Repotting grocery store phalenopsis.

[Floofatiel]

Hi. I haven't dealt with orchids for a while and was wondering where a good affordable place to buy orchid supplies is and what I should repot into. I'm thinking a mix of spaghnum and bark as we have hot summers but I still want them to be able to breathe, though I have though about going all spaghnum. I'm thinking clear plastic pots for the phals so the roots can get light. Only thing with the plastic pots is they fall over every time we get a breeze. They'll be staying outside for the summer. What is something good to weigh the pots down with? Or should I go with clay? As far as the medium should I go with something like orchiata and new Zealand spaghnum or is it okay to stick with the better-gro stuff if I can get it cheaper?
Also I have a latouria dendrobium that seems happy in a claypot with spaghnum but it's been in the same pot for a year. Should I repot it?
Also also, I have a phal with no roots, shriveled leaves and a possibly rotting base. Is it a goner? Any way to save it? I'm thinking clay pot half filled with spaghnum to try to keep humidity around where the roots should grow.

[estación seca]

The newer Phal. can wait a while. Spend some time here on Orchid Board reading. There are big differences between watering with bark mixes and sphagnum. Both can be used for Phals. but the watering is very different.

The Den can stay in that pot until the sphagnum moss starts breaking down. Repot when this happens and it's just making new roots a millimeter or two long. Repotting at the wrong time may damage roots a long time before new roots form, and set it back. They don't need large pots.

The sick Phal. can be treated with the sphag and bag method. The idea is to put it in a high humidity enclosure with some sphagnum moss just barely moist, so it doesn't even feel wet. If the plant is strong enough it will make more roots. Do an Advanced Search from the upper menu and look for this term. But you also need to figure out what happened to it so it doesn't happen again.

[tmoney]

howdy! well, like most of the advice online, it is best used as a guide to start- but we have found that we really need to try different media in our specific growing conditions and how much time we have to water. most people seem to be fine growing in moss, but try as hard as we have and we just can't figure it out. soooo, its best to get a little of everything and try similar orchids in different media and see which responds better.

as far as supplies, we can't really help you since we are not in the states and aren't familiar with the vendors. i know many of the bigger, reputable vendors do sell media and pots so try to find the closest one to you with good choice and cost.

for the rootless phal you could try water culture to get it back on its feet. or the "sphag and bag" method which has worked for us and works for many people.

either way, best of luck with the new orchids!

[Floofatiel]

The newest phal is about to bust out of its pot. It is very tight in there. There is no give. The biggest one is loose and about to fall out. The other mini is probably fine except for some algae in the pot and the new roots are out of the media. Little dendrobium seems fine though.

[estación seca]

What I mean is it's not an emergency. It could wait a few weeks. You have time to read about different media for potting, how they perform in different growing conditions, and make a careful choice. Important factors to think about are temperatures and relative humidity in the growing area, and how frequently you have (or don't have) time to water.

[Floofatiel]

Oh, and is it worth paying extra to get orchiata and spagmoss or will they be fine in the better-gro stuff at Lowe's?

[estación seca]

I don't think the Better Gro stuff is very good. Orchiata and Kiwi Bark are both excellent, long-lasting barks that come in various sizes.

[Floofatiel]

Okay. Thank you.

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Originally Posted by Floofatiel

Okay. Thank you.

I have looked around quite a bit lately and found the Orchid Supply Store has just about everything you need. I haven't dealt with them directly, but the reviews are encouraging.
Orchid Supply Store - Your One-Stop-Shop for Orchid Supplies

[Johndeaux22]

It’s hard to say which media will work best in your conditions and the amount of care you want to give, and time you have to water etc. Hot summer doesn’t tell us much; hot summer in coastal Florida is an awful lot different than hot summer in Nevada or Arizona - bark might do fine for you outdoors in FL, not so much in the desert.

Most of the Phal’s seem ok to me, not sure I’d mess with them right away. If the Dendrobium is growing well, I’d give it another year before messing with it, and maybe think about a mix that contains more inorganic media like a mix of LECA, and rock wool so you don’t have to disturb it much when repotting time comes again.