New Here: some questions on my orchids

[glitchathon]

Hello,

I have taken care of an Orchid for 4 years and recently acquired a new one - both are phalaenopsis. I finally repotted the 4-yr old one yesterday (I know that I should have done it earlier!) using a Phal mix from Lowes.

I found that there were almost no healthy looking roots. Some were brown and and dried out and then after a certain length, healthier root growth began. So it was difficult to determine whether to cut those. So I did the best I could based on my limited judgement. Is it likely that unhealthy looking roots can become healthy again, or am I going to have to rely on new healthy roots and check on them once a year? Despite the unhealthy looking roots, the leaves are green and look very healthy. And I did get a nice bloom this year with a half dozen beautiful flowers that lasted a couple of months.

The new orchid I got from Costco. It seems to be planted in moss. But not the typical sphagnum (brownish and dried) moss I see often. This is planted in a very fresh green medium. Does anyone know what this is? I did not want to pry too much into it... but I did lift up some and it seems to be all green underneath. This is also a Phalaenopsis. I've owned it for a couple of months and it is doing great, with 6 healthy flowers and 5 more on the verge of blooming. This is the second bloom of the summer.

Should I eventually be repotting the Costco one in a more common sphagnum and/or bark mix? Or should I keep looking for what this green stuff is?

Thanks for any advice! I am looking forward to learning more and taking better care of my orchids.

[mattryan]

Hello yes from what i understand as long as they are firm don't cut them off even if there is damage in between. I believe they should be re-potted once a year max every 2 yrs as the medium breaks down. I always repot my orchids when i buy them so i can look at their roots, so i can see how they look. I don't use moss (stays too wet) i use bark so i can't help you there. I also find that the roots are wrapped too tight in the moss no air movement. Hope that helps, just a newbie here myself i'm sure more senior peeps can help you more goodluck!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

It's hard to tell exactly what happened to the roots of your Phals without some pics.

However, yes, it has been known that seemingly dead looking roots can grow healthy new roots. But the key is "seemingly dead looking". They were most likely not really dead roots to begin with, if this is the case, just severely weakened ones.

Dead roots will not grow new roots, period.

On that note, there is also a chance the roots were growing and just rotted out, leaving behind some of the good portion of the roots.

As far as the new Phal is concerned. I don't know what kind of moss it is without a pic. I can't give you a scientific name to the moss, if that's what you wanted to know. Telling the difference between species of moss is very difficult to those not trained in it to some degree.

For newly purchased orchids, my recommendation is to pull the plant out and inspect the roots.

Wet the medium and the roots thoroughly prior to pulling the plant out to avoid as much root damage as possible. Wet roots = more pliable roots.

In the wild, Phals tend not to grow on moss covered trees for the most part. If there is moss, there isn't much of it.

Go on Flickr and type in "Phalaenopsis in situ" in the search field (box). You'll see what I mean.

[glitchathon]

Thanks for the responses! I will take a pic of the moss this week and post a pic.

I wanted to repot them in a better plastic pot with better ventilation and placed in a nicer decorative ceramic pot so I will have a chance to inspect the roots more carefully. Right now, both of them are directly potted in glazed ceramic pots.

Does anyone know a good source of ceramic pots? I like the ones on Repotme.com but they were a tad more expensive than I was hoping for. But if they are worth it, perhaps I will pick up a few from there.

[marydaniellesantos]

As for the root situation, I leave the roots if they aren't rotted, and it sounds like it just needs a steady schedule of fertalizing.

The moss medium, I never trust it unless it's a small layer on the top of the bark medium.

If your plant is healthy and it continues to bloom for you I wouldn't worry about it, it sounds like you are taking care of it quite nicely.

Good luck!