Help! WalMart Orchid and I have NO idea

[sarahlydear]

She looks a lot better since I got her home. At the store there were dead flowers hanging all over and even her color looked sickly. I removed the dead ones and dusted her and she has perked up really well. We have a Rettin Water Ionizer(really healthy, clean water) that has done wonders for our other plants and I let a bucket of that sit last night to get room temp and put the clear pot in it for a little over 10 seconds and then I did let her drain.
Some of the top roots are shriviling up and starting to break off but I removed those...I think I'll leave her alone for a week or two and then decided if I need to repot.
I read that it may be a good idea to cut the flower tube thing off to give the plant a chance to work on its leaves and roots. I'm considering that because our winters tend to be very hard and bi-polar and I want her to be a strong as possible for that. Any thoughts?
Thanks for all the advice, I REALLY appreciate it!

[Daethen]

Cutting the "spike" is not a bad idea if you want her to concentrate on roots and leaves although they do sometimes rebloom on an old spike. I just got back from Walmart and they had one last "ice" orchid sitting on the shelf and when I wasn't looking it jumped into my cart. Funny that I didn't notice it until I got home......LOL

[sarahlydear]

You guys this is not good...I can NOT have another obsession, the chinchillas take up enough of my time and money....I bought another one today. It's just she was practically outside of the pot and into my hands...crap and they're on sale

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by sarahlydear

You guys this is not good...I can NOT have another obsession, the chinchillas take up enough of my time and money....I bought another one today. It's just she was practically outside of the pot and into my hands...crap and they're on sale

im sorry dear... there is no escaping it now ;D muahahha .........seriously though, theres nothing you can do but embrace it!

i just got 12 in the mails

[Daethen]

You are definately hooked. Face it, you are an addict! I know I am.

[BobInBonita]

What I really like about this site is the gentle difference of opinion. When you contrast the different ideas for the same plant, that ALL work for their authors, you get a great feel for just how adaptable and resilient orchids (and their growers) are.

With that said - some agreement and differences:

Partial agreement and explanation about "Just Add Ice" - I agree with the above comments that the "just add ice" is a gimmick. But that doesn't mean it doesn't work. Although I haven't used it myself, there are plenty of posts here from folks who have used it with success. In my opinion, the biggest cause of death for new growers (and probably old growers too) is over-watering followed by root loss / rot. The gimmick is just a way to measure the amount of water - two bottle caps would probably work as well but doesn't sound nearly as cute. Explaining to a newbie about just how wet and how dry the plant should get can be confusing. The just add ice is a simple way to meter things for a beginner - period. I've never read a post from someone who actually damaged an orchid by doing this - only theoretical disagreements (recognize that my belief in it as a possibility is also theoretical, since I don't practice it myself.)

Second departure in thinking - unless a phaelenopsis is compromised (root issues, dehydrated, etc), I rarely cut the spike after the first bloom. I have a couple of phaels that have had several reblooms from the original spike (over the course of two years). Since the flower is my primary reason for the addiction, the fastest way to more flowers is usually on the old spike. If your plant is in good health I wouldn't cut the spike unless it browns up and dries. Yours isn't compromised.

I agree with the general consensus that yours doesn't need immediate repotting. Unless a plant is compromised I wait both until blooming is finished AND it has new root growth starting. If I just have to buy a plant in bloom that is growing in or is overpotted in sphagnum, then I will repot immediately, even if it has a potential for bud blast (I'd guess less than 25% of the time). Keeping the plant healthy is the one thing more important than the current bloom to me.

Relax, take it easy, the orchid will be fine as long as you keep it somewhere between too wet and too dry.

[sarahlydear]

Thank you all sooo much for the help! So far everyone has been thriving (guess what I ended up with last night *sigh*), but I'm still a bit timid and want to double check, especially with the pot size. The second orchid I got:
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...my-second.html
I'm thinking I need to repot her, and so I'm wondering how big of a pot I should get her? I know they like to "hug" their pots so what is a good rule of thumb when moving them up a size?
And I'm going to be getting a suprise next year; I saw a very healthy(yes?) orchid at WalMArt last night that didn't have any flowers on it so I figured noone would by it because it's not "pretty", I'm very curious as to know what I've gotten.
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...hp?albumid=717
Thank you again soo much you guys have been very helpful and I really appreciate it!

[sarahlydear]

Oh! I have one more thing. I've been looking to order some new media and I saw this:
https://www.firstrays.com/cgi/cart/c...=406&keywords=
What do you guys think? Good idea? Bad? Not worth my time?

[RosieC]

Your link is to Ray's S/H starter kit. The whole S/H (semi-hydroponic) way of growing is something Ray has developed and due to the number of our members who use it we have a whole secton on Orchid Board for discussion of this method.

I use the method even though I buy from local suppliers (I'm in the UK so too far away to buy from Ray) and it's worked great for me.

Ray is a great supplier from everything I've heard, as well as a very helpful member of Orchid Board and I know for certain others have got on well with his S/H starter kit.

Here is a link to the S/H area on Orchid Board. I would advise you have a good read of it. There are some things to bare in mind for successful conversion to S/H, such as the need for new roots to be growing (not just new growth on existing roots but fully new roots) before conversion.

Semi-Hydroponic Culture - Orchid Board - Most Complete Orchid Forum on the web !

Also take a read of Rays advise pages on the use of this method, some really great info in there.
Semi-hydroponics