me....and my endless repotting questions

[Cinderella]

Thanks, Louis. I do have a Degarmoara Winter Wonderland that needs to be repotted. It is one of those stair-steppers....are stair steppers primarily oncidium? I was thinking of s/h. So, how do you get all of the roots in there anyway?

[LJA]

Oncidiums and Catts are notorious for stair-stepping. If you're not going to divide, the only way to fit the roots in is to go to a larger container. Some of the "climber" Phrags with their long rhizomes are a real pain too.....

[orchidaddict789]

Oncidiums and Catts are notorious for stair-stepping

The one miltonidium (which is half oncidium ) backbulb is almost buried completely in the soil. Maybe it likes to stair-step too? I can tell that each newer pbulb is situated higher than the previous. And the two new growths are barely touching the soil surface. It looks fine now, but i'll have to wait to see if they really does stair-step.

[Aerides]

How about Maxillaria tenuifolia? What a weird plant - some of them grow flat like a well-behaved orchid should, and some head for the stars. But a lot of people still grow them in pots - just misting the roots daily.

Paphs can be picky about potting depth. A common mistake is to pot them too high. They should be potted so that new roots grow immediately into the medium. Otherwise they can stunt. One way to check if a paph is potted a little too high is that it will be wobbly (at the base) in the pot.

[Cinderella]

I do have one that is wobbly. I thought it meant that it just didn't have good roots. It is potted in s/h.

[Aerides]

It's hard to say of course, and I'm not familiar with s/h techniques. As far as "normally" potted paphs, one positive thing is that you can feel comfortable dumping them out and checking the roots if you have doubts about its health. Paphs are infamous for looking really good up top for a long time after damage to root system has been done.

Experts suggest that if you are concerned about a paph's root structure, not to be reticent about unpotting and checking before too much time goes by, potentially allowing for more damage.

How long has it been in s/h? Has it become *more* wobbly? Have you successfully grown other paphs in s/h?

John

[Cinderella]

John, I have not successfully grown anything! LOL. I'm still a struggling newbie. It didn't really become more wobbly in s/h. Maybe it just does not have sufficient roots.

Newbies are usually reluctant to "disturb" the roots although the more experienced say it is ok.

[Aerides]

Well good for you for picking such a challenging hobby. I don't think I'll ever get to the point where I actually know what's going on inside that pot either. It still feels like guesswork and hoping for the best.

John