phrag grande repotting
 

I totally understand timely repotting of epiphytes, but why repot phrags yearly so the medium (ie. bark) doesn't "break down". In the wild there must be a natural breakdown of the matter the plant is growing in. To the plant repotting must feel like a rodent has dug it up. My grande has been doing well, but is 2 years in the same pot, and reading on care makes me feel it will suffer if I repot, and suffer if I don't. I also sense that roots have adhered to the insides of the clay pot, like my paphs like to do. Can these fuzzy phrag roots do this too? Thanks

Hi there. I repot all my Paphs and Phrags annually. I find that they don't suffer from it at all, quite the opposite. I get a flush of new robust root growth, and new fans. I grow all my Phrags in plastic pots sitting in a saucer of water. Because the media stays damp all the time it breaks down faster than if allowed to dry between waterings. I'd be hesitant to pot them in clay pots. I think they dry out too fast and also can accumulate salts. They are easy to slide out of a plastic pot.

I agree with Terri on her points. Also, Phrags grow a lot of roots (I have a Grande myself, and can see em!), and will tangle themselves and wrap and all kinds of crazy stuff, eventually strangling themselves. It might be doing well now (recently) but it's not sustainable. Often slippers are re-potted to loosen things up and make the environment fresh - not because the media has broken down. Orchiata bark, for example, can last up to 10 years, but you'd never want to keep something in the same pot that long. My experience with re-potting healthy slippers is they love it, and sometimes even bloom for me shortly thereafter.

The fuzzy roots can attach, yes. You can soak the whole thing overnight in the tub or something to soften them up and loosen them away. Also, since it's clay, if you want you could carefully crack the pot and peel the shards away. I do that with my Masdevallia's sometimes when they are 'too stuck'.

Thanks. Laurel the rodent will soak and crack pots and repot. My greenhouse is quite humid ( it has a pond with a waterfall in it and gravel flooring that I soak down) and I also tend to overwater, so I use only clay pots or mounts. It is also easy for me to flood pots when I water and my water is good, so salt buildup is not as bad a problem as others may have.

I don't think it's possible to overwater most Phrags. Mine grow their roots out if the drain holes down into the standing water.

I would love to see your greenhouse, it sounds wonderful! post some pics!

I take care of a small-town city greenhouse as a volunteer. Only about 10% is orchids. Most of the plants I have bought myself. It is not as good as it sounds because the city has always neglected it (which is why it is volunteer run now). The 1970's fiberglass roof is yellowed and was black with algae till I spent weeks badgering them into cleaning it. The heating design is wacky. Taller plants suffer in the winter from hot air blowing on them. Visitors steal stuff and leave the door open in the winter. But I love it and do the best I can.

There are a lot of variables that come into play as to when your plants need to be repotted.

I will say though, that most phrags can go several years or longer without needed to be repotted. They tend to handle broken down media a bit better than other orchids as well, so long as they're well established. This mostly pertains to the water loving species/hybrids. It's probably not good practice for the long petalled varieties that tend to prefer dryer conditions. I definitely have some phrags that haven't been repotted in 3 years or more. But then, I grow in a mostly inorganic mix, so breakdown/decay aren't really much of a factor.

Paphs on the other hand, do better when repotted at least every other year. Again, there are a lot of factors that come into play in that, but overall, the roots seem to be significantly more susceptible to rot compared with phrags, and decaying media is a breeding ground for rot.

My grande is certainly a long petalled variety. I think I will move it to plastic pot, for the idea of tearing its roots off of terra cotta every year or two is just too much for me to handle. I know a lot of paphs grow on thin substrate over rock, so frequent repotting is logical there. Do you have any experience with kolosand paph. It gets so large, it must grow fairly deeply into its medium in nature. Thanks

It's a multi-floral hybrid so it's probably growing a massive amount of roots. Most of them do, at least. What do you want to know specific to this plant?

The two parents both grow in nature on limestone cliffs near seeps, although sanderianum can be found in tree crotches, says Baker. It will need frequent repotting (do paph roots stick to terra cotta?). I want to translate this into best practice for a greenhouse for something that will get so big. Eventually it will need a large deep pot, I am thinking, with very open mix since large deep equals easy rot. Just wondering if anyone has grown a large sized plant and has tips from experience. Mine is a youngster. Thanks

Yes paph roots will stick to terra cotta.

What kind of medium is it in now, and what are you thinking of using? Do you have a photo of it?

I've had it two some years. Time to repot. Its in a small terra cotta pot in a fir/perlite mix with a small amount of shredded spag. Topside it seems to be healthy. I also have a magic lantern and a Ruth Wright x primulinum that are young that I got at the same time and that are potted the same that I'm about to repot. Three big box maudiis that I've had a year or so longer that are flowering size to repot also. I plan to switch to plastic because of root stickage, but use basically the same medium. I will have to put the plastic pots inside clay pots, since all the plants in the greenhouse are potted in clay to give uniformity.