Overgrown Catt needs some love... like NOW
 

Hi all,
I haven't been growing Catts very long but I have obtained a largish Catt that has outgrown it's pot with new psudobulbs overhanging the pot on two opposite ends! I've read that when you have two new growth points you can divide it into two plants, but I'd really rather keep it as a show-stopper speciman plant if I can.

The only problem is I'm not 100% sure how to give it some love. I know the pot it's in is way too small and I've been having a lot of trouble keeping all of the overgrown roots wet since they are out of the pot. Many have already dried up even though I try to sprinkle it with my hose every other day. It also has several sun burns on the leaves so I think it must have been a bit neglected. I'm guessing it came from a nursery where it was probably growing into the pots of it's neighbors in an overly sunny corner and also had a regular overhead sprayer keeping it wet. Both of it's flowers feel off about a week after I brought it home so I think it's really ready for a re-pot no matter what season it is.

I live in Miami and someone at the orchid society meeting when I obtained it told me I should mount it in some kind of a basket to encourage it to grow out into a large ball, but I'm not sure how to prepare such a thing. Aren't baskets ususally lined with moss? I thought moss would stay too wet for a catteleya?? I have several mango, avacado and oak trees in my yard and any of those might make a decent mounting or hanging place, although Id rather hang it i think in case a hurricane comes through so I can bring it inside. Any help would be apprechiated with detailed discriptions. The plant in question is called Blc. Sang Yang Ruby 'Kuang Lung' and needs help asap so I don't loose any more roots!

:hello there !!! My first question would be what size pot is your plant in ?? If it is a 4 or 6 inch pot you can still pot it into a larger size pot or you can have it hanging in a basket. Home Depot sells the round wooden baskets. This would be the best and you can add some chucky bark mix with some moss to maintain the humidity. Either that or you can mount it on one of your trees; however if you do this you won't be able to remove it once it's attached without loosing some or most of the roots. My choice is always to find a larger pot or basket. If the plant is pot bound try soaking it in water for a couple of hours. If it's a clay pot you can try breaking the pot gently. I too like specimen size plants so no divisions for me. Hopefully I could help.:goodluck:

Here are some pictures of it. I think it's a 6-in pot, but as you can see it's much wider then that. I think ive decided to try and hang it from my Mango tree. How do I prepare the basket so it will grow into a large ball of psudobulbs? Roly have you ever gone to a coral gables orchid society meeting?

I, personally wouldn't worry about that.... I have some Catts that are waaay bigger than that in 6" pots and they still seem happy.

Another thing to remember when you try mounting your plant on your mango tree is that will it get too cold for it during the winter?

You can put it in a pot arge enough to accommodate the whole plant and just fill in some additional medium around the older pot. It appears that you have it in a medium that will not break down and that drains well. You7'll just have to be careful you don't overwater it, though I don't think that's a great danger.

Gwen I can see what you are saying about the roots drying on you. I think that if you place it in a basket it would be even better because all you do is hose it down daily in the mornings until the roots turn green and it would be dry by night time. If the basket is the chioce I would get an 8 inch wooden basket from Home Depot, line the bottom and sides with some newspaper and then pot the plant in it. Try to use the same medium that you have that one planted one which seems like LECA, lavarock and charcoal. Once potted use some pieces of wires and run them = and ll to prevent the plant from fallingand then just hang it from the tree and let it grow.:goodluck:

Temperatures here in winter barely drop to a danger zone for the plant. I think that the coldest it's been so far was like in the high 40s and that was just a couple of hours.

Repot
 

Since it is in a plastic pot , all you have to do is wet the plant good , split the pot several places up and down and the plant and root ball will be free to do with as you decide.

Here it's been in the middle 60's...... Plants are ok....I'm not though

I think I agree with Virgil. Soak for awhile to loosen the grip of the roots on the plastic pot, split the pot and remove. Shouldn't a problem. I personally would put in a larger clay pot BUT would change the potting media. You can use the same type as what's it's in now as it seem to do well in it. Changing the potting media would rid it of any broken down media and would revitalize growth with new media. Good luck and happy growing!

I would change the potting media as well. I'm growing mine in 100% lava rock and they are doing well. As far as dividing- I prefer specimen-sized plants so I wouldn't divide it. I would just repot it. This will allow you to check the roots, trim the death stuff off, rinse off the old medium and pot it up in a new container/mount/basket. Good luck!!

When I repot an oversized catt, I start by filling a 5 gal bucket with water. I add a little fertilizer, and fungicide.
I soak the plant in the bucket. Sometimes for a couple of hours. Normally the roots that are clinging to the outside of the pot can be gently worked free. They are much more pliable when they are completely saturated.
Then I work the plant out of the pot. Sometimes the pot will be sacrificed. I use a hose to wash the roots free of any potting mix. If necessary I will cut dead roots.
If I'm thinking of making a specimen plant I will move from a pot to a basket. I use landscape fabric on the bottom of the basket to keep the mix from falling out.
I use a large mix of aliflor, charcoal, spongerock and large bark. Usually I can work the mix around the roots to a point that the plant is secure, if I feel that the plant is too loose then I'll work a piece of bamboo under the top basket slat, over the rhizome, and then under the basket slat on the other side.

Here are some photos of the process, although on this operation I did divide the plant a bit.

http://www.flgulfhomes.com/blogfiles/robertstrait.jpg
http://www.flgulfhomes.com/blogfiles...traitroots.jpg
http://www.flgulfhomes.com/blogfiles...straitsoak.jpg
http://www.flgulfhomes.com/blogfiles...tfreeroots.jpg
http://www.flgulfhomes.com/blogfiles...aitsanspot.jpg
http://www.flgulfhomes.com/blogfiles...tcleanroot.jpg
http://www.flgulfhomes.com/blogfiles...raitchunks.jpg
http://www.flgulfhomes.com/blogfiles...aitresults.jpg

Visuals are always a help. Thanks !!

FlBob, gorgeous plant!

Which one is it and what do you feed it? Small children and pets? (just kidding :).....but not really.) (LOL)

It's absolutely gorgeous!!

The plant I pictured is Lc Mem Robert Strait 'Blue Hawaii'
I use an orchid fertilizer from sun bulb, and add plenty of Florida sunshine.

Thanks for all your advice! I'm going to home depot later today to get a basket and some wire! I will let you know how it all turns out.

And yeah, it doesn't get very cold here. I've been checking the temps every night because I'm chilling my phals and it hasnt been below 50 on my patio yet this winter. At 55 I sometimes throw old sheets and blankets over the benches to keep some of the plant's own heat in. Catts can take lower temps then phals and my phals are doing great (and all except three are sending out inflorescences!)

Anywhoo thanks again for all of your input. I will see if I can find some cloth at home depot to line it so that was a great tip, and I will pull off the pot and take a look at the medium before I decide what to do. I think all of you have good points, if its good medium it should stay but on the other hand it would be good to see the state of the roots and clean them up perhaps. We'll see!

Thanks FLBob for the pictures!! What a healthy looking plant! The visuals are a big help. I'm going to go soak it right now because I didn't think about that. My phals are pretty much always damp so they are pretty pliable when I repot but the Catt is pretty dry. Thanks again for the info!

-Lisa