- Joined
- Jun 6, 2006
- Messages
- 10,882
- Reaction score
- 352
I've been itching to repot my Mexipedium xerophyticum, having bought a nice pot for it a few weeks ago. My mom lives right near Bonsai West, which is a really beautiful place to shop if you are ever in Massachusetts. When she was sick a few weeks ago, it seemed like a good way to kill some time. I had actually never been there before, and their bonsai collection is really quite phenomenal. All of the azaelias were in bloom but the Japanese maples were my favorites. You think orchids are pricey!
But this isn't a post about bonsai!
I've been rather terrified of what I'd find when I unpotted the Mex. I've had it over a year and was afraid of messing with the culture since it was doing so well, but I was pleasantly surprised. The roots were pretty nice, not unlike a Paph. or Phrag. Mine has been growing in a 5.5" round pot, and the stolons were pretty well contained and I was able to hold the whole thing with one hand, carefully, while cleaning off the older media. The roots weren't terribly brittle and I was able to deal with the whole job without dividing the plant (which I really didn't want to do!)
I have always heard they are fairly shallow growers - hence my decision to try repotting in a bonsai pot, but when I was shopping for the pot, I was really concerned about getting something deep enough. I must have wandered around the store for more than an hour trying to decide what to get, which was really hard having no idea of what the roots would be like. True to word, though, the roots are remarkably shallow growing and the pot I chose, which is a sort of oblong rectangle, just about 8" x 10" x 4" deep turned out to be the perfect depth, with room for the plant to spread out some.
Here's a photo of the roots:
I had pretty good luck just lining the bottom of the pot with mix, setting the plant on top, and packing the mix in around each little plant, spinning it a little to make sure that it was adequately covered. One growth had to be potted a little lower than I'd have liked, and another older bloomed growth (with only one of its' leaves left) was best just removed. In places where I have new growth, I used Marilyn LeDoux's method of "staking" the stolon down with the cut off loop of a paperclip (note to self, buy some green plastic covered paper clips tomorrow) so that the roots will be encouraged to grow downward into the mix.
Here's the plant in its' new home.
I think it is really quite lovely. It's going to live in the kitchen with me for a while, where I am getting excellent sunlight (and the colors match! hehe)
But this isn't a post about bonsai!
I've been rather terrified of what I'd find when I unpotted the Mex. I've had it over a year and was afraid of messing with the culture since it was doing so well, but I was pleasantly surprised. The roots were pretty nice, not unlike a Paph. or Phrag. Mine has been growing in a 5.5" round pot, and the stolons were pretty well contained and I was able to hold the whole thing with one hand, carefully, while cleaning off the older media. The roots weren't terribly brittle and I was able to deal with the whole job without dividing the plant (which I really didn't want to do!)
I have always heard they are fairly shallow growers - hence my decision to try repotting in a bonsai pot, but when I was shopping for the pot, I was really concerned about getting something deep enough. I must have wandered around the store for more than an hour trying to decide what to get, which was really hard having no idea of what the roots would be like. True to word, though, the roots are remarkably shallow growing and the pot I chose, which is a sort of oblong rectangle, just about 8" x 10" x 4" deep turned out to be the perfect depth, with room for the plant to spread out some.
Here's a photo of the roots:
I had pretty good luck just lining the bottom of the pot with mix, setting the plant on top, and packing the mix in around each little plant, spinning it a little to make sure that it was adequately covered. One growth had to be potted a little lower than I'd have liked, and another older bloomed growth (with only one of its' leaves left) was best just removed. In places where I have new growth, I used Marilyn LeDoux's method of "staking" the stolon down with the cut off loop of a paperclip (note to self, buy some green plastic covered paper clips tomorrow) so that the roots will be encouraged to grow downward into the mix.
Here's the plant in its' new home.
I think it is really quite lovely. It's going to live in the kitchen with me for a while, where I am getting excellent sunlight (and the colors match! hehe)
