Space permitting, make a division as soon as possible.

12 years ago

About the 3rd or 4th orchid I ever got, 18 years ago was labelled C white multiflora. I'm sure that's not the name of it, just a description of it's flowering pattern but in those days I did not question it and enjoyed the nice white flowers. Fast forward 3 to 4 years when someone explained virus to me and advised to always make a division. In case one of them goes south, you got the other one. I took that advice and have been making divisions (for me) of most of my plants ever since.

Fast forward few more years and sure enough my C white multiflora was shown to be virused and was discarded with great sadness as it took me back to the very beginning of my hobby.

The offspring was not virused, the division was made a number of years before the main plant developed the problem. It is a huge monster now, the flowers look a little like C Margaret Hort but are much larger and have a folded lip with some yellow in it. It's probably a Catt hybrid and I'll never find out the name.

I have never stopped the pattern of making a division, not for trade but for my use and I think it's a good habit to get into if you have the space. There have been several more instances, not necessarily related to virus where one of the two plants failed but the other one did well and is still with me. This one is huge by now and makes a nice display. I would not have it, were it not for the protective or prophylactic division.

Nick.

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Comments (5)

allymarie
12 years ago
That's a good tip Nick.I usually make divisions only when the orchid needs repotting.It makes good sense especially when orchids are so costly and require good care.That's the tip of the day, thanks.

Allymarie
allymarie
12 years ago
That's a good tip Nick.I usually make divisions only when the orchid needs repotting.It makes good sense especially when orchids are so costly and require good care.That's the tip of the day, thanks.

Allymarie
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garlicgrower
12 years ago
In the freezing winters of the north, it's not uncommon to lose plants due to the heat failing. So, divisions given away or sold to fellow club members are like an insurance policy. You might be able to get back a piece of a beloved plant after the "big chill." Generosity has its rewards!
Maryanne in WMass
philpet
12 years ago
I think that's the best insurance policy one can have when growing any type of plant not only orchids,sometimes because the parent plant was grown in a different environment from yours it just dosnt make it,but if you make a division from early enough it adapts to your environment and you save yourself the time and money of getting it replace,which sometimes is next to impossible.Velleta
petrushka (7b)
12 years ago
i had a pretty sad experience dividing cattleyas - they declined very quickly and never bloomed again. i managed to keep the plants going for 2 more years without flowering and then gave up - they were getting worse and worse.
i thought i did everything right, made sure there are at least 5 pseudobulbs, good leaves. the plants were so huge they were spilling out in multiple clusters in all directions.
they were in bark and good sun, flowering and multiplying year after year. i had 6 blooms going.
it's been 7 years ago and i don't have the light for cattleyas any more, but i am still wondering what went wrong.
is there a trick or more info that you can point me too about cattleya division since you are obviously successfully doing it?
this is what it looked like back in 2006.