when to repot this Catt

Hi. I bought a Catt hybrid in March and it went into sheath in April (yes, I take credit!). It came from Norman's and is potted in plenty of moss. Why you would even grow a catt in moss is beyond me but I guess in a warmer climate than mine.....

Anyway, I didn't repot it because of the sheath. It subsequently grew a new big leaf and now it has 2 tiny new growths. But no buds yet. I know that moss does not last very long so I guess that I must repot it before Winter. But.....it does not have any new root growth at all. I was thinking of putting it into s/h since I'm repotting.

Any advice?

I generally do not repot catts unless there are new roots. How bad is the moss? Moss breaks down fast if it's constantly wet, but should last longer for a catt. Also, many of my catts have either disliked or sulked in s/h. I think it's a risk unless you've had good luck with a similar hybrid in s/h.

ive got a catt in sphag....it seems to like it a lot (3 new leads this summer, with one of the new leads in sheath). i did layer the sphag with styro peanuts though. the roots are incredible on this guy, and its done nothing but grow, grow, grow. i got it at fenders flora as a seedling, and if/when (knock wood) it blooms this winter, i believe it will be the first bloom!! cant wait to see what the flowers look like.

if sphag is bad for catts, this guy sure doesnt know it. and i wont be the one to break the news.

This one seems to like it too to be honest but I've just read that it breaks down fast and I feel like I'm going to be "stuck" all winter with it. I would hate to repot it over the winter. I don't water it much, every 2-3 weeks.

the alternating layers of styro in my pot make me feel better about wintering this catt with sphag. there wont be a clump of rot-inducing wetness in the center of the pot because the styrofoam prevents it. well see what happens...

Cinderella, you should be able to tell something about the condition of the sphagnum by how long it takes it to dry out. If it seems to stay soggy much over a week, I might be concerned. But if it is drying out pretty well in seven days then it would probably do more harm to repot the plant at an inopportune time than to monitor your watering carefully.

I just "potted on" a Potinara Green Emerald 'Orchid Queen' that was in sphagnum (came to me that way). Did not disturb the root ball, just put it in a slightly larger pot and filled in firmly with fresh sphagnum. Bifoliates are often potted in sphagnum, and tend not to like having their roots disturbed. Potting on in this fashion is standard procedure for them.

Anyway, what 'Ki' said is a very good point. Sphag will last one to two years for phals, in moister conditions than catts are kept. For cattleyas, which like to dry between waterings, it should last at least two years, maybe longer.

Sorry to be long-winded. I'm watching the olympics and am not organizing my thoughts very well.

Hope this helps anyway.

John