How does my Phalaenopsis setup look?

[orquideaborracha]

I purchased the smaller Phal one year ago at the store. I purchased the larger one last week. Most of the leaves and roots on the little one are new growth over the past year. It looks happy, so I'm trying to up my orchid game!

I cleared out the succulents from the west-facing window (this is the only window I can keep plants in ), and set up a little humidity tray. I am waiting on some bark in the mail. Once the spike expires on the new larger Phal, I'll repot that one in a larger pot with mostly bark and a little moss. I want to wait a couple months for fall temperatures to drop to see if the little one blooms this year. If so, I'll also repot it in a bark/moss mixture once the spike is done too.

The leaves are pretty light green on the small one. Is that alright? (It seems to keep making more leaves and roots so I've assumed so)? Do you think the humidity tray is large enough to actually raise humidity levels? I'm using some diluted fertilizer for the first time, so I hope that helps even more.

Let me know if you see anything I could be doing better, I'm excited to see them continue to grow. Thanks!!

[Swimmingorchids]

yes the humidity tray will make a difference but like you suspect probably not that much. Luckily I would say phals are the most forgiving when it comes to low humidity.

A humidity meter that can measure max and min humidity is helpful.

I have experimented a bit myself and in 50% humidity flowers seem to drop sooner than in 70% humidity. Otherwise 50% fine for phals.

Some places go down to 40% - a glass vase/bowl would do even more than a humidity tray in that case but depends on your climate.

[orquideaborracha]

Thanks swimmingorchids! I think you're right. I'll get a humidity meter to test with the setup until I can hold the humidity stable above 50% at least, and see if I can get it as high as 70%.

Thank you for the input!

[aliceinwl]

Our humidity is usually pretty low and my complex hybrid Phals don’t really seem to care and usually hold their blooms for at least 3-4 months. If you’re gentle, go ahead and repot whenever you feel it’s needed.

With the protracted blooming period, if you wait for the plant to finish you may end up doing more harm than good by letting the roots stay in unhealthy conditions. The only time I’ve had flowers blast during a repot is when I’ve accidentally cut a living root. I have one Phal that’s been blooming continuously since I bought it in May 2018 so waiting definitely wouldn’t have worked.

Leaf color can depend a lot on light, in high light conditions some Phals will develop lighter green leaves, some will develop purple pigment etc. depending on their genetic background. As long as you don’t see any signs of sun damage or nutrient deficiency, it’s nothing to worry about. The Phals I grow in the brightest windows tend to perform the best in terms of blooming.

Bloom time can also depend on the genetic background of your Phal. A lot are winter bloomers and will reset themselves after the what may have been a forced bloom when you purchased it. If your little Phal is a winter bloomer it may not rebloom until next January or February.

[Roberta]

Humidity is 'way overrated as a factor for most orchids, particularly commonly commercially-available types (including Phals). Far more important are air circulation and a wet-dry cycle. Essentially all media serve to maintain humidity in the root zone even if the ambient temperature is very dry, and leaves won't dessicate as long as roots get that all-important moist air. (In the wild , Phalaenopsis grow clinging to trees where they get rained on, they dry out, bu ambient humidity is high. We compensate for low humidity by growing them in pots.) If the plant is watered so that the water runs through the medium (dragging fresh air behind it), the plant is permitted to get nearly (but not totally) dry, and then the process is repeated, the room humidity is not particularly important. No need tor a "monitor". A fan will dry the plant faster, that's fine... just increase the watering frequency. (When water evaporates, what fills the space? FRESH AIR, which is what the plant needs)

There are orchids for which humidity is more important, such as cloud-forest Pleurothallids that don't have structures to hold much water, having evolved in the mists, especially true for the mounted ones. But the beginning orchid grower is not likely to have to deal with those, which have other special needs... best to learn the basics on something more forgiving and segue into the trickier ones as knowledge grows. (I say this as a "What can I get away with ?" backyard grower who loves to push the envelope... with improving success rate, always learning especially from the inevitable failures)

[SouthPark]

Totally agree. Air circulation is highly beneficial. Moving air during the day and night ..... moving enough of the time ..... avoids lots of issues associated with particular fungus/bacteria activity. It doesn't have to be lots of air movement. Having 'still-air' most of the time during the day and night generally results in issues for orchids.

[Swimmingorchids]

people always mention issues not using a fan. I have no issues whatsoever.

the main argument for using a fan is to prevent crown rot from spraying the plants.

I don't spray my plants for that reason so they don't need to be dried. If spraying plants or in high humiduty climates it seems to be more important.

Otherwise

Diseases? fans certainly will not blow them away.

Mould? Yes can be prevented via fan however can also easily be prevented with good husbandry. To me they seem very adept at living in hot humid conditions where other varieties would succumb to fungus.

I think the bottom line to remember is that orchids like humidity above 60%, mould starts to multiply at 60% which causes problems.

Also I have to add that a previous house I was living in had really damp walls and I suspect I would have encountered issues in that place as mentioned - here no mould whatsoever and place is humidity controlled so I suppose it depends on the situation.

[Roberta]

Moving air serves multiple purposes. Yes, it keeps pathogens from settling on the plant. Swimmingorchids, If you think that you live in an environment without fungi, bacteria, etc. in the air you're living in a dream world. Mealybugs and scale and spidermites (yes, those are in the environment too) also love still, stale air. It may take awhile to get an infestation going, but a lot longer to get rid of one once it has. Even more basic, moving air facilitates drying of the plant and medium - vital to maintaining that "wet-dry" cycle that orchids crave. Back to the fundamentals - most of these plants have evolved to grow on the sides of trees - where they naturally go through that cycle, with rain and wind. Will most survive for awhile without it? Of course. Depending the plant, perhaps months. But a well-grown orchid can last for years. (I've killed a lot, but I do still have some of me "originals", they're the ones that forgave the rookie mistakes) How many years have you been maintaining the same plant in the same spot to be able to say that it thrives long-term in dead air? And if it is it your living area, the air isn't all that dead... there may not be a fan, but there are people moving around stirring the air. In an enclosed box, terrarium, etc not so much.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Swimmingorchids

people always mention issues not using a fan. I have no issues whatsoever

More information required here. Are you indicating that people are saying it is absolutely necessary to use a fan? Probably not.

A fan of suitable type can be beneficial - depending on the condition. If it's a room with still air (even with open window), then a fan can help to circulate the air, and keep the air moving ----- which does a bunch of good things for the orchid - including keeping unwanted fungus/bacteria at bay, and helping with transpiration, which helps the plant and roots get water/air/oxygen.

If a fan isn't used, then it's beneficial to have a growth environment that has conditions that generally doesn't have still-air.

If your growing conditions is a still-air one, then your chances of issues could be increased - significantly.

This doesn't necessarily mean you'll get issues. But you did mention somewhere that you're relatively new to orchid growing. So maybe you can write about successful techniques you use after a few years - once you've grown the orchids for a relatively long time.

[Swimmingorchids]

Translation - shut up till I'm an old man.

Ok fine I actually use a leafblower that circulates air around my grow area. I have also built an under ground ventilation shaft to the equator to get fresh air on demand.

I mean for 2 plants that would maybe be a little bit over the top but that is what I decided to go for instead of buying 2000 orchids that I could keep however I wanted - fan or no fan.