A Catt... not in good shape

[Tanya]

I've adopted this catt from a friend who went abroad for good. It got one bloom and one bud still in its sheath. I know it needs repotting and maybe a division,(it already divided itself in the middle into two parts). But I read from other posts that aerial roots should stay aerial. If this is so, how on earth am I going to repot this plant without putting those aerial roots inside the pot?

Any suggestions is welcome. Thanks in advance

Tanya

[Jmoney]

looks healthy enough...just a little annoying to repot. I use an open mix and clay pots, so I just stick the aerial roots into the pot and water a little less. I haven't really paid attention to see if the roots end up rotting, but usually there's a flush of new roots anyway. I don't think there's any good way to keep aerial roots aerial when the roots have developed from new growths like that. (Short of mounting the plant, at least.)

If the roots are excessively long, it may be beneficial to trim them with a sterile knife. The thought is that if the roots are going to get broken during the repotting process (which is decidedly un-gentle for catts), you might as well get rid of them to begin with so as to prevent them from rotting inside the pot.

[Tanya]

Thanks Jmoney, I have a tree fern slab so I planned to mount one division of the plant. The other will go back to the same pot, using chc this time. I have reservations regarding using chc as a potting medium. Its because most of my orchids are under open sky with only netting for shade and no protection from the rain. Although I havent used chc for growing orchids before, I know its capability to absorb and retain water, I grew up with the stuff. But its ok, I'll come up with something when the rainy season starts again next year...I hope.

[Jmoney]

you can always mix chc with something *inert* that does not retain as much water, i.e. fired clay aggregate pellets, lava rock, charcoal, etc. for my catts, I mix chc with clay pellets and charcoal.

[LJA]

Tanya, when I repot here, any aerial roots go right into the pot, under the mix. Most will probably not survive, so the best time to repot a plant like that is when there's active new growth coming on. The new roots will take over for the ones that will die.

[Tanya]

Tanya, when I repot here, any aerial roots go right into the pot, under the mix. Most will probably not survive, so the best time to repot a plant like that is when there's active new growth coming on. The new roots will take over for the ones that will die.

That means I have to wait until late winter or early spring. Thanks.

Tanya

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Tanya,

Louis created a step by step guide with photos on repotting a cattleya. It includes dividing and lots of helpful hints. Here is the link. http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/cultiv...ting_catt.html

You can find other information in our CARE section. I hope this helps you!

Cheers!
Brutal_Dreamer

[Tanya]

Tanya,

Louis created a step by step guide with photos on repotting a cattleya. It includes dividing and lots of helpful hints. Here is the link. http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/cultiv...ting_catt.html

You can find other information in our CARE section. I hope this helps you!

Cheers!
Brutal_Dreamer

Thanks for the direction BD, I know about the care section but for some reason I missed the step by step repotting procedure ... sheeesh!!!

[OrchidTraci]

That Catt looks pretty decent to me. I think those arial roots will be fine repotted. It is the ones that stick out in the middle of the air that you shouldn't try and manipulate back into the pot. My catt is doing the same thing are yours, but I'm going to let it grow off of the side for another year I think. The mix is still good, so I'm not about to disturb it.

[Tanya]

Ah well, I'm a lazy person and I might dedide to do this the easy way . I found a big ceramic pot from the garden center accross the street yesterday, (10x12") and tried the plant inside, pot and all and its perfect! (me think). Just fill up the bottom with something chunky, charcoal, the one we use for barbeque, and let the roots find their own footing inside the pot. I can't keep this plant indoors anyway, specially when its in bloom, the scent is so strong you can't believe the migraine I had suffered when DH took it indoors for just one day.

This is how it looks like when its inside the big pot...this is just a try out. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance. And oh, don't worry about losing the pot after few years, its cheap...lol.