Divide or just repot?

[Eli Vizsla]

My Pink Empress just finished blooming a week ago and thought of repotting next month but then noticed about 4 new growths coming from both old and new pbulbs, see pics 2 and 3.

Perhaps divide the plant as I was illustrating on pic 4? Or should I just repot or even leave it as is for now?

I have never divided any orchid. Except for an unintentional division on a twinkle red fantasy. The oncidium came off easily and divided itself when I had to report because my dog ran off with it in the backyard.

Thoughts?

[Roberta]

I would just repot - if you divide, the divisions will be small. Much better to have a strong plant, which will probably give a spectacular display next time it blooms. Now... new growth is not what you should look for, but rather new roots. Depending on the the parentage of the plant, the roots could appear with the new growth, but they could also appear later. So wait until you see signs of new little green root tips starting to peek out. As soon as you see "action" then repot - don't wait for the roots to get longer. The ideal time is actually just BEFORE the new roots appear, but until you know when that is, wait for them to just start to appear. Then, the advice from Fred Clarke (Sunset Valley Orchids) is to write on the tag, not the repot date but a few weeks BEFORE that date. Then, the next time you repot, you will be able to anticipate the roots with accuracy.

[Eli Vizsla]

Originally Posted by Roberta

I would just repot - if you divide, the divisions will be small. Much better to have a strong plant, which will probably give a spectacular display next time it blooms. Now... new growth is not what you should look for, but rather new roots. Depending on the the parentage of the plant, the roots could appear with the new growth, but they could also appear later. So wait until you see signs of new little green root tips starting to peek out. As soon as you see "action" then repot - don't wait for the roots to get longer. The ideal time is actually just BEFORE the new roots appear, but until you know when that is, wait for them to just start to appear. Then, the advice from Fred Clarke (Sunset Valley Orchids) is to write on the tag, not the repot date but a few weeks BEFORE that date. Then, the next time you repot, you will be able to anticipate the roots with accuracy.

Thank you Roberta.

[WaterWitchin]

Great advice from Roberta. I would only add... I've had dogs assist with repotting, and doing their own division of orchids. They aren't usually very good at it. Not careful enough with the division.

[Eli Vizsla]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Great advice from Roberta. I would only add... I've had dogs assist with repotting, and doing their own division of orchids. They aren't usually very good at it. Not careful enough with the division.