Friday, December 7, 2012

Maxillaria tenuifolia repotted but not divided

Roots started to stick out of the pot of Maxillaria tenuifolia and I decided to move it to a bigger one.

From the beginning I potted two very small rootless divisions of maxi into same pot to save the space and time watering, thinking that I will separate them after they both grow some roots.
Now, I thought, would be the good time to divide them into individual pots since both matured and grew more p-bulbs.

When I took maxillaria out of the pot I understood that separating those plants without serious root damage is an impossible task:



The roots of both plants tangled too much and filled the whole pot. I tried to swirl the roots in the water, but the ball proved to be pretty solid:



Finally I gave up, wrapped the whole thing in some fresh moss and slipped into larger plastic pot:



This is actually the only orchid that I grow in plastic pot with sphagnum moss and apparently it likes that.

Here is the picture from November 2011 when I just potted those two divisions:



Each plant had only two mature bulbs back then and look at them now! If only I could convince it to bloom now...

3 comments:

  1. Apparently, tenuifolia really appreciates a period of cooler temperatures to bloom well

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    1. Yes, I read that somewhere too. I put it on a windowsil close to the glass hoping that freezing temps outside will provide cooler temps for maxillaria. Also when I got it the vendor lady said to keep it dry during winter. I am trying to water it very sparsely, but don't want to wrinkle the bulbs either.

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