New Orchid blues

[Orchid Canuck]

Wife received an orchid for her BD on May 29 2021.
With no previous experience with plants in general, let alone orchids, we need advice what our orchid needs are now that the original 9 blooms have all but fallen off.
Details are as follows: Pot is 5" wide at the top, tapering down to about 4" at the bottom. Pot height: 4-1/2". Tota plant height from table-top to top of plant: 25". Watering regimen to date: water from 2 melted ice cubes every 7-8 days. Leaves appear healthy at this time, the bit of dust gently wiped off the TOP of the leaves with a moistened J-cloth. Buds on the long stem look healthy. What do I/we need to know going forward? What to do with the long stem? Will it need repotting? Best soil to use? Where to buy needed stuff in Canada? Amazon? missorchidgirl? And what kind of Orchid is this one? Does it have a name?
See attached pictures - many thanks!!

[Clawhammer]

Plant looks happy.

I think the amount of water and frequency may be about right, but the delivery should be changed. Just add the same amount of melted water. Orchids do not encounter ice in the wild and Phals in particular are warm weather plants.

Occasionally add 1/2 strength fertilizer.

It probably wouldn't hurt to repot if you really want to get into it. Use the same medium that it is potted in (bark, sphagnum moss). Pot size is fine for the long term.

[Orchid Canuck]

Thanks, Clawhammer
Should I cut that long stem back? or just let t keep growing longer the way it is?
In that case, I'll need a longer stem support of some sort, right?

[Clawhammer]

Originally Posted by Orchid Canuck

Thanks, Clawhammer
Should I cut that long stem back? or just let t keep growing longer the way it is?
In that case, I'll need a longer stem support of some sort, right?

After the flowers have fallen off you can either cut the spike or let it die back naturally. Some phalaenopsis spikes grow continuously but for this hybrid it will die back.

[Roberta]

I can't tell from the photos... is the plant in a thin plastic pot inside the decorative pot? Often it is... with poor drainage. Especially if the decorative pot has no drain holes. In general, Phalaenopsis roots want "humid air" rather than wet. If the inside pot has drainage, it's beneficial to hold it under running water - let the water flow through the pot. Then don't water until it is barely damp. If there is no drainage, definitely repot into a pot (about the same size) with drain holes. - sphagnum moss if you don't/ aren't able to water every few days, small orchid bark may be even better if you can since it has more air space. Sphagnum tends to stay wet longer, but if it dries out is really hard to rewet so can be tricky.

Since the "when to water" is dependent on the medium and the temperature, humidity and air flow in your house, it's pretty impossible to give you a formula (every "x" days...) To find out what's right for your conditions, water it well, drain, and them weigh on a postal scale or kitchen scale. Then weigh it the next day etc. When the rate of weight loss decreases (since there is not much moisture left) it's time to water again. After you do this a few times, you'll have a feel for what works for you.

[Orchid Canuck]

Thanks for the tips, Roberta.
I checked the pot and there is no liner inside, nor is there a drainage hole at the bottom, so a re-potting into a ventilated pot of about the same size (better a tad bigger perhaps) to fit inside of another pot with a bottom drain hole, sitting in a saucer? or just sitting in another pot with no bottom drain hole, is in order.

By the way, the roots feel firm when the plant is pulled out of the pot for a quick check, not squishy, so apparently quite healthy, although they are kind of beige in color from being inside the pot, but then, so are the ones protruding above as in the picture.

[Roberta]

Best would be no outside pot (that's an aesthetic decision, though). Use a saucer to protect the table if you need to, but make sure that the plant has drained well before using it. The goal is, as much as possible, to maximize air around the pot so anything that constrains that works against you. (A pot with no drain holes is the least desirable option!)

A trick that I used when placing a plant over a protective saucer is to put something over the top - I use "egg crate", the light-diffusing sheets that come from home-improvement stores, easy to to make small pieces using a long-nosed pliers to break the cross-pieces to get it to size. Or any sort of mesh. That lets air get under the pot too. Just on general principles, Phalaenopsis (most orchids for that matter) really love "humid air" more than "wet" around the roots. So that's the goal, lots of ways to achieve it.

[Orchid Canuck]

O.K. thanks, Roberta - I'll try that.
Orchid Canuck, eh?

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

Remember, Phalaenopsis are epiphytes. They grow on trees with their roots exposed. They grow in warm, moist areas. They grow in the shade under the tree's crown. In captivity they need plenty of air at the roots, plenty of water, warmth and bright shade.

[Shadeflower]

For a single orchid like this I can highly recommend using kitchen scales to weigh the pot periodically.

2 ice cubes is roughly 10 ml of water which is a good amount initially to water but like mentioned never use ice cold water, use water that is room temperature.

A phal like this should be drinking between 10-30ml per week (or 10-30g of extra pot weight)

So the way to do it is to weigh the pot. Mark down the weight. Add 10ml of water. Check the weight every day and note how many days it takes the pot to reach the original weight again.

Lets say it takes 4 days. This would tell you the plant likes to drink 10/4 x 7 = 15ml in a week

It might not seem that important but let me explain why this method is so useful. On hot days plants drink more than on cloudy days, at times they will also drink more than other times of the year. If you water the same amount every week you could accidentally water too much one week. Sometimes an orchid will need to be watered after 4 days already, other times it will ned to dry out for 8 days first. Using some cheap kitchen scales just takes teh guesswork out of things. Pop it on, check and if it still has moisture in the pot then it can go a bit longer.