Can you say, "overgrown?"

[james mickelso]

A big cattleya that should have been repotted a couple years ago and why you should always pot with repotting in mind in two or three years. Repotting an overgrown plant is fraught with peril and is a pain in the keester too. If I had left this for another year or two, it most certainly would have rotted most of the inner portion of this root ball. There was little air movement through the root ball. Luckily most of the roots I needed to save were wrapping around the outside of the root ball along the inner wall of the pot. I removed well over two thirds of the root ball and repotted it in a mix of expanded clay pellets and chopped sphagnum moss. This has two enormous flower sheaths on it that have been there since last summer. So if your plant is starting to grow to one side of the pot or if it has grown roots that are too dense for the pot, repot it as soon as possible. Another interesting thing about this plant......it has both naked flower buds (no sheath) and sheathed flower buds.

[Leafmite]

The different ways of flowering are interesting. I'm guessing it is a hybrid, then?

[james mickelso]

I don't know. Came to me nearly dead. Usually the flower habit stays the same. Dominant genetically to one of the parents. What is interesting is the huge difference. On both pbulbs with a sheath, the sheath is huge. Then one the three pbulbs with naked flower buds, they are small. They may puff up but it's just such a huge difference between the two types. I've bloomed a whole bunch (pants exhaustively) of orchids and I have never seen this disparity before.

[Leafmite]

Plants are always full of surprises. In all the years I have grown plants, I have seen all types of odd things. In a hybrid, I would guess a bit of confusion about blooming might happen more easily.
But, are you certain that there is just one orchid in that pot??? I have often found that one nicely-sized seedling is really two when I have been re-potting a new orchid....

Well, either way, it will be fun to see the blooms and to see if it continues to do this in the future.

[james mickelso]

Well all the pbulbs that were on it when it came into my possession are all gone and what you see has grown since I got it so I would say it's one plant and not two. Just an interesting conundrum.

[RJSquirrel]

I keep potting them up in the old clay. some have up to 3 clay pots on them. 3 inch dropped into a 6 inch pot dropped into an 8 inch pot.. I have to chisel them off the plants if I want the old pot off.. But I dont know what to do when I get to 12 inch pots as I have no room right now ...



Ill have to post some pics of the root balls on the compact catts Ive grown in sphagnum..Impressive to say the least

[james mickelso]

I could have left the plant as is and just drop potted it. But I have enough trouble with root rot so I said to myself....what the hey.

[tucker85]

Good growing! Your orchid looks like a happy camper. I've had buds form without sheaths many times. Sometimes they develop and bloom like any other bud, but sometimes they don't mature and don't bloom, especially if their blooming a second time, out of season.

[james mickelso]

Thanks Tucker. It is a gamble I took with this one. I am sure that within a season or two the inner part of this root ball would have rotted away and damaged the plant.

[lotis146]

Just curious, how does it work, dropping a plant still in the clay pot into another clay pot...??? Then into another...???