Pots suitable for Catts.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

SP, I do that too, the larger piece at the bottom.

I don’t really understand why, lol. Is it because they would theoretically have larger spaces between them and thus more air? It’s one of things I’ve always done, never really confirmed lol

DC ----- extremely nice to hear that you do that too! I did that due to observations - as in watering pots with relatively small diameter scoria pieces, and later inspecting the scoria inside the pot by digging down and removing scoria --- just to see how wet it would be after a while.

I noticed that when scoria pieces are relatively small, and we fill up a relatively large pot with it, then the scoria in the pot (such as at in the middle of the pot) can get quite wet. A slurry kind of wet. I was guessing that air-flow through the media could possibly be reduced or even stopped when in this particular wet slurry-type state for long times.

I figured that it might be necessary to set up a thick enough layer of scoria at the bottom of the pot to help with airing and drainage.

This definitely aligns with your interpretation of the situation - bigger pieces of irregular shape media - should allow for larger gaps for air to get through.

[DirtyCoconuts]

excellent! I appreciate you sharing that experiment as i have just never thought to confirm it.

i even do it for my terrestrial plants in dirt...always a few big rocks at the bottom of the pot to keep things from getting stagnant

[mkallen81]

ok so reading this thread, and as a new comer to cats. I am wondering why you don't put air holes in your plastic pots so the air moves freely?

just a question because i don't know. Is this bad for catts?

thanks! melannie

---------- Post added at 11:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:05 AM ----------

Hi so i have just read through this thread, and i don't really understand why there is so much worry about root rot with catts. i understood that they are terrestrial orchids and thus could even be grown in potting soil. Do they need all that much air around their roots?

Sorry if this is a stupid question but I am new to orchids and new to the catts i particuliar as i just bought my first one! I just love her though she is gorgeous and a beast! i hope i can keep her alive and make her flower again.

Thanks!

Melannie

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by mkallen81

ok so reading this thread, and as a new comer to cats. I am wondering why you don't put air holes in your plastic pots so the air moves freely?

This is indeed done by some growers. It certainly will allow air to get into the pot more in a growing area having good air-flow. One consideration could be - whether roots eventually grow out of the holes - possibly making it hard when (if) it comes to repot time.

Hi so i have just read through this thread, and i don't really understand why there is so much worry about root rot with catts. i understood that they are terrestrial orchids and thus could even be grown in potting soil. Do they need all that much air around their roots?

Cattleya type orchids are not considered to be terrestrial orchids. They don't normally grow in soil. Under certain suitable conditions, it wouldn't be surprising that at least some cattleya orchids could grow purely in fairly fast draining sand.

One of the important aims is to prevent the roots from getting starved of oxygen. Roots need oxygen to survive. And the roots also need enough water to get into the roots in order for both roots and orchid to survive. Adequately oxygenated water provides roots with the needed oxygen.

Growing purely bare root orchids without watering won't work well with every grower - as survival would then depend on the suitability of the environment. So growers usually need to have some input with watering.

An airy enough growing medium that retains some water (after watering) in a pot that has both good drainage and adequate number and size of holes (such as at the bottom of the pot) helps to avoid water stagnation in the pot - especially when the orchid is grown in an area where air doesn't move much (or at all), and still-air environments can invite certain unwanted fungal growth.

When media (eg. spaghnum) is used that can get waterlogged/saturated and can potentially lead to stagnant regions inside a pot (and causing roots to be starved of oxygen), then it will be up to the grower to choose (if they can) a watering method that avoids root suffocation. This could involve choosing a suitable amount of water to add, and knowing how long to wait between watering.

It's all about control.

If the grower knows what needs to be controlled to keep orchids healthy in general, and if they can keep important quantities (suitable growing temperature, suitable light level and light duration, water intake for orchid, adequate oxygen intake into roots, adequate nutrient supplement intake, adequate moving air-flow around entire plant - leaves, stem, media, roots and all) under control all of the time, then that gives the orchids excellent chances of staying healthy.

Where things can go bad is - for example - cold climate countries, where the orchid might not have suitable systems in place for staying healthy when it gets too cold, and lighting level and lighting duration gets low. Or when air is still for a long time, and possible fungal/bacterial activity starts up. This is all assuming that the plants already get adequate supplements (fertiliser etc).

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by mkallen81

[/COLOR]Hi so i have just read through this thread, and i don't really understand why there is so much worry about root rot with catts. i understood that they are terrestrial orchids and thus could even be grown in potting soil. Do they need all that much air around their roots?

Sorry if this is a stupid question but I am new to orchids and new to the catts i particuliar as i just bought my first one! I just love her though she is gorgeous and a beast! i hope i can keep her alive and make her flower again.

Thanks!

Melannie

First of all, there are NO stupid questions (except the ones that don't get asked) There is so much about orchids that is different from other plants!

Cattleyas not only don't generally grow terrestrially, they are among the very dominantly epiphytic orchids. My own experience with these is, the less medium the better (with high humidity and lots of watering, they are happiest mounted) For my own plants, I have found that in many cases they grow slowly until they reach edge of the pot, once they outgrow the pot they grow much faster. (That tells me that they really didn't want to be in a pot) More and more, I use baskets with large bark. (Volcanic rock works well here too) It is a compromise between what the plant would REALLY like and what I have to do to give it adequate moisture in my less-than-ideal environment. So... they need excellent drainage, and a wet-dry cycle. If, when you water, you water thoroughly, letting the pot drain, you pull air into the root zone (very important) while flushing out salts from fertilizer and the water itself, and other junk.

[DirtyCoconuts]

I use 1.25-2” pieces at the bottom and .5-.75”pieces in my main mix

[jldriessnack]

rePot me is a company that makes plastic pots with slats or narrow perforations in them, in many sizes. I use them for all my orchids, especially Catts, and they work very well in terms of drying out the medium quickly. Amazon sells them, I think ebay does too.

[groundpounder17]

Has anyone ever cut ~1-1.5” off the top of the larger Rand aircone pots and used those for Cattleya?

[Roberta]

I haven't but can't see any reason why it wouldn't work. Another approach... create your own "air cone" by inverting a small pot, or even better, a small plastic basket, in the center of the pot to create an air space in the middle of a large pot . However you approach it, the goal is to reduce or eliminate the soggy airless zone in the middle of a big pot. If you can find them, "bulb pans" are pots that are wider than they are tall, which also work well.