Both looking at it from above and from below tons of outside roots are apparent. After this growing cycle it will have more. I am convinced that this plant will do well just depending on the outside roots and I will ignore the pot from here on in. I will not repot it, maybe place everything in a larger, empty pot if it becomes unstable because of size. Whats inside that pot is no longer important.

Nick

Onc altissimun showing it even better.

Nick

This is a small division in a 4" pot of the same plant showing the same tendency to leave the pot. Neither Mom nor the little one will ever be repotted, they are fine outside the pot. Will definitely get an empty larger pot in time.

Nick

A Dendrobium lineale wirth the same message. When a plant moves in that direction, be it a Phaeli, Catt, Onc or any other epiphyte, I stand back and let it do it's thing. As far as I'm concerned, they are doing me a favor. They grow well that way, you cannot over water them, no need to worry about deteriorating bark and no need for a repotting bench. I do have a repotting bench but you get the idea.

Nick

hi orchidnick,help me to understand,are you saying that orchids really don't have to be in bark or other material?that bark etc is just for stability?if so how would one know when to water and how to fertilize?it never occured to me to grow orchids this way.i look forward to your reply and explanations.thank you in advance!

Wikipedia gives a good description of epiphytic growth at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphyte

80% of orchids are epiphytes and hate to have their roots covered up. It is convenient for vendors to raise them in pots, bring them to market and sell them in pots. Mounted orchids are irregular and unhandy. In addition the public is used to getting their plants in a pot with the roots covered with something. So we have a grand conspiracy between vendors and buyers and the orchids are stuck in pots.

In all honesty when I watch my family grow orchids, what they do is easiest accomplished with plant in pots. (HD Phaelies on the winidowsill). I have taught them not to over water and I repot for them as needed. That's not what I do, I know better.

To learn when and how to water and fertilize is best done by joining an orchid society, books have been written about it.

Nick

thank you orchidnick for your reply.i will check the website you recommend.how do you know when to water and fertilize your orchids if the roots are in the air?also,can all orchids be grown the way you do or are some more suited to that than others?would an orchid go into shock if all of a sudden it is taken out of the bark,etc?

I never had such root growth as I'm getting in Florida. It just didn't happen growing in the house in NY. I am getting about the same amount of flowers, maybe a few more but the plants are older.

When you grow in a drier environment, roots tend to want to stay in the pot. Even if they creep out, they will head back in for more moisture. In Florida, they just head outside the pots.

I like to display my plants in bloom. I like to put them in pretty pots and put them on tables or counters. I am having a problem doing that here. I want the roots to stay put!

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I'm always moving plants around. Roots get broken, some have crawled into other pots. Messy.
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I have bamboo poles which hold a few clay pots. The orchids like to send their roots into and around the poles so I can't remove them without tearing off their roots.
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I suppose it is a small price to pay for growing in climates they love. I never thought I'd get annoyed at roots!

Jane

jane
Since I've never grown anything in another climate have nothing to compare lol. Those that I grow on trees always amaze me most notable are Vandas, Phals and lesser extent Dends Have roots on Vandas well over 8 feet Some Phals I put out last summer are 3 feet from the plant lol They always firmly attach while Vandas just wander . obviosly will never be able to move them again
can't imagine what a tangled mass they must develop in their native areas?? lol. They never seem to be impeded by crowding as with most plants gary

You warm climate growers are so lucky! But I'm happy not to repot so I'm going to try this method.

Roots matter. Roots to a plant is equal to a heart to a mammal. I like to see the roots get out of the pot. It is what orchids like to do.

When I first started repotting i treated the orchids like any other plant. I buried all roots in the pot. And the plant was too deep in the medium. It is very important when repotting to place the orchid on the medium, not in it. I fill the pot to about 1/2" from the top. Then I use rhizome clips to hold the plant firm in the pot. Now the plant can choose to penetrate the pot with roots or grow outside the pot.

That was a game changer for me many years ago.

The picture is brassavola mini mouse. I place a small pot in the wooden basket. Since then look what happened. The plant appears robust. It flowers better every year. This will not be repotted.

Shavedmonkey: The Brassovola demonstrates my favorite way of growing them. I guess I am lucky that my climate allows me to do this. At least in the winter when we have some humidity. During the hot summer I mostly give thanks to the 'Power above' that is is bone dry and I don't have to put up with the humidity of the East Coast. I spent a week on a sailboat scuba diving off Florida once, I thought I was going to die. The humidity was oppressive. Back to orchids, when it really gets hot in the summer, 90 to 100 with NO humidity, I provide the humidity, try to water them twice a day when I can.

Jane: Your collection looks very healthy, your roots are happy, you just have to get used to this healthier way of growing. I noticed the Eburnum lurking in the background.

Nick

Gary, that's why I won't grow Vandas. Love the flowers, hate those roots. I can't deal with them. I got suckered into a mini Ascocenda which I have in a coco lined basket. Every time a root crawls out, it gets flipped back in! It is pretty though and I even got a blue ribbon on it. I refuse to let it wander, lol.
Ascoenda
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Nick, you are right on about the humidity. Its deadly. The plants can go all summer without any water. Everything is wet constantly and it is healthier to let the roots grow out. I am running in fungal problems like crazy. This is something I never had to deal with before.

I grow some Phals for a few local businesses, dentists, doctors office. They get Phal, Catt gifts which go downhill and they don't know what to do. After they flower, I take them back and grow them until they flower and then bring them back. I did this in NY without any problems. In Florida, however, those beautiful Phal blooms get clobbered with Botrytis. The flowers get ruined.

I now have to bring them in the house when in bud to finish flowering which is a pain. I have to develop a regimen to deal with this nightmare.
Botrytis
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I'd like to find a way to grow which could keep the roots happy but allow me to fit the basket into a decorative pot. So far, I'm not doing a good job. Yes, Nick that Ang is still blooming. It started 2nd week of January and still going. It is almost finished though, and due for some division.

Jane

Mother Nature is a b-tch but in the end we shall overcome and one way or the other we do overcome.

Nick