If the plant is overpotted, the chance remains that it might be over watered. Too much medium will stay wet much longer and the roots can rot. The roots in the picture look like they still have plenty of room in the smaller pot. If it were my plant, that's the pot I'd choose. If you choose the smaller pot, you can always move the plant up to a larger pot a few months down the line. All you would have to do is to pluck it out of the smaller pot and pop it into a larger pot and tuck more medium around the roots. You wouldn't even have to disturb them. But in the meantime the plant will be happy in it's smaller home. Orchids like snug shoes.

Wanted to post a follow-up to my cyclamen mite update, and clarify a few things. I've been battling those monsters for 2-year and just got a new infestation despite two diligent treatments with Judo First time I used Judo, almost 2 years ago, the results were outstanding. 100% eradication. A year ago, I accidently reintroduced more mites into my collection from new plants -- I had been ill, and AVs were not at the top of my list of priorities, that's my excuse. :-) Anyhow, it was devastating. Once I started feeling better, I did another round of Judo about 2 months ago. Thought I had destroyed all the bugs since the plants were bouncing back quite nicely. But last week, I found a few trays of plants with symptoms. It made me feel sick and utterly sad & disappointed -- I had worked VERY hard to kill them and now they were back. I still think Judo is an excellent product because it's done a good job eradicating mites from most plants. But some of those sneaky bugs find their way into folds, also eggs that survive in matting could hatch out after the semi-systemic effects of Judo have dissipated. Moral of the story: Judo (also marketed as Forbid) is a good product. But it would be wise to follow-up with Kelthane treatments a month or two later. Don't do it immediately because the Judo stresses out the plants. Some of the crown leaves got burnt by it. Another tip. When I treated with Judo, I added a tiny amount of soap to help the pesticide adhere to the leaves. But I wonder if it's enough ... anyhow, to be safe, I got some wetting agent at my local plant store, and willl use it with other pesticides from now on (check the pesticide label before using the wetting agent, it's not suitable for all pesticides.) Last time I used Kelthane, I added a pinch of sugar to the spray bottle, as recommended by a friend who is an experienced grower -- that also acts as a surfactant. But next time, I'm going to use the surfactant I got from the plant store. For more excellent advice on mites and other horrible pests, do a search in this forum for posts by robitaillenancy1 -- she's *the* guru on AV pests, and I highly recommend her advice. Also get her book, it's fantastic!

The answer raises another question....if you plan on planting something else in their place you'll have to remove them. Maybe not every speck, but the lions share. Then add some top soil to repair your grade and make sure rain water sheds away from the foundation. Al

I had them once on a ever green and before I notice a 2 ft area was dead. I asked a nursery man about it and he said you can't see spider mites. He said to put a white sheet of paper under the area and shake the plant, then rub your fingers across the paper. If there are blood smears they are spider mites.