new orchid, help from making the same mistakes

[butterfly79]

I have a new purple phal. It is potted in a clear plastic pott with sphagnum. The roots I can see are green and firm, the sphagnum was very wet when I purchased it so I haven't watered it. The sphag is still moist and it's been about 6 days.
Now how often should the orchid be watered because all the info I have read is conflicting. Some say let the potting dry out and then water and others say keep the sphag moist for phals?
When the flowers fall off should I repot the orchid in orchid bark mix or should I leave it in the sphag. I have purchased 5 orchids in 2 yrs, none have worked out no matter how hard I work at it. I really want this one to work because these are my favourite flowers. I love caring for them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[RosieC]

Watering advice can get mixed up because Phals actually love water but at the same time can easily rot if they do not get enough air arround the roots.

I tend to advise letting them dry between waterings because it seems to be the easiest advice for beginners to avoid killing them. It's also what I do with mine because I'm still not confident enough to keep them moist.

However some (more confident than me) folks find ways of watering which can keep them moist AND with enough air arround the roots and say they grow much faster that way. Actually this is one reason people say mounted Phas do well, because you can water them loads and they still get lots of air because they are not in a medium.

[WhiteRabbit]

I have had trouble with Phals myself. I keep rotting the roots. What I think I have learned is, to water when the roots in the pot become white or silvery. (thank goodness for clear pots!) So far that is working out well for me. I have managed to keep a Phal alive since last summer! woot!

Ditto to what Rosie said. I keep my Oncidiums moist, but apparently the same 'moistness' was too wet for the Phals - in my cases anyway. I think i't probably better to let them just get dry before watering. Probably best to avoid letting them remain bone dry for days tho.

[butterfly79]

That sounds like good advice. Hey if you have kept one alive for a yr that is good. I have had to success yet. I am determined though...costing me a fortune in orchids though. I'd love to try a different type of orchid from the phals but I live in an apartment with no direct sun until about sun down. I face north. O get lots of light but nothing super bright.

I posted some pics of my new phal. The sphag seems really packed. I will probably repot once the flowers drop. This is a walmart phal, the roots look pretty good.

I hope I can keep this one alive.

[Zoi2]

Your phal is very pretty. To avoid overwatering, wait untill the roots turn silvery white before watering again.
Sphag is difficult for most people to grow phals in, after the blooms go you might be better off to plant in a bark mixture.
Joann

[RosieC]

I forgot the to mention the thing about waiting for the silivery roots. I had been waiting for hubby to finish work and give me a lift home and then had to go just as I was posting above.

Anyway, the silvery roots thing has worked for me for years.

I would advise repotting from that packed sphag sooner rather than later.

[butterfly79]

will repotting while in bloom kill the orchid? i want to get really good potting mix, should I repot in sphag or bark? i will order mixture because locally i will only get the bagged C.I.L orchid mix. i won't trust that again.

[WhiteRabbit]

Repotting while in bloom will not kill your plant - it may - or may not - drop some blooms. Some phals don't miss a beat, others may lose some flowers. You can always carefully pick out some of the sphag from the pot, and loosen the sphag that remains. A lot of these are sold with a ton of moss packed around the roots, so you may be able to remove quite a bit and still have plenty left.

[RosieC]

Repotting in bloom will not kill the orchid. In many cases it will not kill the flowers (althogh they sometimes droop as a result).

What is more likely to kill the orchid is leaving it in medium that is no good for it.

To be honest I've never had any luck with Phals I bought in moss. I usually buy them in bark and the only 4 times I have ever bought them in moss they have died not long after I have bought them. (All my ones bought in bark are still alive and doing well).

Two I tried leaving in the moss, one I pulled out some of the moss so it was not as packed, one of them I completely repotted. All of them died.

But others here on OB have done fine with ones in moss, so I guess I've just been unlucky

I like growing in bark but the advice on what you should grow in depends on a lot of factors. Take a look at the advise from our member Ray as I think its good. Chooseing Potting Media

[butterfly79]

I think I am going to order the imperial mix from repotme. It's a mixture of bark and sphag, unless someone knows a better place and product? I will pull some of the sphag out of the pot until my new mix comes in. thank you so much for all the help.