Purchasing blooming phal orchid in Fall

[fishmom]

Welcome, spinrah! Your blooming phal may indeed stay in bloom well into the cold months. When the blooms drop, continue to give it the best care you can. It will not be dormant (phals are growing-slowly- all year. But it may skip pushing out a new bloom spike this winter. Commercial growers manipulate the light and temperatures in their growing facilities to get blooms when they want them. In time, your plant will adapt to your own growing conditions by itself.



Meanwhile, how are the roots? Have you checked? You can slip the plant out of the pot without disturbing it and take a look to see how they are. They should be green (wet) or silvery (dryer) and firm. If they are black and mushy, you may need to repot, even though it is in bloom. Most phals tolerate this without missing a beat. If you are not sure, post a picture and you will get lots of good advice.

[spinrah]

Originally Posted by fishmom

Welcome, spinrah! Your blooming phal may indeed stay in bloom well into the cold months. When the blooms drop, continue to give it the best care you can. It will not be dormant (phals are growing-slowly- all year. But it may skip pushing out a new bloom spike this winter. Commercial growers manipulate the light and temperatures in their growing facilities to get blooms when they want them. In time, your plant will adapt to your own growing conditions by itself.



Meanwhile, how are the roots? Have you checked? You can slip the plant out of the pot without disturbing it and take a look to see how they are. They should be green (wet) or silvery (dryer) and firm. If they are black and mushy, you may need to repot, even though it is in bloom. Most phals tolerate this without missing a beat. If you are not sure, post a picture and you will get lots of good advice.

Perfect, thanks so much for the information!
I actually did repot it already in some bark medium because I noticed that the roots weren't looking so good. It's been a week now since I re-potted and it seems pretty happy so I'm hoping that I've got it off on the right foot.

I also bought the Miracle Gro spray fertilizer (which I realize now may not be the best fertilizer): Miracle-Gro Ready to Use Orchid Mist - Plant Food - Miracle-Gro

Should I continue to give it this fertilizer throughout the winter? I was thinking of maybe every 2-3 weeks. The label says you can basically give it every week.