Repotting Phals- Trimming roots and pot size

[flyfishdoc]

This is my first post. I have learned a lot from the board. A few random thoughts tie in here. I purchased some orchids from a grower who pots in sphagnum. I guess for them they are easier to keep moist. I have kept them in the original pots for 10 weeks now, and they are in ceramic pots to keep them from falling over. One has flowers that are just now dying, so I just repotted this morning, having learned from the threads that I can safely do this. The moss is mushy after 2 weeks of not watering. the plant is in the south window, tolerating half sun for the past month (when it got too cold to leave out). Half the roots were yellow and soft. I trimmed them off and kept everything that was green and firm. I did not trim the size of the long beautiful roots. My other phals are in all bark and in ceramic orchid pots (the ones with the holes) without plastic, and are doing very well for me. So I repotted from moss to a mixture of 50% bark, 25% perlite, 25% charcoal and a little moss.
Questions: 1. Are the ceramic pots not allowing the plastic pots to aerate, therefore allowing the moss to be too wet too long?
2. Can you cut back too much root? My gut feeling after readings here is that you trim what needs to be trimmed. Do you trim back the size of the long healthy roots when repotting?
3. What is the expected size increase for a phal for the next 2 years? I can see from my cattleyas how they are growing. But phals don't grow the same obviously, so how do you know what the correct next size is? (I did repot in the same pots-there was no need to go larger)

[RosieC]

Don't trim you're healthy roots. If they don't fit the pot get a slightly bigger pot.

Some websites suggest cutting back the roots (including the healthy ones) to fit the pot but I very strongly suggest you don't do this.

I'm pretty sure that cutting the length of most of the healthy roots on one of my phals is the reason it's about to die. I've been nursing it in intensive care (with the advice from everyone here) since the summer but it's not doing well and I have little hope for saving it now.

Take my advice and DON'T CUT HEALTHY ROOTS.

You do need to cut off mushy/dead roots though. Yellow is not nesseraly a problem if they are firm (they tend to be more yellow from the center of the medium where they can't photosynthasise.

[Jorge_Burrito]

Welcome

1) Moss stays wet a long time (especially old moss) no matter what the pot. This is why most people (especially those of us who tend to like to overwater) grow in bark. You do have to be careful placing a plastic pot inside a ceramic pot as if it is a tight fit you might be cutting off the airflow. If you like having a ceramic pot make sure it is a little bigger then then the inside plastic pot. A lot of us like growing in clear plastic pots as you can see how the roots are looking and it is easy to tell when it is time to rewater.

2) Anything mushy and brown should be trimmed. Everything else should not be cut. If they are healthy you don't want to cut them, as the plant has to spend energy to regrow roots.

3) With Phals you plant to the roots, not the size of the plant. If your current pot becomes extremely root bound (you want them a little root bound) with healthy roots you move up to a pot an inch bigger. Typically I have to move up a pot size every two years or so, but your experience will depend heavily on your own growing conditions.

[RosieC]

My understanding from reading, since I cut off my healthy roots, is that you should re-pot into a pot just big enough to fit all the roots back in. You don't want it too big for the roots, and you don't want to cut off the good roots.

I've not tried re-potting my healthy two phals, I'm a bit scared to, but I get the impression from what I've read here that they often don't need a bigger pot, it all depends on how many healthy roots you have.

I understand you are meant to pot for the size of the roots, NOT the size of the plant.

I've not used moss so I can't advice much on that. Here in the UK weather I use bark in a plastic pot with a ceramic or decorative glass pot outside that. The ceramic and glass pots are designed for orchids though and they are designed to allow the bottom of the plastic pot to sit up higher away from the bottom of the ceramic pot (to allow drainage).

[Ross]

Is the plastic pot inside the ceramic pot a clear one? If so, I would keep it. Dump the moss. My preferred mix (for relatively humid climates like yours) is a pure coarse bark mix with maybe 10-20% coarse ag charcoal chunks for sweetening the mix. I keep my Phals out of the ceramic pots so I can monitor the roots. It's just way too easy to do. I have nothing against moss, but I want to see the condition of the roots. Roots are good. Good roots = good plants.

[flyfishdoc]

The ceramic pots are a little larger than the clear plastic pots. By at least 1/2 inch around.
I did keep some of the yellow roots that I thought were healthy and not mushy. The phal that is finishing flowering looks like it is starting a new spike, so time will tell.
Thanks for the help. Pot sizing is obviously a learning experience, as growth goes on.

[Ross]

I would keep same clear plastic pot and let it get rootbound. That's what I do. Roots will come out the holes in the bottom and will swirl around the pot. That's all ok. Best part is you can observe the root condition and water accordingly.

[magicatt]

I agree with what Ross and Rosie said. Don't cut the firm roots at all. Roots are a good thing. Only the mush should be cut. Squeeze the root between your fingers and tug. If it slides away leaving a "string" cut it off. I tuck where I can. Otherwise they hang over the pot, which is ok for the high up roots. My phals are all in bark/charcoal/rock mixture. They seem to like all the air. The ceramic pots that house the plastic pots have several river stones in the bottom to promote air flow around the drainage holes. Hope this helps. And welcome to the board!!
Don't forget the pictures

[cirillonb]

As I understand part of this multipart question: you are asking if using a ceramic "orchid pot" with holes and no inside pot is ok. As long as water can drain out the bottom, and most of these pots are so constructed, this should be fine and good looking (although pretty expensive.)
Regarding that very long root(s) that is in your way, you choices include fishing it through some of the holes near the bottom of the pot or coiling it inside the bottom of the pot.
I have no proof of this, but I think roots that are coiled into the bottom of a pot quickly die and are therefore not participating in the feeding of the plant.
As someone above has mentioned, some writers think it is all right to cut these really long roots.
Nick