The Phal abuse ends here.

[gingersmommy]

Hi Horses & Orchids. I think it is good that you got them into another mix. I initially tried the potting mix you mentioned and it did not allow for any air flow and got too wet. I have repotted all of mine with another mix (sphag and lava rocks). I'm not an expert like some folks here, but I did want to say that orchids are incredibly resilient. Once you get them in a decent mix and provide good light, they do very well. It takes a lot to mess up totally so don't think you're killing them if they don't bloom for a while. It likely may not be until the fall before you see a new spike, and it takes a few months from start of spike to bloom. They generally bloom once a year, so don't get discouraged.

---------- Post added at 05:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:25 PM ----------

Hi everyone, well I got "Laz" from my sister. He's the poor little guy who we discovered had no roots when we went to repot. He had a beautiful, robust flower spike with three buds ready to open in a few days. My sister cut it to help him get better. She generously surrendered him to me because I was feeling maternal and attached. He is pretty sad, leaves are limp and wrinkled. I/we have him in a small, clear pot with sphag and lava rock. My sister had some kelp meal that she sprinkled on the top. I have an enclosed terrarium that I put him in but opened the top a little for ventilation. The bottom is opened, too, about a 1/2 above the table so I hope he gets enough air flow and humidity. I am keeping my fingers crossed. If he doesn't make it, it won't be from lack of affection or trying.

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by gingersmommy

Hi Horses & Orchids. I think it is good that you got them into another mix. I initially tried the potting mix you mentioned and it did not allow for any air flow and got too wet. I have repotted all of mine with another mix (sphag and lava rocks). I'm not an expert like some folks here, but I did want to say that orchids are incredibly resilient. Once you get them in a decent mix and provide good light, they do very well. It takes a lot to mess up totally so don't think you're killing them if they don't bloom for a while. It likely may not be until the fall before you see a new spike, and it takes a few months from start of spike to bloom. They generally bloom once a year, so don't get discouraged.

---------- Post added at 05:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:25 PM ----------

Hi everyone, well I got "Laz" from my sister. He's the poor little guy who we discovered had no roots when we went to repot. He had a beautiful, robust flower spike with three buds ready to open in a few days. My sister cut it to help him get better. She generously surrendered him to me because I was feeling maternal and attached. He is pretty sad, leaves are limp and wrinkled. I/we have him in a small, clear pot with sphag and lava rock. My sister had some kelp meal that she sprinkled on the top. I have an enclosed terrarium that I put him in but opened the top a little for ventilation. The bottom is opened, too, about a 1/2 above the table so I hope he gets enough air flow and humidity. I am keeping my fingers crossed. If he doesn't make it, it won't be from lack of affection or trying.

I recently picked up some KLN rooting hormone for my guy that has only 2 roots and I give him a good soak in it when I water. You may try this too to encourage root growth on your dude?

[RikkiTikkiTavi86]

Hi everyone, I new to this forum and to orchids. My father raised orchids when I was young, but has not done it in years. I call him constantly asking questions and I have two books: Orchids by Brian and Wilma Rittershausen and a Sunset book about orchids. These books are great, but I can't ask them questions...

So here's my issue,

over the past three weeks I have purchased 3 Phals from home depot and lowe's, knowing full well it was a bad idea and a gamble. Today I bought my third one and it is the biggest, it was on clearance because some jerk broke it's flower stem. It is still attached and has one "healthy" flower on it and it's leaves are wilting.

Is there anything specific I need to do for it?

With my other two I water and feed them weekly, and spritz them every morning. They stay in my front window (which faces west) but I have a covered porch. I leave the fan on for constant slow circulation and open the windows when I'm home. I also have dishes with water and rocks in them to keep humidity regular.

What else can I do to help them get healthy?

Thanks for any help,
Rik

[silken]

Originally Posted by RikkiTikkiTavi86

Hi everyone, I new to this forum and to orchids. My father raised orchids when I was young, but has not done it in years. I call him constantly asking questions and I have two books: Orchids by Brian and Wilma Rittershausen and a Sunset book about orchids. These books are great, but I can't ask them questions...

So here's my issue,

over the past three weeks I have purchased 3 Phals from home depot and lowe's, knowing full well it was a bad idea and a gamble. Today I bought my third one and it is the biggest, it was on clearance because some jerk broke it's flower stem. It is still attached and has one "healthy" flower on it and it's leaves are wilting.

Is there anything specific I need to do for it?

With my other two I water and feed them weekly, and spritz them every morning. They stay in my front window (which faces west) but I have a covered porch. I leave the fan on for constant slow circulation and open the windows when I'm home. I also have dishes with water and rocks in them to keep humidity regular.

What else can I do to help them get healthy?

Thanks for any help,
Rik

For some ideas, check out some of the pages on this thread. And other threads on this forum. It seems Phals struggle from being shipped to the stores in a wad of soaking wet moss and then they die of root rot as a result. So make sure yours doesn't do that. There are pages and pages of tips and problems with answers here.

[butterfly_muse]

When I joined this board a month or so ago, I sat down and over a week read this entire thread. It's cumbersome but it's LOADED with information. I agree with silken.

[dopplerthesexybeast]

I am a little late in the discussion, but here's my two cents on keeping a Phal in good condition if you find it at a big box store.

I'm not particular about breeding. I couldn't give a sh!t less about it. I'm not releasing my Phals to the wild or doing any crosses other than for my own satisfaction to keep in my own home. So I don't have qualms about buying them from horrible conditions (and let me tell you, buying at commercial chain stores is like a puppy mill). They're often packed so tightly in sphag and have been there for so long that they're half-rotted by the time they get to you.

So how do you find and keep a good orchid?

For starters, I don't care what the staff says. I pull the orchid out of the brown pot and look through the plastic liner to see what condition the roots are in. I check the leaves. I check the surface. I even sniff the medium. I want my orchid to START well.

Second, sphag might be great for seedlings, but for a blooming orchid it's really too much. I don't like repotting them immediately for risk of shock and bloom blast. So how do I keep it healthy in grody sphag? Simple. Whenever I go to water, I first cut a round hole about a quarter size in diameter through the bottom of the clear liner and I test for wetness from the BOTTOM, not from the top. It helps to keep them from being overwatered.

Third, I go intense with the Physan 20 to start out with so I can make sure that anything on the inside of the root ball that I can't see is taken care of.

And now I have a very healthy phal with two robust seed pods from Lowe's that I purchased about a month ago. It CAN be done.

[The Orchid Boy]

I agree with your first and third tips. Just my thoughts on the second tip. I grow every single phal in pure sphag. And I pack it tight, tighter than most people would pack it but not quite as tight as some commercial operations pack it. And I always repot department store phals asap and always wack off the spike. How do I water phals in tight sphag? I wait until the sphag is totally crispy, crunchy dry. I have 1 phal that has so many roots, in so small of a pot, and is tight in sphag that I have to soak it to water it. I'd repot it but it's in full bloom. Sphag works great for me, you just need to know how to use it. And I have 70% humidity. I use straight sphag or sphagnum based mixes for everything except paphs. All my phals have more roots than leaves and some are in a seemingly big pot for their leaves. Just my 2 cents, if it works for you, you can do it whatever way you want.

[Ordphien]

I repot immediately.
Especially with phals. More often than not the flowers don't blast and the plants keeps on booming happily.


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[RikkiTikkiTavi86]

My smallest phal was repotted immediately, i've had it about two weeks. Today I woke up to yellowed leaves and a yellowing flower spike… I think it was drying out too quickly. I repotted it again this morning, in a smaller pot, packed it tighter and soaked it. The roots were dry and shriveled, I really hope i didn't kill it…

[Ordphien]

My experience is that dried out phals recover much better than those with rot.
Try the skewer method.
Stick a wooden skewer in the middle of the pot and water when it's barely damp and cool to the touch.
I press mine to my cheek.
Luckily for you phals should be starting active growth now, so there's a good chance it'll survive and thrive.

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