Should I divide or pot this L. anceps??

[Austin Powers]

I've repotted many orchids in the past. I am trying to make a decision on what to do with a L. anceps which I purchased in the Fall. It is quite large, and has overstepped the pot by many inches, see photo. There are a bunch of nice new roots on the rhizome of the newest growth.

Basically I believe that I have two choices. 1. find a large pot/wooden basket to 'capture' the new roots. I probably should have done this a lot sooner. 2. cut off the two newest growths before the lead initiates and 'repot' the division. I have never divided a cattleya, I am guessing that it would be good to divide before the new growth start?.

This plant has been 'repotted' prior to purchase with the pot in pot method of adding larger and larger pots, no medium, except for the pebbles in the inner most pot, mostly for the weight.

I guess this is mostly a judgement call. Just curious what you might do faced with this situation. Oh, I'd prefer not to mount this one.

Thanks,
Stephen
I hope the pics are ok. If not let me know and I can get some better shots.

[RobS]

My first idea would be to cut of the first 4 bulbs (3 as absolute minimum 2 is not enough) and repot them and hope the backbulbs start to grow again (normally they should).

[philoserenus]

i would suggest that you chop off the newest 3 bulbs and repot those. as for the backbulbs, u could always just leave them where they are and see if they grow new leads again. but note that the roots are pretty long already so they might not take well being in media unless u see new ones budding

[Lorraine]

Hi Stephen,

I have a feeling that you will be repotting frequently since this chid like to trail. I do have a suggestion since you don't want to mount...repot and add a piece of either tree firn totem pole to the pot or a cedar stake (something the roots can grab) that way you have the best of both types of growing. Or just put the whole pot you have now into a bigger pot and add the staking and tie the new growth onto the stake. These tend to like growing up trees. My guess would be that it would be a nice speciemen in a year or so. I put my new division straight on a tree. I didn't want to have to deal with repotting my guy EVERY year.

[Gin]

I would set a pot next to it and let the new growth take hold in it, when you have enough new then cut it . .

[peeweelovesbooks]

I would neither mount it nor divide it. Laelia anceps tend to sulk A LOT when you divide.

I bought a Laelia from Cal Orchid that came in a 6 inch pot. I repotted in plastic with hydroton and it promptly started to climb out of the pot, much like yours.

So, what I did recently, instead of dividing (I want my Laelias to reach specimen size) I bought a shallow clay bowl (the thing is about 12 inches in diameter, but it's VERY shallow, I filled it with about 3 inches of hydroton and plopped the Laelia on top of it. The plant is not going to climb out of the pot anytime soon, and it will have a chance to grow and reach specimen size without further disturbance or repotting.

[stefpix]

Couldn't it be the Laelia does not like the hydroton and the other medium?

[orchidsamore]

I grow hundreds of Laelia and other then when they are young they all get mounted. They can be grown in pots with a lot of effort but they never develop to their full potential.

Laelia will not become the specimen plant you want in a pot. Mounted (baskets are included as mounts) they can get to be large balls 3-4 feet in diameter. In pots they will always send out runners requiring you to cut off the excess and never becoming very large.

Root rot is extremely common in pots. Laelia anceps especially likes to grow fairly dry. Even mounted I use minimal amounts of sphagnum which is tied loose and falls off. They are bare root in a year.

Your comment that they original pot had pebbles and nothing after that, shows the grower also wanted the anceps very dry. I agree completely with his method.

Commercial growers use pots up to 6 inch to conserve table space. Otherwise cost becomes a problem. The runners are cut off for propgation and the plants thus are sold cheaper.

[peeweelovesbooks]

I grow hundreds of Laelia and other then when they are young they all get mounted. They can be grown in pots with a lot of effort but they never develop to their full potential.

Laelia will not become the specimen plant you want in a pot. Mounted (baskets are included as mounts) they can get to be large balls 3-4 feet in diameter. In pots they will always send out runners requiring you to cut off the excess and never becoming very large.

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one. SBOE grows theirs potted. If you go to their webpage you will see the specimen sized plants in pots.

Root rot is extremely common in pots. Laelia anceps especially likes to grow fairly dry. Even mounted I use minimal amounts of sphagnum which is tied loose and falls off. They are bare root in a year.

Your comment that they original pot had pebbles and nothing after that, shows the grower also wanted the anceps very dry. I agree completely with his method.

I grow all mine in pots and I have had 0% root rot.

[RobS]

I think the important part of root rot can be avoided by not watering (or very light) during winter.