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Afraid to Repot. 21 Stalks Already. Necessary? [Pics]

I think the plant is a Red Bug. It was kind of nice out today, so I took a couple pots out to trim dead parts off like I should have done months ago. I noticed new growth on some VFTs, and a flower stalk starting on one Sarr. Then I got to my one pot that has two (or probably three or more now) Red Bugs in. I counted 21 flower stalks. My concern is that I'll probably break half the stalks when repotting. Not that I've ever gotten seed from the flowers; I just like how they look.

This is about a month earlier than they put up stalks last year, maybe because I kept them in the warmer workshop, as opposed to moving them into the cooler garage like last year.

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Flower stalks means too late to divide, I reckon, too.
 
Emerging flower stalks doesn't mean it is too late to divide. The plant is just coming out of dormancy and you might break a few flower buds and damage a few emerging leaves, but the divisions should recover just fine. Just be careful when you break or cut the divisions apart. It just depends if you want a crowded pot or several pots where each plant has more room to grow.
 
Yep, that plant needs to be divided . . . By unrooting the plant and separating the divisions carefully you should get the majority of the flower stalks to keep.
 
There should be no problem at all; it happens to me each and every season . . .
 
Whatever you end up doing, make sure you post pictures of all the flowers!
 
drool great plant , I just started collecting the bug sarrs got ladybug and am getting bug pipes
need a red bug if you divide them maybe we can trade something
 
Why do you feel that plant needs to be divided? There is still plenty of room in that pot. I think they look their best when starting to fill a pot.
 
Why do you feel that plant needs to be divided? There is still plenty of room in that pot. I think they look their best when starting to fill a pot.

I'm probably wrong, but I thought I read before that if you divide your plants will be healthier. I, too, prefer a forest of pitchers vs. just a few pitchers to a plant. I divided my VFTs last year and most of them weren't very fun to look at :-\.

I bought pots today, and I bought them big enough to repot these without dividing.

---------- Post added at 12:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:01 AM ----------

I have another question, hoping maybe it will be answered by morning.

It's going to be about 45F out tomorrow. I could repot, since my plants are already putting out new growth and stalks. But they'd go right back inside to where it's darker (one glass block window covered by a deck), because the nights are still too cold out for the plants, and I'm going away for the weekend.

Or I could let them grow more over the weekend in their pots and repot them on Tuesday when it's supposed to be 48, or Wednesday when it's 60. I guess it's this: How important is it to repot right away if your plants already started spring growth?

Some of my smaller pots got pretty darn dry, maybe even dry enough to kill the plants but I hope not. I watered them during winter, but the smaller pots don't hold as much water in the trays. All the soils are nice and we now. I don't know if that makes a difference, letting the roots soak up some of that water, for when I should repot.

This is my third year repotting, and I still go nuts every year worrying to death, but I haven't lost a plant because of it yet. Yet. :-\

---------- Post added at 12:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:08 AM ----------

My 'Tarnok' already has a 6" or so tall flower stalk, and 8 other shorter ones.
 
I'm probably wrong, but I thought I read before that if you divide your plants will be healthier. I, too, prefer a forest of pitchers vs. just a few pitchers to a plant. I divided my VFTs last year and most of them weren't very fun to look at :-\.

I bought pots today, and I bought them big enough to repot these without dividing.



Not necessarily true Tim. As long as your media is fine, they will thrive if left undisturbed. The pot of flava below have been in that same pot for years. I refreshed the media 3 years ago and they are still going strong. This photo was taken last year and the crowns are now pushing against the sides all the way around but as I said, I love a full pot. I will probably thin this one out next spring though....but not too much. ;). I like the fact that you're not going to divide them. Good luck.

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  • #10
Three years?! How deep is the pot? Is that what determines how often they need new soil? I thought I had to repot every year... I just bought 6 cubic feet of peat and 21 pounds of perlite and a bunch of new bigger pots!

Those plants couldn't look happier!
 
  • #11
21 POUNDS of perlite!?!?! GREAT SCOTT!!
 
  • #12
Three years?! How deep is the pot? Is that what determines how often they need new soil? I thought I had to repot every year... I just bought 6 cubic feet of peat and 21 pounds of perlite and a bunch of new bigger pots!

Those plants couldn't look happier!

Thanks. That pot is about 12-14 inches deep and no, that is not what determines how often the media should be changed. I change mine after I notice it breaking down and becoming compacted which is usually every 2-3 years. I then run my old soil thru a 1/4 inch screen and add fresh components to it before I reuse it again. Very rarely do I pitch old soil. See photos below:

Old media going thru the screen
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Old media top left and new components ready to mix in
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All mixed together
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Old broken down and compacted media (2-3 yrs old)
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Repotted in the new refreshed media
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  • #13
Only $15.99+ tax. It's either that or like $6 for a little bag. Thermorock has a couple facilities within 30 miles of here. I stopped shopping around once I found one place that carries the big bags.

I called and asked if they carry plain perlite, no fertilizer, and he said yeah but you have to buy 21 pounds. I said "perfect!"

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  • #14
oh. that doesnt look like such a formidable amount now that i see it... ive bought a bag almost that size before. i thought there'd be way more since it's so light :p
 
  • #15
Wow, Fred. I pitch my soil every time. I SWEAR I read that if your pot's... wait, I think it was in a past thread I started.... First reply. I'm kind of hesitant to reuse old soil just because some of the pots develop some mold when they're inside for winter. That happened more last year than this year, because I kept them a lot dryer this year. So I start fresh.
 
  • #16
A little mold on the soil surface won't hurt anything and reusing old soil is very economical. I know a number of growers that reuse their soil year after year. Pushing it through a screen breaks it up and aerates it again.
 
  • #17
Aw man. And I wouldn't even have to rinse it if it's already been used.... I don't rinse my outdoor peat too much, though, because it's going to get rained out anyway.
 
  • #18
The only thing I rinse is my silica sand.

And what are you still doing up Tim, its 3:30am on the east coast!! I would be fast asleep.
 
  • #19
Aw man!!! I don't even use silica sand anymore because it got too moldy and funky and all my seedlings with sand didn't do well, and I had no problems with perlite. I read people say perlite gets moldier. Not for me. So what do you do with the peat? Usually when I rinse it, there's real real fine muck that sinks (or floats, I can't remember), that gets away from the rest of the gang. Just put that all in the mix? Let it rain out? What if I only bottom water indoor plants, no rain?

And if you don't rinse peat or perlite, do you mix them together wet or dry? You may change the way I do everything. For the easier.

---------- Post added at 03:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:36 AM ----------

You're making me think I could probably get away with not repotting until next Wednesday, or maybe not at all, rather than repot tomorrow out in the 45F weather. I'd repot Wednesday if not tomorrow. No harm in repotting a plant putting up flower stalks?
 
  • #20
All run all my components thru that ¼ inch screen with the exception of perlite and silica sand. Perlite I sift out all the fine particles thru a regular window screen attached to a similar wooden frame as the ¼ inch screen in the photo. I pitch those fine particles and keep the ones that don’t go thru the screen. I mix all components using only the moisture from the old media. I think they all mix together more completely when they are on the damp side. Once they are well mixed, I add a little more water but not too much. I like to pot up my plants on the damp side and soak them afterwards. I find it easier and less messy.

---------- Post added at 12:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:50 AM ----------

No, no harm in potting up a plant putting up buds. I just try to keep as much old soil around the roots as possible at that time. You could definitely wait till next week or not at all if you repotted last year. I'm still repotting plants this weekend that have 10 inch stalks on them.
 
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