Pot selection for large, rootless orchid

[tuandatn]

Hi all,

This is a general question, but sometimes when I buy bareroot (or manage to damage roots myself...), I end up with a fairly large division, with only a few healthy roots from the front bulbs after all has been pruned. For example, perhaps there is a 6 or 7in long rhizome, but only the front few pbulbs have roots, that would fit easily in, say, a 2in pot. The issue I find is that if I size for the plant (rhizome) size, then the pot is woefully oversized for the root system, and I worry about stability and root rot. If I size for the roots, stability is still a concern, more than half the rhizome is outside the pot!

I have considered inert media (I like growing in LECA, not necessarily s/h). Also considered just having part of the rhizome hang off the side of the pot. Finally, division seems like a reasonable way to go about having a smaller front division that is closer in proportion to the root system, and a completely rootless back division that might be saved, but the loss of back bulbs seems like an additional stress to the repotting.

Would appreciate any advice from others who have had success with this particular challenge.

Thanks all!

TD