Is it really a giant
 

Ok i got a plant from a friend and was told it is at least 30 years old. It is in a 14'' pot and needs to go one size up but is hard to move as it is. My question is a plant of this size really that rare and not that it is for sale but what would it go for on the market?Also what kind of pot would be best for it?

http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...jpg?1283391361

wow - that's really cool!
I imagine there are people who have quite large orchids - especially in places they can live outdoors all year.

You could divide it if it's too large to manage, tho I understand your reluctance to ...

For fast growing vigorous plants like yours, what looks to be an Oncidium alliance hybrid, it only takes a few years of reasonable care to get a plant this big. They aren't extremely valuable as a specimen unless it is something rare or awarded or perhaps if it is perfectly grown, with every leaf intact and healthy, no brown tips, etc. In terms of value it would probably be worth more to divide it into 2-3 bulb sections.

Yours needs to move up more than one pot size if you want to keep it together. It is badly overgrown for the pot its in. If it is in a 14" pot now you need at least a 20" pot and that doesn't allow for more than one year's growth.

lol ...I am not recommending anything at all...

If someone managed to keep that plant 30 years and It blooms well as is then I think unless it started going downhill I would leave it like they grew it....sometimes things we would never expect to work well do great ....rules are just things we make up to help us get close to right...not laws of nature

Personally I think I would take it out of the pot and take some 2-3 bulbs section from around the outside. The middle I think I would cut into two large sections and pot one back into the pot it came in. Then pot up the other large section into a well draining pot. I'd pot up the small sections into small squat pots.

I'd keep the two large sections and maybe one of the small ones as a safeguard. You could either give away or sell the other smaller sections.

Whatever you do I'd love to see that plant in bloom!:D

Big specimen plants aren't really rare, just rarely offered for sale. If someone puts years of effort and commits a little extra space for a plant to grow very large, they usually want to hang on to it. It could go for $35 or it could go for $100+. It really just depends on what it is.

As for advice, I kind of lean towards keeping it as big as you can manage. It took a while to get this large and it would be a pity to see it broken up. BUT, sometimes keeping it big and healthy means you have to break off a chunk here and there. Maybe you can just un-pot it, remove the old media and replace with new, then make just enough divisions so that it fits back in that pot. Just my .02.

"rules are just things we make up to help us get close to right...not laws of nature"
That is a great line, John. :waving

It's a beauty, I would repot it,, I wouldn't split it up its great to have a big one in bloom. Maybe you could find a basket to hold it. Don't overpot.

Basket? one with no bark in it kind of a thing?

oh and how would I insure a bloom? I have never sean this one bloom I have had it just 2 monthes.