Just my 2 cents, but I don't think plastic pots do anything for most orchids. IF the roots aren't stuck to the plastic, I'd remove it and put the plant in a clay pot. Be quick and sneaky about it and the plant won't know what happened . ..

Here, the clay always feels cool to the touch, which is a good thing in hot weather. In yours, it's gotta add some humidity to the surroundings, and also help keep the roots cool when the weather's hot. Plus, next time you have to re-pot you can break the clay pot if you have to.

I think my little Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' has forgiven me for repotting it as soon as it came home last November. It has at least one new leaf.

Paphiopedilum Villosum.
Do you use raw clay pots? dont they suck the moisture away to quick?
I tried clay but there to heavy to hang (and most of mine are hanging), the roots grow onto the pots and are harder to get out than plastic. You dont buy new clay pots everytime you repot do you?

I mostly agree with Elaine but it depends on the orchid.

We spent the day in Bergen, Norway. This is beautiful country but the weather sucks. 54 was today's high with a biting wind, heavy fog and light rain. We are now headed for Molde, Norway, where the predicted high is 52. Also of note are the prices, which are crazy high. The fog lifts from time to time so we get some views of the fjords and mountains. Molde will be our northern most point. Sunset tonight is as 11:07.

Jim

Bree, Your Paph. villosum is beautiful!

I do re-use my clay pots if they are in good shape, Bree. Scrub 'em off and soak in a little bleach/water then let them dry in the sun. But they are pretty cheap to buy here, so I keep a couple of new ones around, too.

Sometimes I've had to break a clay pot to get the orchid out, and if the roots are stuck to the clay, I leave clay pieces that are held by the roots and just pot them up as part of the new medium.

Clay does dry out a terrestrial plant with soil in the pot more quickly than plastic because of wicking action, but not with orchid bark mix. Plus the clay itself holds and releases water gradually which keeps the roots cool. In hot, dry weather I go around and spray all the clay pots to keep them damp and cool.

All my orchids that like it cooler are in clay pots - the Phals and Cyms especially like them. For the rest I am gravitating towards wood baskets, with coco fiber in them.

Your Paph really is lovely, and 3 flowers open at once, what a treat! Here's my Bl. 'maybe Yellow Bird' with a new flower. It's a richer color than the 'Yellow Bird' that has a tag. Maybe one's getting more water than the other.

Following happily along here!

Just thought I let you all know:
We are back!! The last couple of weeks I just read along (when I had internet and the time) and enjoyed all your lovely contributions, but I was not able to post pictures. We just came back tonight from Ecuador! We took the July Orchid tour with Ecuagenera! It was beyond our wildest expectations, we saw more Orchids in their natural habitat than one can ever imagine. I now have the happy task of going through ca 1400 pictures. I have so much to tell and show, it will take me some time to go through it all.
So stay tuned!!

Bring them on!

Tomorrow the download begins! It will be a pleasure!

Great flowers, Bree.

Carol, what say you about clay vs plastic out here. I have some in both, some terrestrial and some not. Like Jim says, maybe it's just what that particular orchid likes.

OK, Ursula. Can't wait. I have seen that trip advertised before on the website. Very tempting.

Hey Jim, considering you are as far north in Molde as Iceland, Greenland and Fairbanks, Alaska, you might be going through a heat wave

A great thrill for me this morning, my first bloom of Rhynchovola David Sander has opened. B. nodosa 'Big Jim' is nearly open to keep him company.

Ted, I'm torn on the subject of pots. The cooling and evaporation are plusses for the clay. The weight and difficulty of hanging are sometimes a negative, but most of my plastic pots are set inside a clay pot to keep them from tipping over. I just had to break one of my large Cyms. out of an expensive ceramic pot to divide it. That hurt. I wish we had a better selection of the clay orchid pots, but it seems we only get a choice between 3" and 6"

Very nice Elaine, very nice.

Same here on the pots, Carol. I keep new guys in whatever they came in until it's time to re-pot. Or maybe a little past it. And then the decision - clay, plastic, basket, stick.....

Interesting thing, right now I have a Phal. in bloom. For me it is a once every few years thing. It came from a HD or Lowes. Plastic with Sphagnum inside all stuffed in a plastic pot. For grins, I got rid of the plastic pot, put the plastic with the sphag and Phal in it in a clay pot and turned it on its side. Growing, healthy and blooming. Go figure. Carol, didn't you do some experimenting with Phals and sphag a while back?

Way to go, Elaine. I hope Kathy can bloom hers this year.

I haven't been able to get on line for a couple of days. Molde was nice but we had fog and light rain all day. It was their jazz festival so we dresses warmly and went ashore. The festival consisted of.several tents put up along a street selling food and other stuff and a high school band marching past playing peppie music. We made the best of it but after a couple of hours tha weather won out. Today we are in Flam with improved weather. We took a small boat up the fjord and came back by bus. The temps were in the low 60s and the fog lifted a bit. The hills have become much higher and it is beautiful. I can't wait to post pics. One more stop in Norway and then we sail back to England for the return trip.

Jim

Wow.
All this world travel and I am just staying home deadheading three hours a day and seeing students intermittently! But it is really beautiful in my old backyard. http://forum.crazyorchidlady.c...
David Sanders is growing roots and smiling but no signs of spikes. I'll take happy for now. BTW, I don't care about clay vs. plastic. They live and die in both!

Ted, I did. I hate to say it, but the only one that has done well, and is getting a spike, is the one I left in the plastic with sphagnum. Hardly a fair test, as these were all forced plants, and all got too much sun during the past year. The trick to keeping them in sphagnum seems to be light surface watering, as opposed to soaking. I suppose that's the logic behind the "ice cube" method. Most of my Phals are doing fine in course orchid mix, but sans the sun. Placement for them in the shack is difficult, and Phals are cheap and available, so they take a back seat to the other orchids.

I'm going to bore you again with my David Sander, now fully open and his sidekick Big Jim. Can't help but think I have not been watering DS enough up to now. With nearly 6 weeks of cool, (for summer) rainy weather now - he blooms! I have been limiting the amount of rain by covering, but still they are all getting a LOT more water than usual, and other than the expected black rot problems, every one has big, lusty new growth! This plant has put up good new growth each year but has aborted any sheaths very early on.

Pretty sure the addition of magnesium to the watering scheme has helped as well, but not as much as the generous rain. Just this morning started supplementing with Dyna-Gro 'Silicon Solution' as well. We shall see how that works.

We are at Heathrow. Should be home around midnight.

Jim

Yeah Jim will be back!!

Yippee we missed you, Jim! Can't wait to see what's blooming in the OC.

How about your cage, Ursula? I know how busy you've been with pictures from Ecuador, but . . .

I'll have one new bloom open tomorrow.