potting quesiton- gaps in the bark

[murphy48]

I just repotted a phal for the first time (I've potted other things before) but I'm having trouble filling in all the holes with bark as there are so many roots. Is this OK or should i repot it and get all the holes filled in.

Thanks!

[Royal]

Try using a chopstick or pencil to gently poke down into the media, filling the holes a bit. I don't obsess over it, but I like to get the media packed in relatively well. This helps get where your fingers can't.

[RosieC]

I've got one like that and it's been doing well that way for a few months now.

Phal roots like to breath, so as long as the medium can hold moisture next to them enough it should be fine.

I was a bit unsure with mine when I repoted it a few months ago, but some of the guys here said it looked fine and I think yours is very similar.

You may have to water it a bit more, but watch the colour of the roots and water when needed.

[dounoharm]

give the pot a good shake or two and poke it down with a pencil....should be just fine....

[WhiteRabbit]

if the plastic is pliable - squeeze the pot gently, maybe tip it slightly towards where you need to fill in gaps, and gently shake and tap the pot

[lostonthebeach]

Shaking and tapping will help fill in the gaps but so will the passage of time. After a while and many waterings the medium will sift down to fill up the gaps. Remember that air is GOOD.
Don't worry about it too much. Your repotting looks good. So does your phal.

[murphy48]

I did try a chopstick and giving it a good whack a few times before (even squished a leaf doing this!)... I'll give it a try again but if I can't get more down in the roots won't worry about it too much.

Thanks for the advice!

[Blueszz]

Shake tap tap squeeze, shake tap tap squeeze :-)
Gaps in the bark are OK. I used to work these away in the past, I used to use more bark too. Now when the gaps are not too large, I don't worry about them. If the plant is firm in the pot I stop adding bark. Sometimes I support it with cable ties. Air is good! At least in my climate, it helps to dry out the medium faster - however the gaps in your pot are too large in my opionion, but with some squeezing, tapping and shaking this gap fill up with the bark. You can combine squeezing and tapping. Squeezing the pot combined with tapping on the side of the pot seems the most effective to me.

Nicole

[jkhom]

I like to pot my phals with just enough to hold it in place, that's usually with a lot of gaps in the media. They seem to do best (at least for me) with plenty of air space around the roots.