Just keep it as what it is to me almost perfect but would be very happy if you can remove the metal rod. Good luck Sheryl.
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Can you tell me the best way to repot this? With the 4 new growths do I just center this old bulb and let it be as it may? And keep that other older bulb attached?
Just keep it as what it is to me almost perfect but would be very happy if you can remove the metal rod. Good luck Sheryl.
Thank you Zain. My worry is the weight of the bulbs. They're heavy and that is why I have the metal clamp under the bulbs to make the plant stay more secure and not topple over. When these new bulbs grow I guess I can figure something out to keep the pot balanced in weight. Thanks again!
Sheryl,
I will offer how I do it. Works great for me but others I know have different approaches.
I'd let the new growth roots get to at least 1" before I re-pot.
Carefully strip out all the old media and discard any backbulbs that are not green and solid.
For media I use a paph/phrag mix of fine bark, charcoal, sponge rock, sphagnum and then add more sphagnum. These things LOVE water while in growth mode. The size of the pseudobulbs is a dead giveaway.
Put media into pot in layers that are each divided by a sprinkling of good time release fert. I tend to plant my bulbs a little deep which might help with the "tippyness" but if you go shallower, you could always throw on a rhizome clip to help hold it up.
Once it's re-potted you can start regular watering.
I always unpot and remove media and the roots in the late fall then put them on my back porch till new growth with at least 2 inches of new roots before I pot them up. If the older bulb is stable I will leave it and pot them up only using sphagnum moss also layering with time release fertilizer. The sphag is enough if packed tight to keep those older heaver bulbs from causing shifting, Good luck Sheryl!
Or you can do it Jack's way.
No, I'm serious. I know people who do the clean-up as soon as they go dormant and folks that do it when I do.
I also know someone who unpots and cleans them up at dormancy and then chucks the bulbs into a cardboard box in his basement until spring. Guess what? He has nice plants too!
I will tell you my choice was based on paranoia that my clumsy fingers would damage the eye where the new growth would later emerge.
I'd much rather have a visual on what I need to avoid.
I have heard of putting them in a box in the closet or basement, if you have one, for me on the floor of my back porch where they get no light, as long as I remember to turn the irrigation off when our rains start, like I forgot to do last year, then they bloom several times at least after I realize what I did they did end up blooming.