Repotting two Dendrobiums : Handling pot-bound roots

Join me on one of my most frustrating repots!! My Dendrobium Temesak Princess (a phalaenopsis type) and an extremely pot-bound Dendrobium Nobile type hybrid. The Nobile ended up being one of the most pot-bound orchids I've ever had the pleasure of repotting (kidding, I drank like 3 glasses of wine during the process!!).
These big, tall dens are extremely top heavy so when repotting, some thought needs to go in to keeping them from toppling over. There are several solutions. Mounting is an option but it's not something I do, and also its an extremely heavy plant to mount.
Using a pot, but hanging them allows the pot to stay upright, but you will still often need to stake or tie the plant to stop the canes splaying out.
I use rocks in the pot to weigh it down and stops it from toppling and /or unpotting itself.
Enjoy!
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Background Music:
Just Wanna Run (Hallman Remix) - Sebastian Forslund

[@patricialux1221]

Hi there. Fresh starts!! I love repots . I love lovely smooth repots at home and challenging problematic ones on utube. 😆 good job 👍😊🌿

[@OrchieDee]

Hahaha.. 3 glasses of wine by the end of the process 🤭

[@joanneacevedo8201]

Hello from the Caribbean. I just recently potted my dendrobium Rabbit Pink of about 3 1/2 years in the same pot. It was just like yours root bound but it was only in lava rock. What a huge repot it was. I also cut a few canes off to give away and to propagate. Mine had roots going up on the canes. I enjoyed your video very much. 😉

[@denisesorchidparadise1411]

great repot!

[@OrchieDee]

Thanks Denise!

[@marygorchidsmore2058]

Very nice repotting, enjoyed it a lot. Hope they grow well and you'll get lots of bloom next year. Thanks for sharing.

[@OrchieDee]

MaryG Orchids I hope so too! But we will see... I'll admit I'm not the best with nobile types!

[@keepsmiling704]

volume wasn't great and would have love to see what you did getting the roots apart

[@ing360]

I was hoping to see which roots you cut. How you know they’re dead.

[@GL1FE]

ooh fun! i love root bound orchids!

[@OrchieDee]

I'm amazed by them, but I HATE dealing with them!!!

[@Nubianwings]

@@OrchieDee I really needed to see how you teased the roots to become pliable and free. I have a baby that is so root bound into the shape of old pot. the roots are lovely and green and almost seem like plastic but so entwined, Need help

[@kenjiro2676]

Orchids that produce these much roots at a much faster rate are better off in inorganic media. Lava rock from landscape stores are perfect. All you would need to do is up size the pot without removing any media.

[@orchidfancy]

I was looking for a video that would show me 1) how to get the pot-bound orchid out of it's pot and 2) what to do with all of those roots... why did you cut those parts out? There are already a million vidoes out there showing how to put an orchid in a pot... I don't suppose you have a video that actually shows how to "handle pot-bound roots"?

[@OrchieDee]

This video was filmed 4 years ago when I was still using my phone and basic editing software. It was difficult to film the whole process and also I didn’t know how to speed through the lengthy sections. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2bSimCmr9-Nn9k - this is my root bound Sharry Baby. Released a child weeks ago. Maybe shoes those things more clearly

[@johnschutt9187]

It seems to me that the point of the whole video is how to handle pot-bound roots. But, that's the part that you omitted. You didn't show us the process of how you did it.

[@Twigarati]

Oh my 🙆‍♀️... looks like Spaghetti ice cream , just missing the strawberry sauce 🤣... I know you tried and didn’t like SH , but it makes my life so much easier when up potting... kudos to you tho for your diligence ... how about using wire to make a bespoke hanger? I rarely find commercial hangers to be of use so I make my own ... just a thought 😊

[@OrchieDee]

Nina Bosse I ended up finding a hanger that fit thankfully! But it actually held up really well in a pot too surprisingly. How do you think a LECA repot would go with the weight of this guy so you think?? I didn't actually end up testing semi-hydro on any dendrobiums....

[@Twigarati]

Orchie Dee I make steel rings (I tape the metal before bending it into shape so that there is no risk of rust. The ring I place in the bottom and let the length become the stake that sticks out ... I attach / train top heavy canes / PB / new growths as they grow, to this one metal ‘stake’ as and when needed. self watering / SH whichever only requires minimal movement of the pot... but even then... it’s a big plant, it gets a bigger pot to help with added weight. I agree with you the under-potting dens is from old books to avoid overwatering ... but with SH, over-potting is not an issue within reason of course, because of how the leca doesn’t compact. But that’s for another comment 😅... my ring at the base secures the entire metal stake as it is also weighed down by the leca. No accidents so far and all not so well rooted orchids did really well this summer ... new roots grew well into medium & some obviously thought poking around in mid air was the way to go 😅

[@TheJakaranda]

the den.will regrow its roots, but I never cut the roots even if so severe bound... It looks impossible but I always start from the underneath... little by little... then it gets very easy to get inside. The middle is always soft... and then its over soon )

[@TheJakaranda]

Just its easier then to stuff the mix inside of the root ball and pot it up... more stability in this case.

[@OrchieDee]

Marcy, I must admit I got a bit frustrated during the process!!! 😣 It was about 9pm and I was half way through and just thought 'stuff it' haha... and started chopping lol. Nevermind, it's a resilient plant, and it's actually looking really good. This was actually over a week ago and the plant looks really happy!

[@TheJakaranda]

@@OrchieDee yeah.. I know, 9 pm is definitely not a goot time to repot a rootbound orchid ))

[@GL1FE]

interesting , i saw an australian orchid being chopped in half , kind of the way you kind of did it , it was a native species forgot the name but it was very very root bound and massive so he literally used a machete and and halved the length of the pot bound roots in half! it was fun to watch i have to admit!!

[@OrchieDee]

@@GL1FE perhaps Aussies just like hacking root systems in half! 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️