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#1
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repotting paphs (and Catts)
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 |
#2
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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 |
#3
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Joanna, I defer to others on the Paphs. But Catts, I have repotted
thousands ... 1. Repotting when new roots are forming is always best. If your plant is potted correctly to begin with [not buried too deep], you should be able to see the new roots starting at the base of the newest growth [usually that which recently bloomed, if you're working on a mature plant]. But no, that is not always spring, at least not here in South Florida. Our summer-bloomers usually start their biggest spurt of new root growth in late summer/early fall. I think spring is more favored by cold-climate growers because a newly-repotted plant is likely to be a little more sensitive to cold than a well-established plant of the same type. 2. Some Catts sulk more than others if you do it a different time of year, but I can't recall any that have actually died of it. The bifoliates [two leaves on most of the pbs] are reputed to be more sensitive on this issue than the unifoliates, but I can't vouch for that. Around here, I'm most cautious with Rhy. digbyana and hybrids that have a strong dose of that in their recent ancestry. 3. The "withhold water after repotting" theory does not work well here. We prefer to re-pot "wet" [soaking the plants down before we unpot them] -- the roots release from the old pot and mix easier that way, and they're more flexible going into the new pot, so they suffer less damage. Afterward, they usually go right back on the bench and get watered next time we turn the sprinklers on. If a plant is found to have a poor root system after we pull it out of the old pot, and if we have time/motivation to "pamper" it G, we will hold it bareroot until it starts sprouting some new roots before potting it back up. The theory here, which does bear out in my experience, is that keeping the plant a bit on the dry side will induce it to sprout new roots. But once it does, it'll get wet again before being potted up, so as to break less of them in the potting-up process. HTH, Kenni "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 |
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