Damaged Psychopsis (Mendenhall 'Hildos'- Repot Question
 

:helloI've reviewed threads on this forum when I've encountered orchid problems and a new issue recently surfaced so decided it's time to register to hopefully save one of my favorite plants.

Strong winds blew out a house screen which then tipped tray holding orchids onto the floor. My Psychopsis sustained a few broken leaves and broken pot. I was not able to repot the plant for one week. I repotted using Orchiata mix however did not have enough mix on hand. Restocked on Orchiata mix and want to repot but not sure how to repot this plant again (I also know they don't like to be disturbed).

Orchid is about 6 years old, was repotted after 2nd year. Prior to damage, plant was overgrown-looking and healthy in appearance with one stem flowering on one side and with three close to flower stage stems on opposite side.

Picked up ~5" clay pot with slits. Plant seems almost too large for pot (plant measures about 7" x 3"). Plant has a thin root structure but not as full as I expected in appearance. So that leads me to wonder, what is a healthy root structure appearance for this orchid. It grew in a much smaller pot than the one I picked up to repot. It looks like the plant could be split, since it has appearance of two plants, but not sure if that is wise.

Any feedback on how to repot this orchid would be appreciated. I'm tempted to try adding a few clay pellets or even Superthrive. The hydroponic store which sells the Orchiata mix sells Growstone but decided to take that back since threads indicate this raises the pH and would affect orchids negatively.

I grow my Mendenhall in straight red lava rock/basket pot and just water often. I've had it in the same pot, same medium since it was a tiny seedling not long out of flask, about four or five years (I always lose track of time).
The early roots were thin but the recent roots have been much thicker, more like a Phal's. Mine isn't blooming size and, I admit, it sometimes gets neglected but the leaves have slowly been getting larger with each round of growth so I don't worry about it too much. It didn't like growing under lights (?) but it is faithfully putting out new growth so I think it will recover.
Good luck with yours and I hope you get some better advice. This is my only Psychopsis so I am definitely not an expert.

BAK 15, could you add medium to the already potted plant?
I have a plant that was struggling and all though the medium was good, the plant was not growing and not flowering, to make a long story short, my plant responded well to been re-pot and I did mixed some clay pellets with the bark. Now my plant has two new growths and a flower bud. although I think I should cut the flower spike to let the plant give all the energy to the new growth.

Your plant sounds to be in much better shape then mine, so I don't see why it would not respond well to re-potting.

Pictures would be nice, but I see you are still new to this forum....repotting this time of year is good for all plants....just make sure you anchor the plant firm to the bottom so it doesn't wobble....since some of the roots might have been disturbed go easy on water....wait till it is dry before watering again....the best thing I do is put the pot in a saucer of water=when the water is dry =it is time to run it under the sink dripping wet and the whole pot gets flushed of debris.

Thanks to all for your suggestions. I have the clay pellets and it seems reasonable to add more mix with pellets to fill the pot rather than repotting a second time. The part of the plant that has grown beyond the rim will hopefully take root also. I did soak the entire plant in a water since plants repotted with the Orchiata seem to need a bit extra watering initially. A couple leaves that were bent don't appear as they will survive and plan to wait until they decline further before removing. Can report back the success of this attempt. I do hesitate to remove any stems since each is near flowering.