Light brown roots on Phalaenopsis

[Lindyloo]

Oh, my goodness. I've managed to make a mess of these responses. I'm unable to separate the two, so I'll leave them as they are.

What interesting information, Eestación seca. This appears to be the case for me, as the Miracle Grow Orchid Medium that I purchased has large chunks of bark, some so big that I broke them in half to fit in the pots. If there is any fine medium in the bag, it may have settled to the bottom because I didn't find it when I was filling my pots. Definitely no sawdust in there. Good to know that I won't have to repot again until next year. For now, I'll use the Miracle Grow, making sure that there are no fine particles. I only have one more orchid to repot and she's in full bloom right now. I'll wait until the blossoms drop before I repot her.

I love living in the mountains, but it's a half-hour drive to town and all shopping is limited. There are quite a few things I need in order to take proper care of my plants. I really miss the wonderful nursery where I grew up in MA. They had just about everything you could need, including very knowledgeable staff.

I so appreciate the help I'm receiving on this board. I feel so much more confident in my ability to help my orchids thrive.

---------- Post added at 02:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:47 PM ----------

I know that I responded to SouthPark, but my reply is missing. Must be user error, lol.

Thank you for the link, SouthPark. I think that my Miracle Grow Orchid Medium is different from what tom e boi had. Mine is very chunky with no fine particles. Either they've fallen to the bottom of the bag or they settled on the bottom of the container where I soaked the medium. It was interesting to read all the comments on that thread. One person said that repotting has to be done at 6 months because this medium becomes depleted more quickly. I'll be keeping my eye on that.

As someone who is here because I killed three orchids over the past year, I am determined to give my remaining orchids the proper care. The keiki and mother that I repotted last night, as well as the two minis that I repotted a few days ago, are all sitting on glass stones with a little water around the stones so that they are humidified. All are potted in clear plastic pots with good drainage, except for the keiki. I had to put her in a plastic cottage cheese container, but I poked a ton of holes in both the bottom and the sides. It probably will work fine, but I want to be able to see the roots and it's ugly, so I'll order clear pots with good drainage and move her eventually.

I'm keeping an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of watering, fertilizing, repotting, etc.