Zygopetalum starting to spike!

[RSJ]

My first zygo is starting to spike and I'm pretty happy about it. I got it from it's previous owner without a tag and they didn't know what specific kind it was so I don't know what kind and I'm looking forward to the flowers to see if I can figure it out. Perhaps you all can help me when it comes out, huh? Either way, it'll be fun to have it out and about and hopefully stinkin' up the whole living room.

One question for anyone who grows these: should they be underpotted to get the best blooming? I ask because every zygo I've seen in the nurseries around here that carry them are all pushing out the tops of their pots and look like they desperately need repotting, but they are all healthy and blooming like crazy right now. Opinions or experiences?

Ronnie-Sue

[uncasteeb]

I,ve only got my Zygo,s recently but it does seem that a lot of the hybrids grow very vigorously & soon fill the smaller pots.I just picked up a hybrid for my auntie from a local garden centre , it has 3 spikes , 3 PB,s & 4 new growths as well as the 2 with spikes.These must be pretty young plants but it has basically outgrown the 4" pot it,s in.

[LJA]

RSJ, I've often heard people say that one plant or another will "do better" if it's pot bound. To be honest though, at least in my experience, I haven't seen a shred of difference. Pot-bound plants got that way because they were growing well before that condition arose, so if your plant is doing well, it should bloom nicely. The Zygos here aren't pot-bound yet, but they will be soon. I have no complaints whatsoever about how they bloom, and no pot-bound plant I ever grew spiked longer with bigger and more flowers just because it was pot-bound.

My 2 cents....

[RSJ]

I appreciate the input because I've wondered about the validity of this and how you'd really repot to keep the "pot-bound" element but leave enough room for new growth too.

I've got a Wilsonara Islers Farbspiel which in the growth instructions said it prefers to be potbound for best bloom. Gobs of new roots are coming up out of the top of the pot and the half of the mature pbs are all hanging over the edges and now it has 3 new growths also. I've been trying to find any pot that would both keep the roots somewhat tight and also have room that the new growths would be able to mature without being smunched against the edge of the pot as they became pb's. The mature pb's are really quite large so I was wondering how in the world to effectively do this. Three days of doing this... when I test out sizing of a large variety of pots. No more , just going to give it some room to grow.

RSJ