Beginner questions on miniature phal

[RosieC]

I would guess that the moss is very very tightly compacted and that could be a problem.

I would advise doing as King advises. Soak the medium and try and gently remove it from arround the roots.

If you do that and the moss seems to be in OK condition then you can put it back in the pot with some of the moss. Don't pack it back in too tightly, you will probably find you only need a small portion of what is there now.

As Ray said you need good air flow to the roots, to me that moss looks too tightly packed to get the required air flow.

If the moss seems rotten and/or smells bad then don't reuse it. In that case you should get some new medium. As Undergrounder said moss needs to be replaced quite often.

[luellaorchid]

Thanks again, all good advice!! The moss smells absolutely fine, and I checked the roots inside and they are the same green colour as the ones that are visible from the outside and look, admittedly only from my naive eyes, to be healthy!! The moss is quite tightly compacted so I shall endeavor to remove some of it.

[Undergrounder]

Wow great roots! All looks good, i'd leave it be. Compact moss isn't really a problem as long as you don't over-water, as you can see.. I know i'm giving conflicting advice to king and rosie here but it's obviously growing very happily just as it is. You don't want to mess with it too much while it's in bud or the buds could abort.

You'll find there are a lot of conflicting opinions on what orchids need to grow, and what media works and how much air/water roots need is one such area where people disagree.

You've got a great plant, relax, enjoy the blooms and repot it after they're gone.

[Nic100]

[QUOTE=RosieC;260415]
I would advise doing as King advises. Soak the medium and try and gently remove it from arround the roots.

If you do that and the moss seems to be in OK condition then you can put it back in the pot with some of the moss. Don't pack it back in too tightly, you will probably find you only need a small portion of what is there now.

QUOTE]

I did just as Rosie has suggested with one of the smaller phals which was tightly packed in moss. I find in the UK, (and you may find the same) that the moss just won't dry out, so carefully removing some can give the roots some breathing room. Mine's been great since and is merrily shooting out new buds and leaves!!
Best of luck!

[luellaorchid]

If I soak the moss and roots to remove some of the moss, do I have to worry about how wet the roots are?

[RosieC]

I don't have any way of measuring our humidity, but from what I can tell it tends to be quite high here in the UK. Looking on-line it tells me the current conditions here in the Midlands are 69% it's predicting 79% tommorow night.

Even my lightly packed 2" pot where I'm using moss takes a week to be dry (well mostly dry). When I had a 3" pot tightly packed with moss it didn't seem to be drying at all (I repotted that one with bark).

[luellaorchid]

Originally Posted by RosieC

I don't have any way of measuring our humidity, but from what I can tell it tends to be quite high here in the UK. Looking on-line it tells me the current conditions here in the Midlands are 69% it's predicting 79% tommorow night.

Even my lightly packed 2" pot where I'm using moss takes a week to be dry (well mostly dry). When I had a 3" pot tightly packed with moss it didn't seem to be drying at all (I repotted that one with bark).

So should I just soak the entire bottom bit of the plant, as in, the moss and the roots and everything, then carefully remove some of the moss, and then just leave it? Won't it be quite wet then? Sorry once again for being clueless!

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by luellaorchid

If I soak the moss and roots to remove some of the moss, do I have to worry about how wet the roots are?

Just be careful not to water again until it's dry. If you remove some moss and allow air to the roots that's the main thing.

[luellaorchid]

Originally Posted by RosieC

Just be careful not to water again until it's dry. If you remove some moss and allow air to the roots that's the main thing.

Is it possible for me to remove some moss without soaking it if I'm careful, or am I in danger of damaging the roots?

[RosieC]

I was initially thinking soak it to remove the moss, THEN don't water again till it's dry.

But you probably can remove it without soaking. Thinking about it the last one I bought I removed all the moss without soaking. Just be careful not to bend the roots, pinch out bits from between them and as you remove it the rest will get looser.

With mine I was replacing it with bark so when I had finished I washed the roots to remove the last traces sticking to the roots. If you are going to put it back in some of the moss there is no need to do that.