The Phal abuse ends here.

[aberardi]

whats the name of the store?

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by aberardi

im a window sill grower in nyc..having a hard time deciphering what to grow my noid phals in. Is bark better than moss? ive been pretty good about letting it dry out completely between waterings. also opinions on kln rooting? to get the roots growing how often should it be used and at what concentrations?

thanks

I have found that moss is OK in very small pots with plenty of drainage holes. I've used it in 3" and 4" pots. It's very difficult to grow with moss in any pot bigger than 4". Personally I now use a mix of medium coconut husk chips with a little charcoal of about the same size and a little medium sponge rock. For very small phals I use substitute fine coconut husk chips. I'm sure bark is good also I just don't use it myself.

---------- Post added at 10:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:40 AM ----------

Originally Posted by silken

Welcome to OB. Your new (and old) Phal looks lovely. From looking thru the pot, it has an awesome set of roots. However, what's in the centre could be another story. But they could also be fine. First off, Phals like to be root bound so you should start finding a smaller pot. Twice the size will be too big and encourage root rot. It should be only as large as the roots will comfortably fit. I can't tell from your other photos of the first one, but they should be potted in a pot with good air and drainage holes. Phals in the wild grow on trees where their roots are out in the air. They get rained on and the breezes dry them quickly. So an open potting mix is good and they should never sit in water. A good thing to do is to place a bamboo kebab skewer in the pot near the centre and leave it there. When you're thinking of watering, pull it out. If it is dry or just barely cool (damp) then you can water. If it is wet, it is too soon.

As for the roots, any firm green or silver coloured roots are alive and healthy. Soft mushy brown ones are rotten and should be cut off up to new healthy material. Make sure to get all the rot. You can give the roots a good rinse once un-potted and then it will be easier to see all of them and their condition. Re-pot in pre-soaked bark, or bark/sphag mix or some other similar mix. Then let the plant dry quite well before watering again so the roots that were cut can heal. I looks like your other one seems happy with what you are doing so carry on! I really can't see the little bumps in the photo to see what they are. They could be roots or spikes. Often a little cool spell in the fall will induce blooming. Maybe switch from your current fertilizer which is very high in nitrogen as that promotes leafy growth not blooms. The middle number (phosphorus) promotes blooms. Good luck.

This is excellent advice. I can't stress enough how important pot size is in phalaenopsis. Always use the smallest pot that the roots will comfortably fit in and use pots with good drainage holes.

[aberardi]

is it ok to go straight from moss to a bark mix or should it be over one or two potting cycles

[silken]

Originally Posted by aberardi

is it ok to go straight from moss to a bark mix or should it be over one or two potting cycles

It can be hard for the Phal to jump right from one very different medium to the other. One is quite wet, the other quite dry. I have great luck mixing medium bark chunks in with my moss. I also put a kebab skewer in the pot fairly deep down and to the centre. Check it to see if the skewer is almost dry before watering. Put it back in the same place so you aren't stabbing the roots ever time!

[Melissa]

Thank you for all of this helpful information, and for
starting the post.

Sincerely,
Melissa

[Rookie]

I have a Phal that I think I must have overwatered. It did well for a about a year and then suddenly started yellowing leaves. It was (shame on me) in it's original mostly sphagnum medium, which I found had practically a stranglehold on it. The central "core" of the medium was wet. The roots have some healthy looking white fibers but there are no green roots. I took all the potting medium out, turned it upside down and soaked just the leaves for 1/2 an hour. Then I wrapped it loosely in fresh, damp but not wet, sphagnum based medium (for Phals that I got from repotme.com) and then covered the whole thing in a ziploc bag to keep the moisture in. I am going to get some rooting ceoncentrate (K-L-N?) and treat the root area. Any other suggestions? I'd love to save it. Notice my online name is Rookie. I read something on here about using this method and soaking the leaves every 3 days or so, I think.

[T.L.E.King]

Thank you for your help. I have 9 orchids and 2 have keikis. One of my orchids has 2 on it. How long before the roots grow? I'm also waiting for flower stems to grow. I have 3 with flowers stems and the blooms are almost ready to open. I like reading about the orchids but I'm new a month ago and not sure how to get back to a page where people have answered my questions.

Thanks for you time.
Just me
Oh and I really like the smilies.

[Butrflye]

Please help me!! I bought a Blue Mystique Phalaeonopsis last Thurs. and it's bloomed out with 7 beautiful blooms and 2 buds remaining. As soon as I got it home I cut off the cellaphane and set it on an end table about 2 ft from an east facing window. I didn't water it or do anything else. Now it's entire potting mix on top and the roots are covered in mold. So far the blooms are still looking good.

What should I do? I love it and I want to save it! I took the clear plastic pot out of the glazed pot it's in and set it on a little bed of pebbles, with no water in it for now, and set a small fan gently blowing toward it. Most of the roots inside the pot look green but there are several places where the roots look dark green, yellowish or black. I did not take it out of the plastic pot...I didn't want to upset the blooms. This morning I went ahead and watered it thoroughly & dabbed off the mold with a paper towel. I misted the soil & leaves with original "gold" Listerine this afternoon.
Can you tell me what to do please? I've murdered several orchids over the years, and finally ordered a book which is supposed to tell all about them. It didn't say what to do in this case though. I'd appreciate any help at all!

[silken]

Welcome to Orchid Board. Your answer is on this page (27) and many other pages! Just look further up and there are many people advising that Phals can take being re-potted even in flower and if you wait till it's done flowering, it may be too late. They don't like being stuck in tight soaking wet moss and will develop root rot very quickly. I suggest you read or at least skim some of this thread and you will learn from what has been said to many others.

[Butrflye]

OK. Thank you very much!!