Repotting Paphiopedilum Black Jack

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:00:05]Hi, this is Roger. Thanks for dropping by. Am I up and running? No. Up and walking about a bit. Um I'm determined not to do nothing. Um cuz I'm sure just sitting around doing nothing is um worse than attempting to do some things, small though they might be. But I'm still not right. Far from it.

[00:00:28][clears throat and cough] still woke up a couple of times coughing in the night and uh yeah, I still got sinuses are like they're getting tuned for. They're like playing a note every now and again. It's like wheezing except for that's a chesty thing. I believe the expression wheezing is a chesty thing.

[00:00:47]This is like wheezing, but it's here. If I could get two notes going, I could do harmonies, but it's not right. Uh, so we're not we're not proper. Um, but nonetheless, that doesn't stop me doing some bits.

[00:01:04]Now, like an idiot yesterday, I say that, but it was a necessary idiotic thing to do. I actually repotted my bonsai beach tree. Um, that's been left two years longer than it should do and as a consequence has put down some really substantial roots. So, actually taking it apart to repot it was very difficult. It took nearly an hour to get the old media out and rake the roots and everything. And who did I hear? Ensa, I think it was, had done some also done some bonsai stuff. He ruined his back by working on a bench that was too low. Well, my bench is a reasonable height. It is a workbench height, but [snorts] nonetheless, you're leaning over and you know that's not a nice straight upright position, is it? So, uh, so yeah, today we got back ache. Now, when I do something stupid, I and you know that's going to affect my back, I expect to get backachche. You know, why should I get away with it? It's expected. [laughter] But that will be gone. You know, that's not a big deal. That will probably be gone either later today or by tomorrow.

[00:02:19]So, I put up with it. But the beach tree was waiting its repot for the um leaves to break, for the buds to break green, which is the right time because that means all the sap's moved up and you know, and as in the tree rather than down at the base of the tree. Um, and at that point, the roots aren't actually doing much. Trees put all its energy into getting those leaves out so that it can start photosynthesizing and feed itself again. So, uh, [snorts] that's the time to repot. And with beach, it's a narrow window, you know, um, those leaves broke almost overnight. One day the leaves are brown, the sky is gray, [laughter] and the next day they're bursting, and three or four days later they're fully open. You missed your chance, which is why it got delayed that long in the first place. Anyway, we're back to doing some orchid stuff and I'm going to do something simple, but what I'm going to do is not yet decided and it will be decided during the video. Basically, I've got a an orchid that I'm either going to pot on or I'm going to repot. And the decision will be made when we get it out of the pot and start having a look around. But what I will say is I've just looked it up and this was last repotted in March 23. So it's been in its pot over three years, but it was me who repotted it and it went into decent quality stuff.

[00:03:52]Still quite a long time, is it? Anyway, let's um swing this round. Actually, I'm going to break off. I'll come back when I've got everything set up.

[00:04:01]Right, you should be able to see what's going on at uh at that angle. All right, we're going to have a go at my pacio fed and blackjack.

[00:04:16]And this is for several reasons.

[00:04:20]That took me absolutely ages to get enough water in there to make it what I would call satisfactory, you know, wet in the pot.

[00:04:33]Um, I'm just having a look cuz there's spots on these leaves.

[00:04:39]Trying to see if they're actually are they some sort of bug cuz if they are, they look like mites. They're certainly not me bugs and they're not scale. They don't appear to be difficult to say what the hell they are.

[00:04:59]We don't believe them. And um they're certainly not red mites. If they are mites, they're white in color. So, who knows? Anyway, out of the pot.

[00:05:09][clears throat] First job. Now, it's going to be a bit damp cuz I did actually water it. And I did manage to get some water in.

[00:05:18]Now, the first thing is to find out what on earth I potted it in.

[00:05:24]Let's get the tag out the way.

[00:05:27]Now, it's falling. The media is coming out quite easily. You can see it's a it's a reasonable root system, but it's not currently active.

[00:05:37]The roots aren't actually growing at the moment. And so far, I don't see any new ones.

[00:05:48]So, we are repotting, not potting on.

[00:05:52]Um, main reason was that was instantly decided as soon as I got it out of the pot. um because the media is old and I notice there's moss in it. Um so, you know, that will have gone off and um there's a hollow up through the middle which would have extremely old media in it that's never going to get away, is it? It gets potted on, it's trapped.

[00:06:20]So, uh, anyway, this doesn't need to have every bit of old media removed, but if you do repot pathopulums, the roots are pretty sturdy. They're pretty chunky. You can pull them out a bit, but if you've got new ones, do go careful with the root tips. They they can snap quite easily. I think that's true of most orchids really. But, um, yeah.

[00:06:48]So, what we've got to do now is try and look out for roots that are not up to much like this. If they break off and they're they're crumbly like that, then they're of no use.

[00:07:02]Um, there's a broken one there.

[00:07:12]That's not much good.

[00:07:20]What was that? If I can see where it's coming from.

[00:07:23]That's hollow. So, that's long since gone.

[00:07:31]The newer roots will look Show you the difference. Old roots look a bit bare.

[00:07:39]Um, a bit sort of like this. Where's the camera? Like that.

[00:07:46]Newer roots have got hairy bits on them.

[00:07:50]See? But that root's broken there. So, the end of it's no use. But the rest of it will still work. It might not have a growing tip, but it'll work. Still a viable root.

[00:08:05]So, it's just a matter of um trying to sort out what's really old and tired and of no use. These ones around the top circle are not very good.

[00:08:24]And strangely enough, the um the media doesn't smell.

[00:08:28]It's not all mushroomy.

[00:08:34]And given that um pacio pedalum should actually stay moist. They shouldn't dry out. Well, not totally sort of bone dust dry sort of thing. They can get pretty dry. A lot of that depends on the temperature. But um trouble is with papio pedums, there are some quite warmer growers in amongst them and there are also cooler growers and there are some that are true terrestrials and some that aren't. So there's a you know when you've got a hybrid you you you almost guessing as to what is the best way to look after it. And quite honestly, if it seems to do okay, puts up new growths, and it blooms, it's doing okay.

[00:09:18]That's all you can ask for them. You're never going to get huge bursts of growth out of the flipping things cuz they're slow. That's how they are.

[00:09:28]But, um, as I said, if you There's a there's a relatively new route there.

[00:09:35]So, I think uh yeah, I don't think I'm going to take too much off. I'm just looking. These roots around the top here are the are the ones that are hollow. They're on some of the oldest growths on the plant.

[00:09:54]Not all of them have gone, so I'm being selective.

[00:10:34]So this was obviously bark, perlite and moss.

[00:10:40]Well, it certainly won't be getting any moss now.

[00:10:44]Um, yeah. Any any media that sticks to a root, if a root's attached, leave it cuz you'll tear all the hairs and the structure off of the root by trying to tear it off. Right. Well, I haven't got um loads of dead leaves to take off.

[00:11:08]Let's say this is a multi-growth plant here.

[00:11:14]And that that growth there is relatively new, but that's actually bloomed already. Uh this growth here is new.

[00:11:21]That hasn't bloomed. So that will that will bloom.

[00:11:25]That one here, that one looks like it's going to bloom.

[00:11:31]That looks like that could be a bud coming up there.

[00:11:35]Possibly might be another leaf. Patience will tell. And the one behind it hasn't bloomed either. So, there's two next to each other here that haven't bloomed.

[00:11:46]And then there's another one round here that hasn't bloomed. So, there's at least three relatively new growth, but there's no sign of genuine new growths.

[00:11:56]You know, the little tiny ones coming out the sides. So, uh, but it is said that pacio pedalums respond quite well to being repotted and will often put on a little bit of a spurt. Well, a spurt for them.

[00:12:12]So, we shall see. Perhaps we will see some new growths.

[00:12:16]That's it then. That's a very simple thing to do. And there's a right tatty leaf here. It's split. It's damaged, but it's probably still functional.

[00:12:28]I do have a leaf with a brown tip here.

[00:12:30]I'm going to take that off.

[00:12:37]I don't like leaves that are not like the others, if you see what I mean.

[00:12:40]Simply because um if they're not like the others and there's something wrong with them, you know, and if there's something wrong with it, perhaps it's better gone.

[00:12:53]All right, that's not a bad plant. had this one a long time. This was bought on a whim on [clears throat] a trip to Burnham's when, you know, when I go to Burnhams, I have to buy something. I feel obliged to keep the nursery going and and do my bit. And I hadn't found anything I fancied. And I saw this in flour and I thought, I'll blow it. I'll try a puffier pedal cuz now look at that.

[00:13:27]Now, where on earth does that come from?

[00:13:35]It can't have been living on the um pot.

[00:13:44]Not living at all now. Um right. So, pot's not big enough. So, we use our pot. Well, I haven't had a slug that big in in the grow room for a very long time, but um and to think where that was as well.

[00:14:03]It's on a standalone pot with its own drip tray.

[00:14:09]So, I wonder where it came from. It's not near any new plants, so there's no new plants it could have come in on.

[00:14:16]It could have come in yesterday and escaped because when I was doing the bonsai, the bonsai tree and well the bonsai pot, the media was full of wildlife. There were slugs, um, all sorts, including three absolutely giant spiders, one of which shot across the floor. And, um, I had to chase it.

[00:14:39][laughter] It was so big you could hear it walking.

[00:14:43]The big things. Um, yeah. So uh yeah so uh it's it's difficult to think where that came from very difficult but um we definitely don't want it in the uh so that was just sat in or that could have been up in that air cone despite it being a tiny one I suppose but the tray itself itself is a small one. It's not like it was in the big tray that could have actually climbed in there because it's moist cuz the tray is still got, as I said, this hasn't long been watered. So, it could have just crawled in there because um the tray was moist and come from somewhere else.

[00:15:35]Right. So, I shall have a clear up, sort out another pot for this one. It won't be much bigger, but I do want it in a slightly bigger pot to give it room for all these loads of new roots we're going to get. [laughter] And um it's the fresh media, I think, that will do it the world of good. Now, pacio pedal and roots, if they're viable, they are also capable of branching. But if you look at the majority of these roots, you won't see that many branched. You'll see a lot of them run around the pot. Um, there's one that's branched there, but they're not common. Most of the roots are not branch. There's a nice branch on that one, and then it's branched again at the end. So, they do branch. They do They are capable of doing it. I've just spotted another uh mankey one.

[00:16:34]So they are capable of branching. So um if you get a damaged one, trimming it back, you're giving it the possibility of branching out higher up. So don't necessarily take it right back to the base of the plant. Give it a chance.

[00:16:54]Right. So I'll be back when I've got a pot and some media sorted out.

[00:17:00]Right.

[00:17:02]I can't remember whether pummus actually holds some water or not, but that's what I've got. I was looking for my grow stones and I can't find them and I got the pummus as an alternative. So, excellent moisture retention, drainage and airation, healthy root growth. Look at that. That's some of that. Right. So, this is my smaller bar according to what it says on the packet, but it does have some quite big bits in.

[00:17:32]Um, no, they can stay in there.

[00:17:38]Right. So, we've got some of that. And what I thought I'd do more as an experiment than anything having said that there are an amount of pacio pedalums that actually grow on the ground on forest floors. They are most people don't think of them as real terrestrials. They're semi-aterrestrials cuz they're not right down in the dirt.

[00:18:02]You know, if you went to pull one out, pull one up, it would just lift out cuz it's in the leaf litter. But nonetheless, I thought I'd put a bit of my seedling bark in and turn it into sort of a semi-terrestrial mix. It just adds some fine bark in there, which also holds a bit more moisture.

[00:18:24]And then we'll chuck some of our um pummus in.

[00:18:28]Excellent moisture retention. this whole bag, which is what I'm after because the bark when the bark's new for quite a while, probably 2 months, you got a job to break the surface of the bark to actually get it to start absorbing something. So, you pour your water in to water your plant straight out the bottom. and not a lot stays behind and you can get your plants a bit dehydrated during those first periods after you've repotted. So, um the pummus is going in there to hold that moisture a little bit longer. And then as the bark ages and starts to hold the moisture, you just reduce the frequency of your watering.

[00:19:16]It's not rocket science.

[00:19:19]Why are you watering her orchid?

[00:19:21]If the answer isn't because it needs some, then don't do it.

[00:19:26]Right. So, chuck some in the bottom.

[00:19:32]That's the only trouble with the pun is it's got like a greasy dust on it. It's a contradiction in terms because it is dusty, but it's greasy dust. Very strange sort of thing. And then we'll sit our plant in. and that hole down the middle that all of that media came out.

[00:19:49]I can see it from here.

[00:19:52][laughter] So, we can get that filled up straight away.

[00:19:57]And then if we push our plant over that, we should be able to get a lay down the other side too.

[00:20:11]Now you can actually press down a bit with papopedylum roots. They are pretty sturdy. But don't go mad and go very careful if you've got new roots with new growing tips because they're not so sturdy.

[00:20:25]But certainly the older roots, you could say tough as old boots. You might be exaggerating a bit, but um they are pretty tough.

[00:20:44]How are we doing?

[00:20:47]That's good.

[00:20:48]I still like to be able to uh see some roots.

[00:20:55]You know, they don't they don't have to be all good roots or anything. It's just nice to be able to see some. Um it's also nice when you suddenly see your first new root after a repot because um they whether you can account for it or not roots head for the side of the pot. Now quite honestly that's a sort of misdemeanor. Is that the right word?

[00:21:22]Misconception. They don't head for the side of the pot. They head away from the center of the plant. They move outwards to get away from the here because this is a form of shelter and it can stop rain falling on that immediate part below the plant. Yeah. So the roots move away from the plant partly for anchorage and partly searching for moisture and nutrients.

[00:21:55]Right, that will do.

[00:21:59]Not a lot left over.

[00:22:01]That are good.

[00:22:06]See, I've only been leaning forward a little bit and already my back's gone quite stiff.

[00:22:11][clears throat] It's getting old. It's getting on my nerves.

[00:22:16]So, what we will do now is in our um new found I'm not putting videos up every day. We did Sunday.

[00:22:26]We're now doing Tuesday.

[00:22:29]Coming up is everything in bloom on the ETH. What is it today? The 5th. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. So, Friday's video is everything in bloom on the 8th.

[00:22:38]Either tomorrow, Wednesday or Thursday, will be the fourth plant final update of the project orchids. So, that's the next two videos planned.

[00:22:51]Saturday's Orchid Society. So, that's a day off, no video. And then we're back to Sunday again. So that's this week planned.

[00:22:59]Oh goody. Now that bit of pummus is going back in with that bark.

[00:23:05]It can do no harm. Chuck it away.

[00:23:11]I don't mind the dust going up in the hoover when I clean the um tray out, but uh not that. Now over here we have some very mild feed which I was using for a small watering run earlier. So that will do. We give it a good soak.

[00:23:31]And it will be a good soak because although that plant hasn't long been watered, not many of the roots were actually wet and we've now got dry bark on them. So by giving that a good soap, we wash the dust off the bark and off the um white stuff. It's called already pummus.

[00:23:57]Come on brain.

[00:24:01]I don't mind body parts deactivating. I can cope with that and work around it.

[00:24:05]But we don't want the brain deactivating, do we?

[00:24:10]can cause serious hassles. That one.

[00:24:13]So, we'd like to keep that ticking over if possible. Right. And then that's going back exactly where it came from, which is in a relatively shaded shelf.

[00:24:26]There we go. That's that we've got.

[00:24:31]So, as soon as my back starts playing up, then everything just twisting round to look at the camera is a bit stiff.

[00:24:39]bending over to put that plant down on the shelf. It's all It's all ouch ouch ouch. And if we don't do anything tomorrow, literally have I got I can get away with no watering tomorrow. I did the um uh the mounts that needed it today.

[00:24:58]There's three that need watering every day. Three stroke four. And the others can have a two or three day gap. And they take 10 minutes. They're not a big deal. And there's no bending cuz they're all up high on racks. So, um they're easy enough, but I did the um Phelinopsis today out in the kitchen. Um now, luckily that's not a big deal because I take my watering bowl and the glass. Oh, you've seen me water the um Phelinopsis. [snorts] And there's only eight now. There's only eight left.

[00:25:30]Doesn't take me long.

[00:25:33]Mix up any feed out here before we take it through. And then just water them and bring what's left out here. And um that's what we've just used. It's what's left. So watered down a bit. [laughter] Right. So uh yeah, I think we will take a genuine day off tomorrow.

[00:25:52]And uh yeah, I have got a chore to do.

[00:25:57]I've got to go and get something. I've got to go and buy something for the orchid society. Um just got I sort of said I would do it but I was just sort of thinking well if I don't who will?

[00:26:09]It's one of those again. So it means I've got to go out. Um and I'm looking at what do I do? If I go into town into Christ Church I can get the bus. I don't have to get the car out and use up my fuel go for free. Um and I've only got to walk to the end of the road. You know it's literally probably 100 meters if that. And then again at the other end back again and then a small amount of walking up the high street from the bus stop to where the shop is. Um so we might get the bus in. Um now there's a beauty this time of year of going to the high street. They have an ice cream shop in the square that has all the tubs with sort of 48 flavors or some stupid amount of flavors. Some of which you look at and you say, "Well, I'm not eating that." [laughter] But some of them are scrumptious. And last time I went there and I thought I can have an ice cream and it wasn't that cheap. But then I thought it's a treat and I don't come into town often anymore. Used to have to go in to do the banking but I don't anymore. Um and anyway I walked over and had a sit in the sun and at my ice cream and then I had a look in a couple of shop windows and I said to myself, do you know what?

[00:27:26]I'm going to have another one and had another ice cream. So, not only weren't there cheap, two were a lot more expensive. And uh we might do that tomorrow. Depends on the weather really.

[00:27:36]You know, it's the wind's turned again.

[00:27:39]We've gone we've gone round from quite mild warm warmish weather with a fair bit of sunshine. We've twisted it round again. It's coming from the east coming off the North Sea. Um which means we might, if we're lucky, get a few showers, but it's turned cooler. Um, but at the moment tonight is supposed to be cloudy down south and clear up through the Midlands and up into the north. So, they get the frost. We don't. We like that.

[00:28:08]Cuz if I don't get a frost, if I don't get the cold night here, then this thing down here called a laita doesn't kick on so often and doesn't use up all my uh electricity. Anyway, that'll do. There's a lot of waffling going on in this one.

[00:28:25]I used to call it dragging it out. Now I just waffle. When I'm done talking, that's the end of the video. [snorts] You like it or lump it. Anyway, thanks for dropping by. Thanks for your support and everything. And uh don't forget your old thumb, the old thumbs up. Um might not seem much, but it does make a difference. And uh don't forget your hypes. It's a new week. You've got three shiny new ones if you haven't already used them. I've used my six. Oh, why have you got six? Cuz I got two channels. [laughter] So, I get three per channel. But don't forget to use those on your on your favorite channel or or a specific video or set of videos that you like. Don't waste them. It's the first thing YouTube's done for smaller channels ever, I think. And it's free. Yay. So, I will see you in the next one, which um what did I say it was going to be?

[00:29:26]It's going to [snorts] be the um uh fourth plant, final video of the project orchids. Would be quite an interesting one cuz it's a new genus, that plant.

[00:29:36]And it did get chopped and changed it.

[00:29:39]It wasn't just sort of like sat in one pot throughout the year. And it even gathered some friends along the way. So, there's that one to do and then we'll do everything in Bud, Spike, or Bloom on the ETH. And I'll see you in the next one. Thanks for dropping by.

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