Joanna,

Root cells grow in a way that "tailors" them to the root environment. Roots
that have grown in one set of conditions may not be optimal for the new
conditions, so it is always best to repot when active root growth is
happening. In most plants, that occurs as the rhizome extends and new
vegetative growths are forming.

The more dissimilar the old and new conditions, the more critical it is. No
surprise, I have learned this first-hand in my semi-hydroponics
experimentation.

Is not following that guideline necessarily "fatal?" No. It may lead to
extended sulking by the plant, but a lot of that has to do with your
conditions other than the potting medium - in a warm, moist environment
where other stresses on the plant are minimized, they don't sulk much at
all.

That "dry" advice on the paphs seems like total bunk to me. I find that a
well watered plant - one that has its roots damp and supple - will sustain
less damage in repotting, so bounces back quicker. Besides, why unduly
stress the plant before repotting, which is stressful enough?

I believe the old "withhold water after repotting" advice is aimed at not
fostering fungal or bacterial rot in damaged roots. I don't see how it can
otherwise benefit the plant, and if you haven't done that much damage, it
shouldn't be an issue anyway.

By the way, while I am more conservative in my repotting schedule, Joe
Kunishe of Bloomfield Orchids tells me that he repots paphs any time - with
new growths or not, in spike, bud or blooming - with no issues. I am also
happy to report that he is switching everything over to S/H over time!

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"J Fortuna" wrote in message
news:lSPze.3896$Ll6.2933@trnddc06...
I am not intending to repot any of my paphs yet, but I am looking for info
for the futu

I just read somewhere that Paphs should be repotted in the spring when
most
root growth happens. And that the repotted Paph should be left dry for a
week or two after repotting.

My question: Does this mean that one should repot the Paph into dry
medium,
and not water it during repotting, but wait a week before watering? Or
does
it mean that one should water the Paph during repotting, but then instead
of
watering it at the same time as usual, when it approaches dryness, wait
another week or so beyond that?

While we are on the subject of repotting:

I once heard that repotting a Catt at the wrong time of year will kill
it --
that one absolutely needs to wait for the time when there is the most root
growth. Is this true? Is it true for all Catt-like hybrids (Slc, Blc,
etc),
and for both the large and the mini-Catts? How can one tell there is lots
of
new root growth if the Catt in question does not have aerial roots and the
pot is not transparent? Does one just assume that it's growing the most
roots during spring time? Any other advice on repotting Catts safely? I am
so used by now to repotting Phals at any odd time that the notion that
repotting could kill an orchid seems scary to me.

By the way, to those of you who have long memories, yes, I do repot my
orchids myself now -- though I still maintain that the repotting services
provided by the plant nursery nearby were a good deal, but repotting is
not
nearly so hard as it seemed to me after that first time I had done it
myself. And I admit, that there is a certain joy in watching a plant that
was not doing well before, start perking back up after one has repotted it
oneself.

Thanks in advance for any advice,
Joanna