potting ON?

[kewpie]

does anyone here do this? (stick old pot + old medium and all into larger pot and then adding medium in new larger pot)

i just bought a cute little encyclia cochleata at my local orchid nursery, and thats what the guy told me to do. their plants look beautiful - plump, unwrinkled pseudobulbs, lush foliage, etc. but i still worry about soggy medium rotting out the roots of my new addition. he said that unpotting would set the plant back. i know that repotting sometimes sets back plant growth, but is this species notorious for being grumpy after a repot?

thanks everyone!

[LJA]

A lot of people repot that way; there's nothing particularly wrong with it as long as the medium isn't decomposing. If it were me, I'd at least shake off the loose stuff not attached to any roots so that the plant can grow into more of the fresh medium.

[Gilda]

I have done this when there is nothing but a big root mass ,and figured I would do more damage trying to get the last bits of medium out....results were fine.

[kewpie]

well, i couldnt do it. the orchid purveyors advice was to just leave the little guy in the pot and plop it into another one.

ive never gotten any nasties in the mix of my plants, but i always check the roots...anyway, in doing so, i saw that the chc was all mushy....so am going to do a regular repot. im brave enough to try a few plants in s/h, but not to try this potting on business.

[LJA]

kewpie, unless like Gilda was saying the roots are a huge jumbled mass (and even then, I like to at least spread and pull them apart a little at the base) it's really best to get the old decomposed stuff out and away. Frankly, I think your plant will be better off for your doing so.