Is my miniature orchid still alive?

[absolutebeginner]

First of all, I'm new here! Hello everyone and thank you for providing such a helpful forum!

So in early summer, I bough two mini orchids (Miniature Phalaenopsis I believe) in a supermarket. It was a total impulse buy, and I have had zero knowledge caring for flowers, but I am determined to take good care of these pretty little plants! It seemed healthy and happy:


In august, all the flowers have fell off the stem. I understood that it was all natural. However, the stem was also withered:


I read somewhere that I'm supposed to cut at the nod and it will regrow. What happens if the entire stem is withered? Is it bad? I cut the stem off. Now the plant looks like:


I see new root grown out, as seen in the above photo. So I believe the plant is alive.

Please forgive my ignorance. Could someone please let me know if what happened was normal? Will it bloom again? and how should I care for it going forward?

Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ronaldhanko]

You can cut off the flower stem. The plant is alive and doing well. It will bloom again and it looks to me that you should continue doing whatever you are doing.

[Zoi2]

Hello and welcome to the OB.
I agree with Ron, your plant looks good. Phals usually bloom once a year so roots and leaves should be growing now.
There is a lot of cultural information on phals here on the OB, just use the search feature or post any questions you have.
Joann

[Judi]

Welcome to OB! Yes the plant looks good, any stems that are brown are dead and will not bloom again--but that doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the plant. Looks like it is planted in sphag and placed in a clay pot that doesn't have drainage. If it were my phal, I would take the inner pot out of the clay pot and make sure there is plenty of drainage--and I would leave it out of the clay pot. If you are using a cache pot, there should be plenty of drainage and air circulation between the two pots. I would also check the roots and probably re pot in a bark mix. If you want to keep it in sphag, make sure the sphag isn't compacted and it needs to be replaced every 9 months or so. The roots should never be kept in a compacted wet environment. Hope this helps a little.

[absolutebeginner]

Thank you so much everyone! I'm happy that I didn't kill the plant! Special thanks to Judi! The sphag was indeed compact! I'll look into repotting and using bark mix!

I did read about not overwatering the plant and keeping it dry, so I've never watered my two mini orchids thoroughly -- at most an icecube amount of water every week. The sphag does seem VERY dry though in between watering -- even kinda brittle! i'm always afraid that I under-water! Is it normal to stay super dry?

I did take the plants out of the pots and realized one is growing much better than the other. One has fat and fresh green roots; and the other has skinny and dark roots (with some black spot). The weird thing is, the unhealthy one's leaves are growing like crazy. I wonder why...

Before I get my new pot, I'm thinking to temporarily put my plants this way to free it a bit:


Is it a bad idea? I'll put them right back to their pots for now if this is not good for them. If it's fine, should I water more often and move them further away from the window?

What kind of pot should I get for mini-orchids and can I pot these two plants together in one larger pot (one is white and the other purple though)?

Thank you all so much again!!!

[Judi]

Well, I've never grown in moss, so I'm not familiar with the drying pattern. I have read the top could look really dry while the bottom is quite moist. Some people use a wooden skewer left in the moss to tell if it needs watering--when you pull it out you will get a sense of how wet or dry the moss is all the way though the pot. I've never left my chids out of a pot before, but considering they are epiphytes, it may be OK for a while. Sure looks pretty!

I like the clear slotted plastic pots, that way I can see what is going on with the roots. Probably a 3" one for your phals would be OK; the pot should not be too big. I would use 2 pots--one for each. I like to get my pots from repotme: Slot Pots

[absolutebeginner]

Originally Posted by Judi

Well, I've never grown in moss, so I'm not familiar with the drying pattern. I have read the top could look really dry while the bottom is quite moist. Some people use a wooden skewer left in the moss to tell if it needs watering--when you pull it out you will get a sense of how wet or dry the moss is all the way though the pot. I've never left my chids out of a pot before, but considering they are epiphytes, it may be OK for a while. Sure looks pretty!

I like the clear slotted plastic pots, that way I can see what is going on with the roots. Probably a 3" one for your phals would be OK; the pot should not be too big. I would use 2 pots--one for each. I like to get my pots from repotme: Slot Pots

Thank again,Judi! You know what? I was looking at repotme.com just now! Should I get some fertilizer as well? Is it necessary to use it when it's not in blooming season?

[Claire25]

Just wanted to chime in with my two cents. I grow all my Phals in pure sphagnum, which works best for me as an indoor grower (it retains moisture around roots just enough to keep them from desiccating in winter's dry air). The sphag should not be allowed to get "brittle" between waterings...it should be allowed to dry between waterings, but it should always remain springy to the touch.

Clear pots are a great idea. If you choose to remain with sphagnum, it will be invaluable for you to see the moisture levels change in the pot as the moss dries. Even a "dry" Phal's pot should show some condensation on the inside of the pot...they don't like to go totally dry for any length of time.

Best of luck with your Phals. BTW I believe your white one is Phal Timothy Christopher...I have that one, having also purchased it as an impulse buy (at a Home Depot about a year and a half ago). Mine is producing a new spike at the moment, so I expect flowers again within a couple months.

Claire

BTW if you begin fertilizing your Phals, make sure to water them very thoroughly (no more ice cubes! ) You will need to flush out any residual fertilizer salts between waterings, so make sure you let the water really run through the pot each time you water. One last thing...orchids in bark will need a high nitrogen fertilizer (bigger first number in the N-P-K formulation ratio) to counteract the nitrogen absorbed by bark-decaying bacteria. This isn't necessary if you're growing in moss, which also doesn't have to be fertilized quite as frequently.

[absolutebeginner]

Hi Claire, thank you so much for the advices! I'm glad to have the white one's "identity" uncovered! lol

Now I can't decide between the moss and the bark! I've read good things about both. With moss, do I need to fertilize all year round or just before the bloom and how often? Do you think it's sufficient just to use water mixed with a few drops of milk or pieces of egg shell as fertilizer? My mom plants some flowers in the front yard and just uses those things (sometimes even bones from raw meat) to fertilize, and the plants grow well. She's never grown an orchid though. Would it also be appropriate?

Thanks again for all the help! =)

[Claire25]

Whatever you choose to pot it in, you will get better results with regular applications of fertilizer. So, I'd recommend getting some "orchid fertilizer" next time you're at a garden store, because it'll have exact instructions regarding how often to fertilize and what concentration to use on the label. "Regular" fertilizer would work fine, too (Miracle-Gro, etc.) but if you use this you'll need to decrease its concentration so that its safe for your orchids...I mix it to be 25% as strong as the label indicates. (I haven't heard of anyone using your Mom's method, but it certainly can't hurt...I would supplement this with a more complete fertilizer, though. And, BTW, there are fertilizers available, such as seaweed extracts, that would be just as organic as your Mom's method that many orchid growers have used with success...you may want to give one of these a try and see how that works out for you).

Best of luck! Keep in mind that your Phals, if potted in an organic medium such as bark or moss, will almost certainly grow and bloom for you with no fertilizer at all, since their medium will provide them with some nutrition. But, you'll definitely get more frequent and more numerous blooms with a little feed added to the water every other watering or so.

Claire