Repotting

[nevinsp]

I have a Pacific Nova Butter Bud I received for Christmas last year. It started with two Pseudobulbs. It now has 5. It looks to be in a 5 inch pot. Can anyone give me advise on repotting?

[Cjcorner]

I am not sure what type orchid that is....the initials before the name will tell you what family it is in. There are several informational posts if you search on repotting, that have been done in a step by step manner....and whether you have a catt, or oncid or den...there should be some pretty good information on what to pot it in as well.
On the opening page where your screen name is at, there is the "enter the orchid talk orchid forum" button. Click on the Senior Members question section and the common topics section. There you will find care information for the various types of orchids as well as potting information and many other subjects that are often common problems or questions that nearly everyone has. Repotting is very well illustrated and I think you won't have any problems after seeing the old posts.
I hope this helps you out....Bruce will probably add a link for you soon if you cannot find what you need. Also, anything you cannot find, feel free to do a post on. Alot of times, how you pot things depends on how you water and where you live. It is very humid here so I use a very dry potting system on almost everything whereas someone in Chicago might use spag on the same plants due to the lack of humidity there.
Good Luck..
Connie

[Brutal_Dreamer]

I have a Pacific Nova Butter Bud I received for Christmas last year. It started with two Pseudobulbs. It now has 5. It looks to be in a 5 inch pot. Can anyone give me advise on repotting?

I am guessing you have an Alicera. If this is indeed the case, then you should repot and grow as you would an oncidium. (To be sure, you can post a photo or maybe you have seen in in bloom (it would be a yellow star shaped bloom with a few spots on the upper petals. It would probably have several blooms on one spike (depending on the age of the plant) ).

I would grow this orchid in a bark mix and water it once or twice a week. It will appreciate almost drying out (the medium) before you water again. If you notice the P-bulbs starting to wrinkle, you are probably not giving it enough moisture - or it has had too much and the roots are damaged. (I hope I did not scare you. )

Cheers,
BD

[nevinsp]

Thanks BD.
It is indeed a Alicera. I'm just nervous because I have never repotted a sympodial before! The last thing I want to do is damage the orchids root stucture! The pseudobulds have many new roots or "fingers" looking for the medium.

[nevinsp]

Well I finally got my camera from work. Here is a photo of the orchid.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

That orchid looks healthy. If you want to repot, soak that pot in a pan of water covering all the media up to the base of the orchid. (Around 15-20 minutes). That should loosen up the root mass and allow you to pull it out of the pot. If the roots have attached themselves to the pot, take a steak knife or a long bladed knife with a serrated edge and sterilize it. Then stick it into the pot near the edge and cut all the way around the pot loosening the root mass.

At this point I personally would not divide that orchid. (I may not even repot it if I knew it had healthy roots down in the pot.) With the new roots above the medium, it may be that the roots below have rotted some. Anyway, I would pot it up one size into a larger pot. Best of luck with it!

Cheers,
BD