newbie has TONS of questions - pics incl.

[bloominloonie]

i rec'd this phal as a gift over a year ago now - quite frankly i'm surprised i haven't killed it yet!!! here are my primary questions:

- she has multiple 'legs' or what i would have thought were 'roots' growing out of the pot...should i repot?? (note from the pictures that i think she is close to blooming - there are buds)

- am i supposed to cut this sucker down or something? last year i had several blooms on both stems... this year it grew a new stem off of one of the old stems and looks like it will bloom on that new stem only

- living in dallas we have pretty good humidity outside - has anyone out there had much luck putting phal outside for the summer (in the original pot)?

- on a different note - why would someone pollinate their orchid? i mean - what are the outward advantages to doing so?? i know i am definately ahead of myself but i am more curious than anything (clearly i must have been absent that day in my highschool biology class *nervous laugh*)

just trying to figure this all out and not KILL my one and only surviving plant in 36 years!!!

thanks all who have read my questions, and more importantly to those who will take the time to answer them...

texas love!!

[Doc G]

Your plant seems quite happy just the way it is. I would wait until it has finished blooming to repot, but others here repot in-spike orchids without any problems. If it was a gift a year ago, it may not need repotting for another year. Yes those are roots and quite healthy ones, though some show signs of some shriveling. Only cut back dead roots or flower spikes. After blooming , you can cut back the flower spike just above a node and may get more flowers or a keiki (baby plant). You can certainly put it outside as long as it is not directly in the Texas sun.

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

[bloominloonie]

Thanks Doc!!
why do you think the roots are shriveling? i will say that just the other day they didnt look like that... so today i felt the media and watered ... will they plump back up??

you say i can cut back a 'flower spike' but im not exactly sure what you are referring to... i have been reading a lot of info on line and i think i have almost managed to confuse myself into an orchid info induced coma....

thanks again for replying!!! i (and my happy lil phal) really appreciate it!!

[cricketerry]

Phals produce a spike on which the flowers grow, this spike usually starts to grow from low down on the stem between the leaves. Your plant clearly shows a flower spike with flower buds on it.

When the flowers on a spike have died and fallen off you have three choices:- 1 cut the spike as low down as you can without damaging the plant .........or 2 leave the spike intact in the hope that it will branch (like yours has done) and produce a secondary flowering spike......or 3 cut back to a node as Doc suggests

I prefer method 1 but many people go for 2 or 3

I would be interested to know what the roots inside the pot are like. If the medium they are growing in has been kept too wet or does not drain they may well have rotted.

[orchidsamore]

Your air roots are drying because you can not give it the same level of water it was receiving in a commercial greenhouse. This will also happen when moved to a different greenhouse.

It can also happen when the original potting medium becomes to old. The roots just do not want to grow in the stale medium.

Also Phal roots genetically grow up. In nature the roots are attached to a tree branch and the plant will grow DOWN from there. The roots grow up to find the branch which is not there when we put them in a pot.

The next thing you will find with your Phal is that it will start growing over the side of the pot and down.

When we grow Phals commercially we always cut the flower stem completely off. You may get secondary flowers on an old stem, but as you found the quantity of flowers is usually a lot less.

As for the possibility for keiki (babies) on the old stem, they have very little value commercially but many hobbyist like to watch them grow and they can give you a lot of pleasure . Do whatever will give you the most pleasure.

Growing outside in the original pot requires total shade. Heat build up in the sun will kill the chlorophyll and cause brown sports that never go regrow. (we call this burn)

Pollinating orchid flowers is one way of reproducing orchids but it requires a sterile work area to place the seeds in laboratory flasks in which the seeds grow for 6-12 months. Not something for the average hobbyist.

[bloominloonie]

WOW!!!! thanks for all of the great feedback!!! i will keep everyone updated... as soon as she is done blooming - i will repot (perhaps even mount) and see how it goes from there...

THANKS EVERYONE!!!!

tejas love

[katesgrey]

Hi there! Sounds like you are doing everything right. I just wanted to ad one bit of personal experience - if your phal is happy in the sphagnum, it might get offended by being mounted. If you do mount it, don't be surprised if she pouts and doesn't grow or bloom for a while. That has been my experience at least Orchids are fun, can be confusing and yet somehow addicting! Have fun!