My Phal repotting problems!

[Izzie]

Originally Posted by RosieC

Sounds like you take good steps Izzie.

Yay! Call me simple, but it's always exciting when I hear I'm doing something right!

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by glitchathon

RosieC, the media was not exactly damp, but definitely the bark had a little bit of moisture in it. But after leaving the bag open for a few weeks, the stuff is quite dry. There was no bad smell coming from it though. Do you think I should toss the bag and get new media? I do have S/H primeagra coming in the mail but not sure I want to shock the plants into a new media again.

Personally I would not use medium which was damp when I bought it. If you have no idea how long it was damp you don't know how broken down it is. As the medium breaks down the PH changes and that can affect the orchids even if you then dry it out again afterwards.

But that's just from my experience and others might not have had problems. I didn't have any smell when I used it on my frist orchid, it was only a month or two later when I tried to repot another two that I noticed the smell. All three are still in recovery a couple of years later but the first one was the worst and really almost died because I hadn't realised what was going wrong for several months.

[glitchathon]

interesting. Can I pour Listerine into the pot (media and all) or should I take it out and spray the roots only?

[glitchathon]

Originally Posted by RosieC

Personally I would not use medium which was damp when I bought it. If you have no idea how long it was damp you don't know how broken down it is. As the medium breaks down the PH changes and that can affect the orchids even if you then dry it out again afterwards.

But that's just from my experience and others might not have had problems. I didn't have any smell when I used it on my frist orchid, it was only a month or two later when I tried to repot another two that I noticed the smell. All three are still in recovery a couple of years later but the first one was the worst and really almost died because I hadn't realised what was going wrong for several months.

I repotted 3 orchids with this. The 3rd one has not had any problems yet but it has only been a week. Now I am getting worried!!

[RosieC]

I've only ever used it on bare roots, then rinced it off. Not sure if it can be used in the medium or not.

[Izzie]

Originally Posted by glitchathon

interesting. Can I pour Listerine into the pot (media and all) or should I take it out and spray the roots only?

Sorry I wasn't clear. I mentioned that you can pour and soak it.
When repotting, most people spray the roots.

When in pot, you can either pour copious amounts through the pot, or soak it for a few minutes- depends on how much of the product you want to use.
Could be a good thing to do until the physan comes in.

[Izzie]

Originally Posted by RosieC

I've only ever used it on bare roots, then rinced it off. Not sure if it can be used in the medium or not.

I've never had problems the several times I've done it in pot.

ETA: okay. that's not true. I did forget that I had a mini phal in a teeny pot soaking, and it ended up being in the listerine for an hour. The roots were NOT impressed.
So now I set a timer for a minute or so.

It's kind of like cooking shrimp. Absolutely positively do not leave the area, ignore the phone and visitors at the door, or bad things happen.

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by glitchathon

I repotted 3 orchids with this. The 3rd one has not had any problems yet but it has only been a week. Now I am getting worried!!

I would keep a close eye on it. Personally I don't think it hurts a healthy Phal to slide it out the pot to look at the roots, and if they are bad then it's better to have found out, if they are good you can just slide it back in.

My one that almost died did so because I didn't realise the problem for months. The other two did better because I realised what was happening sooner.

[Izzie]

Originally Posted by glitchathon

I repotted 3 orchids with this. The 3rd one has not had any problems yet but it has only been a week. Now I am getting worried!!

Just chill out, it'll be fine. For now, watch carefully, and use listerine/hydrogen peroxide if anything comes up.

When the physan comes in, you can either soak the plant in the pot for several minutes, or you can unpot again, and soak the media in physan for an hour or so.
I've soaked media in physan over night, which I hear some other people do.

leaving the plants bare root for a day or two and letting them really dry might help with mold/fungus- again, something I've seen recommended for such things.

[RosieC]

I agree with Izzie. Chill out and don't worry too much, just watch how the third one goes and do what you can for the others.