New Phal

[Mevv]

was walking through the local food store when this cute little phal on clearance caught my eye. It's my first ever phal and I wanted to know if I made a good buy, is it in good health, and should or shouldn't it be repotted. Was also wondering what the small growth of leaves near its roots were?

[SewPretty]

If you are new to orchids you should probably re-pot it in bark. but it's a personal choice as you will see if you browse through very many of the threads here. most beginners have better luck with bark.
I just use the miracle gro orchid mix that you can find in hardware stores and my orchids do very well in it.
it looks healthy to me though. no leaf spots or blemishes. no bugs. pretty flowers
good job and welcome to the orchid obsession!

[Anthony]

I would definitely repot the Phal. into bark.
The leaves on the bottom probably are just old leaves, I doubt they are from a basal keiki. You will be able to see this when you remove the moss.

[Nic100]

I'm a sucker for a bargain-phal myself. Yours has such a pretty flower - great colours! I bought once recently (£1 for heaven's sake) and it's got a new bud forming from the old spike!! They really can be so rewarding!
Best of luck and hope that new growth is a spike!!

[SewPretty]

soak the moss first before you try to remove it or you will break the roots.
also, be sure to soak the bark (if you decide to go with that) over night. this allows the good bark to float to the top and the bark bits that you don't want to sink to the bottom and it prepares the bark to hold moisture.
Orchid roots need air around them or they will rot. and root rot is one of the fastest ways to kill an orchid.
good luck and if you have any more questions ask away!

[stefpix]

why does the good bark float and the one you dont want to use sink?

anyway I find Miracle Gro orchid mix too much like regular potting soil. I would go for Better-Grow phal or orchid mix. I find it at Lowes...

[ardera]

I've had my grocery store Phal, for a year now, and he is still in moss. I took it to the local orchid nursery (they provide orchids for a lot of the shops in the Denver area), and they told me to wait until it is done blooming, before I repot. Their advice to me was that, in the meantime, just water the plant once a week, for 30 seconds. Mine has just finally stopped, actually he was almost done, and I chose to cut my spike (due to mealibugs). I'll probably repot him next week, but he did absolutely fine, when I followed the watering regimen suggested to me.