
Everyone has different ideas about re potting in terms of when to and what size pot to put it in.
The only advice I would offer relates to an "if it was my plant" situation.
I would have it in a 6' pot (at least) . A solid plastic pot not a slotted one. This should give it a couple of stable years before re potting. Try just potting on method in other words take plant out of small pot and place into larger pot without disturbing the bark and pack fresh bark around it . I have found sometimes this will strengthen the root base.

Thank you for the advice!

They (H&R) had a blooming plant with the little ones. Definitely a very cool flower, and I hope I can keep mine happy until it blooms someday.

What's the advantage of the solid plastic pot? Will it provide more support? Since it's humid here, I worry a bit about root rot if I don't have extra-good drainage.

[AJW]

I think you end up with more heat around the roots.
Use around a grade 3 (marble size) bark and your pot should have drainage holes in the bottom with cross air channels.Certainly not sitting dead flat so the water can not drain out.

[estación seca]

Lady Oscar, you have warm temperatures and high humidity all year. Your main problems would be tipping over and high rainfall. A low, wide pot would do well for you, with very large chunks of bark, as AJW suggested. Even a low, wide wooden basket would be fine. Most people underpot Dendrobiums, but if your container is shallow enough that it dries out rapidly and is well aerated, it could be big enough to be stable.