Why do you always repot a Cattleya? There is a good time and a bad time to repot. Depends on where you are in the USA and your growing conditions (western windows are not optimum.)

I'm in the fiddle as little as possible school. All this root inspecting and needless repotting leads to problems. Apart from repotting. maybe a better method might be a pot within a pot.

I only repot cattleya I newly received. Cuz I don't want to deal with pests and want to see what the root system is like. My western window is what I can offer, it had pretty much bright sun all day. And afternoon sun I have blinds. I don't want to mess with plants that much either by eventually I will have to report at sometime and I have just been doing so badly at repoting cattleya for some reason (no issue with phals, cymbidiums, oncidiums)....so I need to get good technique!

Can you please tell us where you live? Spring repotting on Catts unless the new roots are longer than an inch.

Is your Catt small? What is the name on the tag?

Best time to repot is when you start to see new roots forming from the new growth. If the new roots are longer than an inch, you run the chance of damaging them and the plant could decline. You want to protect those new roots with little damage.

If the Catt is small, the large bark might be too dry. Soak the new bark for a few days until it absorbs some water. Don't worry about fertilizer at this point. Just repot, put the plant in a sunny window. It should resume growth.

If the roots are longer than an inch or so, just put the plant in a larger pot and let the roots grow in the space between pots. You can repot next year.

If the plant looks healthy when you bring it home, don't worry about repotting. I agree with Arthur, just pot-in-pot.

Jane

Thanks Jane for your recommendations! I usually repot because they are new plants, and a lot of time the media looks broken down, and I am always so paranoid. Size is mature plants. I have tried Lc. tropical pointer, Iwanagara apple blossom, BLC Greenwich Elmhurst, Purple cascade....ALWAYS the same problem....I tried when the new growth start...but the old roots will always die, the new root still is alive though. It is just very frustrating. Because yes I can wait...but I will eventually run into same problem because I will have to repot at some time! Really want to know what I am doing wrong so I can fix the issue!

This thread has no pictures. Show the plant with a look at the top of the pot to see the medium.

You have to find a source for your Cattleyas where the potting mix is compatible with your growing conditions. When I get my order I know that the plants will be fine for a year.

So I start going through my collection in August (tidying up, repotting and dividing, or placing the pot into a larger pot with minimal disturbance) and this process finishes around about December. This is for a very large collection of orchids. AND I'm talking about the Southern Hemisphere. So maybe February = August if you are right side up.

You do not have to look at the roots if the top part of the plant is healthy and if the plant is growing well you should use Nicks pot within a pot method if you want the plant to grow with minimal disturbance.

The other problem with cattleyas is that they flower at different times during the year and that might influence when you repot.

As for the potting mix that depends on where you are in the USA. The general rule is the closer you are to the tropics, the more arid the mix.

Then there are some "Cattleyas" that do best on a mount.........

As Jane said, tell us where you are...

I am in Kentucky! Thanks for all the tips.I will post a picture when I get back.