Thanks for the response! This happens to my cattleyas, phals, Bulbophyllums, most recently (with rot) zygopetalum, burrageara, (and that's what I can remember) it seems almost like the type doesn't really matter (it must be just me :*( ) after their repot I put them back where they were before, and all my orchids are in the same spot (some get different amounts of light) (except for my masds and dracukass whichare outside) where it is around intermediate temp. My procedure is: remove pot, use fingers to get out as much media as possible with minimal damage to roots, then trim any dead roots with sterilized scissors. Then I pot it in a suitable pot (one that just fits) in a variation of medium sized bark, charcoal (have no idea why or what it does), perlite, sphag moss, and rarely peat moss (not miracle grow) then I usually water it carefully, just as I would normally, without getting any in the leaves.

Also when it's fertilizing day I'll only give it water with a little superthrive vitamin solution which isn't fertilizer and is supposed to help with transplant shock

You could always just NOT repot. Use the "pot in a pot" concept instead.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1564112/pot-in-a-pot-in-a-pot-concept?n=50

From what I can tell, my orchids have released the old media easily (compared to the fight it used to be years ago), and seldom know they've been repotted, even when repotted in heavy bud.
I just try to get 90 to 95% of the old media off (everything that I can get without injury) and pour media on them...water well/soak even, and off they go.

Suzabanana: thanks, I'll try it out! Never heard of it or seen before... My one concern is that I don't have that much humidity and I will sometimes forget to water, but I'll definitely try it out on a couple catts! But, really! Thanks for showing me that link! One more technique to grow orchids!

Just keep in mind, unless you have constant misting, some species of orchids won't be happy with that (thinking paphs and miltonias for sure). Those that favor terrestrial conditions and/or constant moisture.

dbarron: good point, and I'm not so reliable with that... I'll just try it out with a few catts or den

Somewhere???? I got the impression you live in SF area. Perhaps you should concentrate on some of the wonderful orchids that grow well there.

One that comes to mind is Dendrobium cuthbertsonii

The only way I could get it to thrive, would be to set-up a glass-house with a cooling system and that means expense. There may be some on your list that are best left to growers with warmer climates (and better light)..

In other words, some of your problems are probably related to the Climate rather than the potting mix, fertiliser and so on.

The orchids grown by people in orchid societies in the San Francisco area must be very different to those grown in say San Diego.

Confession time, I repotted a dendrobium day before yesterday, it was fine...till an evil errant breeze blew it off the windowsill, and smashed it to the floor, scattering media all over. It definitely looks worse for the 2nd repotting in 2 days.

The pot in a pot concept does work well for oncidiums. I have one I bought at 75% off to experiment with. It's huge now and stuffed into a very small pot, so it lives within a cache pot and gets watered well twice a week. It's now putting out 2 spikes. You do have to water more with this method. I'll put it outside this summer where I can use the hose every day on it.

Where do you live? How do you grow your orchids?

Springtime is the time to repot. If your plants are not responding to being repotting at the right time, something else is happening. What type of light are they getting?

Please provide more growing information.

Jane

Arthrum: good point, the temps in my house are only kept above 65 degrees, but it still seems that some temperature hardy plants still show dislike of my repotting...

Dbarron: oh my! Sounds like a tragedy! I get upset enough when I break of a new shoot!

Vtandrea: thanks for the suggestion! I'll definitely try it on one of my oncidiums!

Jane: I live in the Oakland hills in the SF Bay Area. I grow almost all my indoor orchids in the same spot, positioned around a fireplace to control the amount of light. The facing of the house isn't the best. 80% of the light is late morning to afternoon sun . 90% of the windows are west facing :( like the house... The problem might be I repotted at the wrong time. I didn't a lot of reporting in the winter/ late fall (whoops...)