Neo-Folk - repotting ?s

[Heather]

Hi,

I have my Neofinetias in sphagnum, mounted the traditional way.

How often do those of you who grow that way repot? They're starting to look a little skanky and I'm not sure if it is me being overly obsessive about the way the look or if I should re-pot in fresh sphag. They've been in it 6-8 mos. at this point.

I'm repotting this weekend anyway so I just figured, maybe I should just go ahead and do everything all at once.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[streetmorrisart]

I think I do it about once a year, erring on the side of caution probably--especially if I see any signs of salt.

I wonder if this is the first time in history the words “skanky” and “Neofinetia” have ever been that close together? Stellar...

 

[Heather]

haha...

yeah, I think I have salt buildup starting to go on - some of the sphagnum has a bit of white spotting on it (on top of the ugly green algae color.) I may just start working away at them.

 

[streetmorrisart]

Sounds like you have some work to do.

Confidentially (snickers), I had all of mine stripped bare and spread across the living room floor one evening last week as I worked my way through them with a bucket of sphag, a gin and tonic and Clerks II on. It should have been a serene moment with a cup full of the best green tea and koto music in the background, but it was quite a sordid affair…

 

[Heather]

Ahh... we are two peas in a pod, Robin. Not only am I a fan of Jay & Silent Bob, I'm also a fan of G&Ts.

not to mention the Neos...

Unfortunately, I cannot find a schedule listing for Dogma (my personal favorite because of Salma H.) this weekend. Damn. That would have made it perfect.

 

[Candace]

I don't grow neos, but any orchid I grew in spag would need repotting after a year. This includes phals, catts or phrags. Spag breaks down and gets nasty choking off the air to the roots.

 

[Elena]

I re-potted mine this weekend because the moss was indeed looking quite skanky and started getting a compacted and soggy. I think the plants were in that moss since June.

There were no G&Ts for me. As much as I'm a fan of Bombay Saphire, it was my first attempt at the traditional method of potting these and I struggled enough even while stone cold sober oke:

 

[Sirius]

This thread reminds me that I DO NOT miss those days I spent repotting plants in moss!

I pulled all of my Neo's out of their pots two weeks ago and cleaned out the algae. I was not drinking or watching a movie, but if I had to choose a beverage/movie combo for repotting, it would be Red Stripe and The Fountain.

 

[Sirius]

Oh, and Candace really needs a Neo.

 

[Heather]

I enjoy doing the moss. I thought it was going to be hard but it's quite theraputic and I even have my own special little neo-repotting bottle.

 

[littlefrog]

It may be heretical, but many of the neos in my greenhouse are mounted on cork. They grow great that way. Especially the small leaved varieties.

 

[neo-guy]

Somewhat depends if you are a heavy waterer or not. I have many that have been in the same moss for 2 years now. I will be repotting those this spring!
Otherwise, a yearly repotting should be totally adequate. Also if you are using cheaper moss other than NZ moss, you may experience more moss breakdown.
Because the moss is easily removed, i can't think of any harm to the plant with more frequent repotting. Who has time and lots of moss?! :drool:

 

[TADD]

Wow I worked on mine last Sunday, mounted them all.... Took 'em out of their Japanese mounts and put them on cork and tree fern slabs. Bu then I was out side because it was sunny and 70.....

 

[Ron-NY]

I redo once a year but I do mine later in the season when they are in active growth. I soak them first to make the roots a bit pliable first.

I am considering getting away from Sphag, at least on a few of them.

hey did anyone get any divisions they want to trade during their repotting? I have one or 2 extra things now established from last years repotting.

 

[Heather]

Hmm, Ron, the active growth issue - you think I should wait? My weekend has changed a little so I don't NEED to do them this weekend but I could. I have plenty of long NZ sphag. on hand. It was just the white mold/salt like stuff I was getting concerned about.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

I think that as long as you don't keep the plants overly wet, you can keep them safely in the same moss for two years. The biggest problems I've had are similar to other folks - the build up of salt (I have really hard water) and decomposition. Another problem is algae. Growers in Japan try to avoid this by using pelletized slow release fertilizer instead of liquid ones. These pellets look like a typical aspirin pill and are placed in the moss right at the edge of the top of the pot, hence contact with the roots is indirect.

Regarding repotting, the common wisdom in Japan is to do it just before they go into growth for the year. I do mine in March since they begin active growth in April. Recently repotted plants are much more happy than ones in old moss, so by all means repot them often. Man, I got a lot to repot this year!

 

[Heather]

Thanks, Kyushu! :wink:

I'm still debating whether to do it now and get them out of the icky moss or to wait a month. We're pretty close to March at this point...

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Thanks, Kyushu! :wink:

I'm still debating whether to do it now and get them out of the icky moss or to wait a month. We're pretty close to March at this point...

Hey Heather, if the moss can be described as "icky", then sooner is much better than later. Having said that, many times moss looks bad on the surface (especially when algae is growing on it), but can be in OK condition inside. Neofinetia roots rot if the moss goes bad - sticky, smelly, gooey, etc. Personally, I would repot them now.

 

[Heather]

Thanks.

I should clarify, *I* think it is icky but I think it is mostly on the surface. It's not sticky or gooey.
But I've been a bit neglectful; I just don't like the look of it right now and I think I'd like to look at at least one and see how it fares. Based on that I'll maybe do one a night this week. I got a bit behind today and haven't gotten to that yet.

I'm going to do at least one tonight.

 

[Heather]

Okay, it was icky...at least my Tamakongo

I took a couple photos. In the last day (I left it in my repotting area today without lights and sure enough, mold developed. Dumb move on my part but it was only on the surface of the spagnum.)

When I got it out of the moss, I noticed these white spots on the roots, which look healthy enough to me otherwise. Anyone know anything about these spots?






It's been repotted, as have all but my Gekkeikan (which is the best looking moss of all as it was the last obtained so it can wait another day.) Everything looked really good, all had new root growth, so I'm hoping that's a good sign. This is my first time repotting these since I got them and they *seem* happy but I'm just going on instinct here....thoughts appreciated!

Thanks!