"Dave Hill" wrote ...

"Bob Hobden" wrote:
"Pam Moore" wrote



I have an orchid (cymbidium) which has not flowered for at least 10
years, but is huge. I hardly ever feed and then it's orchid feed.
It is about to split its pot and needs dividing.
Questions;
1. Is now a good time to do it?
2. What sort of pot is recommended? clear plastic, dark plastic,
or terra cotta?
I've got orchid compost and may need to cut the rootball with a knife
as I think it's too congested to divide otherwise.
TIA

Firstly Cymbids need cool nights to initiate flowering, best done by
leaving
them in their summer place outside (you do put it outside in the
summer?)
until you hear of a possible frost then take them in. They also like a
good
feed, more so than other orchids IME, and chicken poo pellets or wormery
liquid works well from what I've seen.

1. Splitting and repotting is best done when the plant is in growth so
now
is OK.
2. Plastic, clear is not needed.

You may find you can shake/tease out the roots to separate into portions
for
potting up, throw away old leafless pseudobulbs and rotten roots.


DONT throw away the Back bulbs, or pseudobulbs,
Growing cymbidiums from backbulbs (the old leafless pseudobulbs
removed during repotting) is really easy and offers an inexpensive way
to increase your collection. During Cymbidium repotting season many
growers offer backbulbs of selected plants at very attractive prices.
First, remove all the old, dry leaf bases and inspect the backbulb for
signs of insect infestation. Once clean, place the bulbs standing
upright in either pots or flats in a mixture of fine bark and peat
moss or fine bark and sand. The bulbs should be positioned so that
their bases are ½-1" below the mix surface similar to potting
divisions. Keep the flats or pots evenly moist and a little warmer
with nights in the high 50's to 60F (they will sprout even with cool
nights but you wait a bit longer). Within a month or two one of the
dormant eyes at the base of the pseudobulb should sprout. Once the
growth has reached a length of three inches or so roots will form. A
strong backbulb should produce a flowering growth the second or third
year after potting.
Have a look at this site, it may answer one or two of your questions
http://www.aos.org/AM/Template.cfm?S...entDisplay.cfm

If you want to propagate your Cymbidium over and above splitting them by all
means propagate from back bulbs but how many cymbids of the same variety
does one want?
In my case I split, keep the best young bits and throw away all the rest
because I don't want more than one of each variety as they soon turn into
large plants.
BTW when repotting place the older bit against the side of the pot so the
young growth has space to grow for a couple of years, seeing a potting guide
in the OSGB Journal made me remember to mention this, something I do
automatically.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK