I got the orchids from the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate where most all of
their Cattleyas are bare root. They had them in small plastic pots and
the
roots went through holes in the bottom of the pot and over the sides.
They
then had this pot in a larger pot and the roots were now growing into
that.
As the plant and roots grew, they kept moving the entire thing into bigger
and bigger pots.
This is they way that they were growing the Cattleyas. (Phals and
Cymbidiums were potted with media). The plants are stabilized. In fact,
I
attended a class in potting put on by SBOE and the smallest of cats were
at
first tied into the pots until their roots could form against the sides
and
in holes through the bottom.
Your comment about watering often, like in the wild, makes sense. I live
in
S. Cal
Thanks for the comments.
Vito
"tenman" <tenman@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:47ddfd2b$0$4928$4c368faf@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Uncle_vito wrote:
>> I have some cattleyas that are basically potted in air (the plants are
>> in a pot and the roots are bare with no media). How do you water
these?
>> Do you soak the roots for a few minutes or do you just spash the roots
>> with water?
>>
>> I have been soaking the roots for a few minutes when I have time, other
>> times I pour water over them and it immediately drains out.
>>
>> Thanks for all replies
>>
>> Uncle Vito
> What is commonly missed is that these plants neeed a good deal of water.
> They don't like to stay wet, but they still need the water. Your
'potting'
> situation is ideal IF you have the plants stabilized so there is no
> movement to harm the new growing roots. And the best watering regimen
for
> them is several times a day for an extended period of time. In their
> natural habitats, when they get water they receive it over a prolonged
> period of time, that is, it rains for several hours or the heavy mists
in
> the AM last for hours. What media do in a pot normally is provide a
chance
> for the plant to absorb water for a while as the medium stays wet.So,
> bareroot in a pot, have a mister on them three or four times a day for
> 5-10 minutes at a time.It's labor intensive, but then you have chosen to
> go without medium, which requires you to more closely mimic their
natural
> environment without the baffer of a medium.
>
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