Cool. Nice save.

Put me down for one!!

Ouch - that first pic is painful. Cool story, though. The smaller division that broke off "naturally" is just perfect for me. :>)

I'm sure you'll be awash in white flowers in the not-too-distant future. Nice going!

John

You worked wonders on that one! I'll trade with you too if you like, keep me in mind....~Charm P.s. I use coco coir to line the inside of my baskets and the orchids love it.

Impressive: rescue mission -- success

Me too, me too- I want to trade :)

Olya

Great rescue! I had to cringe at the first picture. Some catts can be incredibly tough, can't they?

Sharon

Thanks. I'll definitely keep you folks in mind when its time for trades :).

Do those injuries on the leaves look like sunburn? or more of a bacterial/fungal damage?
I cant see how those would have been sunburned like that since they are in a shadehouse and in San Diego climate.
Here in Riverside (which is a much harsher climate), I can put some catts in full sun and they dont burn like that.

Perhaps the severe rootbound condition would have contributed to this as well?

Definitely sunburn/sunscorch IMHO. Like I said, ouch! I think I'll stay in this year!

John :>)

hey can i have a division i mean only if it okay look at my page for address contact me

Where did you begin to cut?? I have a large Blc which is in real need of dividing, but its growth pattern is from so many points, I can't figure out where to begin.

You did a great job!

Jane

The rhizomes on this plant was a tangled mess as well. Imagine 12+ years of no divisions. The leads were going in all directons like Medusa's hair.

***Warning***
Copy my steps at your own risk.
I do not consider myself an expert.
This was not based on any specific scientific background.
I just relied on my backyard intuition.
***

Now that we got that out of the way, This is the approach I took based on the plant's condition:
1. I needed to "liberate" the center of the plant since it was getting crowded (almost crushed) by the all the newer growth that was surrounding it.
2. From the top looking down, I chose a "central" pseudobulb and imagined a circle containing about a dozen pseudobulbs that are closest to it. This was then designated as the "central plant" which needed to be extracted.
3. I cut all the main rizhomes that extend out from beyond this centeral plant.
4. With all this cutting, I ended up with the central plant, a very large clump of about 20 connected pseudobulbs, two other clumps with about a dozen pseudobulbs each and a few clumps with 3-6 pseudobulbs.
5. Throughout this cutting, I planned to keep each clump with at least a minimum of 6 pseudobulbs but sometimes it was not practical to do so. Some pseudobulbs just happened to be in the way so they were cut away either a singles or up to three pseudobulbs.
6. The singles were in bad shape anyway, so I did not feel bad about cutting them away. They are now in rehab, hopefully there is still some life in them and they can sprout new leads.
7. I wanted to divide the resulting clumps further but decided to withold it until these current divisions have recovered for a couple of seasons.

jane,
If you post a pic of the blc that you are planning to divide, we can give you suggestions on where to cut. Ultimately though, it is your plant and will be more in tune with it and probably know best where to properly place the cuts.
My personal preference though is to keep each clump at a minimum of 6 pseudobulbs.

This was taken last summer. I don't have a recent photo. I can't figure out where to start as the pulbs are so close together and twisted in various directions. This plant sends two growths from one pbulb so it's hard to find a break to begin cutting. I divided it once about 3 yrs ago and lost some bulbs. I gave up!

{{gwi:1112082}}

You could always put it ina big basket and just let it get huge. Nothing like a speciment plant, I always say...

-Cj