Repot Phals Again?

[owens102]

Hi everyone! I recently received an orchid as a gift from my friend. I think it's a phalaenopsis type. After the blooms fell off, I decided to repot it.

Watching a couple of Miss Orchid Girl videos, I followed her advice keeping the moss "light and airy."

However, I came across some threads here on OrchidBoard that recommended compacting the moss instead.

Do you think I should keep the phals in loose moss or repot it again in compacted moss?

If it makes a difference, I live in Florida. Thank you!

[greyblackfish]

I have not used pure moss in anything larger than a 4” pot. I started off following the same girl’s advice and loosely packed my moss. I like to water by giving a good drench in the sink. The pot would end up heavy and very wet for two days before becoming nice and airy. Phals like to stay moist so it doesn’t seem to affect it too much. Some of my other orchids loved it but the medium had a hard time staying moist in the winter. I think missiorchidgirl usually sprays her orchids so the difference in watering makes a big difference. I also don’t use pure water like she does so my pots require the monthly flushing.

In short, it depends on your conditions and watering preferences. If you want to pack the moss tighter, you could even just stuff some extra moss in with your fingers without having to unpot the whole thing and start from scratch.

[Roberta]

First, Welcome!

The goal is "humid air" in the root zone... not soggy but gently damp. There are lots of ways to do that. Personally, I like bark - under my conditions, I can water it until water flows through, pulling air into the root zone, and never gets soggy. But I have to water pretty often. I also like loose sphaghnum, again so that it stays airy. Where you live, with high humidity, the tigher moss might be better. But there is no one "right" answer. Having repotted your lant, I'd be inclined to just leave it, not disturb it for some months, and observe how fast it dries out at YOUR house. Then if you decide you need to adjust you can. Just keep that "humid air" - with emphasis on AIR - in mind.