Question about Gigantea Alba

[desirue]

Hi everyone. I have a question about my gigantea alba. I have only watered it once in my care since I've had it (which is about a month). It's in 100% moss, which is what is what it came to me in. My problem/question is this. I feel like I should be fertilizing it. However, with the moss retaining so much water for so long, I'm on track to water/fertilize once a month, if that. It's currently growing a new leaf and making good progress. There is new root growth in the pot. BUT, the grower pot is also growing green moss as well impeding my ability to see the roots somewhat. I also feel like the current moss is degrading.

I know gigantea don't like to be repotted unless absolutely necessary. Do you think I should repot while there is new root growth so that I'm able to adequately water and fertilize and get fresh medium in the pot? Or should I hold off? Thanks for any advice. ETA; picture was taken right after I watered it; the moss is freshly wet.

[tmoney]

gigantea! my phav phal species!! well, no good advice for you, other than we cannot grow in pure moss and if that were our plant, regardless of repot cautions and woes, that baby would be in bark and leca lickety split.

looks good tho!

Big Leaf Orchids - Phalaenopsis gigantea

[desirue]

Originally Posted by tmoney

gigantea! my phav phal species!! well, no good advice for you, other than we cannot grow in pure moss and if that were our plant, regardless of repot cautions and woes, that baby would be in bark and leca lickety split.

looks good tho!

Yeah ... I'm really leaning towards repotting it even though I know there's a good chance it'll set it back. My gut feeling is that moss is not doing it any favors. Ugh. I would've repotted it a long time ago but everything I've read is that gigantea are notoriously finicky about being repotted and to only do it if absolutely necessary. I just don't think my being able to water and fertilize it once a month is beneficial for it.

I'm really trying my best to give this one top-notch care while also trying not to unnecessarily disturb it. It's a fine line, lol ...

[tmoney]

for sure, i hear ya. fwiw, we repotted a giant alba hybrid and it immediately set spike. now obvs, species are a different animal (or plant?) than hybrids, but i guess you have to weigh your abilities with growing in all moss, vs. potentially setting the plant back by putting it in a more “confident” medium. like, at the extreme, if you’ve never kept a plant in all moss, then your inexperience with the techniques required might set it back worse. or, alternatively, look at is an opportunity to learn how to grow in moss!

im sure some folks who do it will chime in with advice for that culture. either way, looks like your doing fine so far, so i wouldnt worry too much!

edit, looking again, your other plants are in moss, so if you’ve got that bit down, then whatevs, no stress. leave it till it starts frowning at you

[desirue]

A lot of those phals you see have a top layer of moss, but the medium is a mixture of bark + moss. I find by leaving that top layer of moss it helps keep the moisture a bit better and I'm able to mist the top occasionally to aid in root growths on the stem, which a lot of my babies are doing currently. I usually (eventually) repot all of my phals that come to me in 100% moss. Sphag moss definitely has its benefits, but I've never been a fan of straight moss unless it's a seedling and even then, it's a case-by-case basis.

[camille1585]

Young, unbloomed gigantea are far less picky about repotting than a mature, already bloomed plant. I repotted mine in the spring (into pure leca), and was rewarded with an explosion of root growth.

If you don't like the medium or don't plan or growing it that way long term, then repotting is a good idea. I don't know how gigantea reacts to being repotted outside the growing season. On the other hand, it is currently in active growth...

[desirue]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Young, unbloomed gigantea are far less picky about repotting than a mature, already bloomed plant. I repotted mine in the spring (into pure leca), and was rewarded with an explosion of root growth.

If you don't like the medium or don't plan or growing it that way long term, then repotting is a good idea. I don't know how gigantea reacts to being repotted outside the growing season. On the other hand, it is currently in active growth...

Hi Camille. I did go ahead and repot it last night. I put it in a mixture of bark + moss. We'll see how it fares in the new medium. I'm pretty confident in my decision; hopefully my gigantea agrees with me and is happy. Time will tell I suppose!

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by desirue

Hi Camille. I did go ahead and repot it last night. I put it in a mixture of bark + moss. We'll see how it fares in the new medium. I'm pretty confident in my decision; hopefully my gigantea agrees with me and is happy. Time will tell I suppose!

If you are interested, some of us have a Phal gigantea project thread going on. Everyone who has a giga is welcome to join and the idea is that we share information, ask questions, and try to grow this species well enough to see some blooms some day.

Phalaenopsis gigantea - long term growing project