Presentations
Repotting Cattleyas - by Ed Merkle
Repotting a Cattleya Orchid
Step 1: Prepare
Gather your materials and sanitize your work surface, cutting tools, and hands. If working on a table-top, spread out several layers of clean newspaper to work on. Remove any wire plant-tie and stakes that may be anchoring your plant in the pot. Remove the plant's label and place it to one side where it won't get lost.
Step 2: Unpot
If your Cattleya is planted in a plastic pot and hasn't become too overgrown, unpotting can be as simple as turning the pot upside-down, grasping the plant and pulling it gently downwards, out of its pot. If the plant doesn't remove easily, don't force it. Place the side of the pot against the edge of your workbench and roll the pot from side to side, pressing downward against it as you roll. This will loosen the roots and bark. You should now be able to remove the plant without much effort. If the plant still won't come out, you may have to cut the plastic pot from top to bottom and peel the pot away from the root mass.
If your orchid is planted in a clay pot, its roots have more then likely "etched" themselves against the sides, making removal difficult if not impossible. Removal is accomplished best by simply breaking the pot with a hammer and picking the shards away from the orchid's roots.
Step 3: Groom
Shake away any loose bark and dead roots. Do not reuse any old bark for your orchids. If the roots of your orchid have completely engulfed the inner mass of bark at their core, you may have to cut a slit in the root ball to clean the old bark and any dead roots out. This is a very important step to ensure your orchid will grow well and not succumb to root rot over the next couple of years. Remove as much old bark from between the roots as you can, using your fingers or a blunt point. The healthy roots can be cleaned of any potting medium if done so does not harm the roots. Healthy roots are firm, almost brittle, with a whitish or light brownish covering. Dead roots are mushy, with a brown covering that easily peels away to expose the root thread within. Dead roots should be cut away as close to the base of the plant as possible, back to live growth.
Step 4: Divide
Your Cattleya orchid is a sympodial orchid, with individual new shoots that grew out of the previous season's growth along a rhizome. If your Cattleya has seven or more growths, you may cut it into divisions of not less than three growths each. Any "new" plants you get from dividing need at least three good growths in order to continue to grow and bloom well. Larger plants usually grow and bloom better than small plants, and dividing is not necessary and many growers prefer to leave large plants intact. Make each of your cuts firmly, and cut in one place once you decide on the best location. Don't start cutting "here," change your mind, and then start cutting "there." New growths are notoriously brittle and will snap off if mishandled. Put no pressure on the plant that bears down on any new growth. Using your pruning sealer or anti-fungal agent, apply a thin layer to each cut. This will discourage the invasion of fungus or bacteria. Allow the material to dry slightly. Now is a good time to peel the brown sheaths from your orchid's pseudobulbs and inspect for insect damage, but do not peel the green sheaths from any new growth.
Step 5: Repot
Cover the drain holes of your new pot with clay pot shards or styrofoam peanuts. Place a handful of moist potting medium into the pot, forming a mound that almost reaches the top of the pot against one side. You should position your plant so that its oldest part is against the bark side of the pot, with the eyes of new growth facing the pot's middle. You may need to bury a portion of the old pseudobulbs into the bark mound so that the new growth is level with a point approximately one and half inches from the top of the pot. Grasping your orchid in one hand, use the other hand to spread your orchid's roots over the mound of bark you have just created.
Keeping plant and pot stationary with one hand, use the other hand to fill the pot with moist medium and cover the roots you have just fanned out across the mound. Press the bark down firmly into the pot. If you choose to use a blunt "potting stick" for this purpose, be sure you don't tamp down too close to the plant or any new growth. Improper use of a potting stick can cause serious plant damage.
Step 6: Support
When you are satisfied with the position of your plant and have pressed the bark down firmly enough so that your orchid can stand more or less on its own, Its usually a good idea to stake it. The stake should be located on the side of the plant opposite the side toward which the plant leans when you let go of it. Wrap one end of your wire plant-tie around the bamboo stake at a level high enough to support your plant. Twist the wire so that it grasps the stake tightly. Gently grasp the pseudobulbs of your plant and bring them toward the bamboo stake, wrapping a loop of plant-tie around them as you go. You are trying to create an upright stand of existing growth at one side of the pot that will leave room for new shoots to spread toward the other side of the pot as the plant grows. When you have gone around the pseudobulbs with the plant-tie and have returned to the bamboo stake, twist the plant-tie securely to the stake. Your Cattleya must be held firmly in the pot. A plant that is loose in the pot will rock and the movement may damage new roots as they enter the medium. You can use a wire pot clip to provide additional support. The final product, if you started with a well rooted Cattleya, is a plant that can be picked up by the pseudobulbs and the pot will not easily fall off.
Repeat steps 5 and 6 for each division you have made.
Step 7: Almost Done
Write out new plant labels for your divisions, making sure you write the name and any awards given exactly as they were written on the original. Don't forget these labels! Prize orchids are like championship show dogs: without its "papers," your orchid is just another mutt. Insert the label firmly and deeply into the pot. An old label should be replaced with a new one because the old ones get brittle and break. Write all your labels with a #2 pencil. Few ink pens create labels that survive the sun, fertilizer, and sprays, and you are eventually left with a blank label.
Keep your newly potted plant out of strong light for two weeks, and withhold watering. Mist the leaves lightly every other morning. After two weeks have passed and your orchid is over any repotting shock, resume the plant's normal care.
If you made it to this point, you did a fine job, and your orchid will thrive for you!