The Phal abuse ends here.

[dreamynights]

Hello and thanks for the reply! I did notice that the ones at Home Depot had the clear pots. However, I bought one from Trader Joes cause it was cheaper but didn't realize that it was placed directly plain decorative pot with no holes!

But I am currently less worried now because my orchid is still growing. All the original 5 flowers has fallen off but the two that had bloomed since I bought it are still intact. The 3 remaining buds are still growing bigger as well. At the rate the flowers were falling off before, I thought all the flowers would be gone by now.

About the pots, I have been looking at those orchid pots with holes on the side. Im wondering if certain mediums go better with certain pots? Like would moss be better for orchid pots because it allows for more air in the moss? Also would you put the clear plastic pots into the orchid pots or is that weird because then there is no point to having holes on the sides of the orchid pots.

[silken]

Originally Posted by dreamynights

About the pots, I have been looking at those orchid pots with holes on the side. Im wondering if certain mediums go better with certain pots? Like would moss be better for orchid pots because it allows for more air in the moss? Also would you put the clear plastic pots into the orchid pots or is that weird because then there is no point to having holes on the sides of the orchid pots.

Certain pots do work differently with different media as some breath or have more air holes than others. I put clear well drained pots in my ornamental pots when the plant is in bloom and I want to display it. That's when I use the 'orchid pots'. The holes in them still allow good aeration to the holes in the clear plastic pots. There was a recent thread here on someone using them alone for all their orchids and they are quite happy with them.

---------- Post added at 11:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:18 AM ----------

Originally Posted by gingersmommy

Hi everyone,

I have 14 phals and a few other assorted orchids, however, phals are my favorite. I have been fighting mealy bugs with the orchids I have in one room. Finally got some Bayer's Rose spray and I think I have them licked. Because of the mealys, I recently repotted all of my orchids in new medium, sprayed the plants, microwaved the pots to make sterile and cleaned the area where I have them. I sprayed them again after a couple of weeks. I purchased Miracle Grow Orchid mix and was surprised to find that it is very similar to regular potting soil. (?) Is this okay? Prior to this, I had them in bark and would water them once a week, but I think they were too dry. When I repotted them, I was surprised to find that they didn't have very many good roots. Many of the roots were dry and flat. They are in a very bright window. I water them with quarter strenght fertilizer each watering, and first flush them with lots of plain water. I have them on a humidity tray and have a small fan on them during the day. Lastly, I have never gotten them to perform like when I purchased them, and I am pretty much confounded as to why. I have never had multiple spikes on one plant, etc. They really are my passion, but I don't know what I am doing wrong. FYI, we do keep our house pretty cold - 62 at night and 66 during the day, plus they are about a foot from a window. Can anyone help!?

Many find that the fine Miracle Grow media is not suitable for orchids other than maybe a few that do grow in soil like conditions. This thread is a long one but there are many tips and info to be found if you skim thru it. If your bark chunks were too dry, you could try adding a bit of sphagnum moss in which would retain moisture better. also when you water, flush lots of water thru the pot or soak them in water for 20 mins and then drain well before placing back in their spot. If you use clear pots you can see when the roots turn silvery white which means they are dry and it is time to water. when they are green, they are still wet. It could be a little cool by the window at those temps for Phals. they are tropical plants that prefer fairly warm temps except for a few weeks in the fall when cool induces many of them to bloom. They are also not lovers of high light but more medium light levels. You may find they never perform as good as when it came from the store as in our homes it is nearly impossible to imitate the perfect growing conditions of a humid airy greenhouse where everything is formulated for maximum bloom. A spike once a year is acceptable and normal and some produce more blooms than others.

[gingersmommy]

Thanks, silken! After I posted, I went back and read about ten previous pages of posts, which covered a lot of what I was asking. I went to "repotme.com" and will purchase some clear, double pots, and some of their phal mix and then repot my orchids again. (I wish they 'Miracle Grow' wouldn't market 'orchid mix' that really is not a suitable medium!) Also, from reading everything, I think my orchids are getting too much light. I have them in a south window and it is very bright all day, sometimes sunny. I figured more was better (!). I will put the mini blinds down so that they get diffused light. Last question, assuming I do everything correctly, how long should it take to restore their roots and bring them back to optimum health? Love this board/thread!

[silken]

Originally Posted by gingersmommy

Thanks, silken! After I posted, I went back and read about ten previous pages of posts, which covered a lot of what I was asking. I went to "repotme.com" and will purchase some clear, double pots, and some of their phal mix and then repot my orchids again. (I wish they 'Miracle Grow' wouldn't market 'orchid mix' that really is not a suitable medium!) Also, from reading everything, I think my orchids are getting too much light. I have them in a south window and it is very bright all day, sometimes sunny. I figured more was better (!). I will put the mini blinds down so that they get diffused light. Last question, assuming I do everything correctly, how long should it take to restore their roots and bring them back to optimum health? Love this board/thread!

Phals can grow roots pretty quickly and even if they are short and on the surface to begin with, you could mist them to help them get moisture. Just don't get water in the crown of the leaves as crown rot can occur. They might respond quickly if you cut the light back as they were likely struggling to keep up with moisture. Bark doesn't retain lots of moisture until it is a bit aged and then still needs to be wetted well, so that's why I like a bit of moss. Some people don't like moss tho.

to stimulate root growth you can use products like KLN or SuperThrive which have rooting hormones or I am now a convert to using kelp (seaweed) which is wonderful and there is quite a bit of discussion on this board about that too. Hydroponics places carry it usually. You could soak the roots in that before re-potting and then use it in their water now and then.

[gingersmommy]

Thank you; I am encouraged. I will lower the light, get some new smaller pots, seaweed, medium, etc., repot and then wait for them to thrive. I love my phals and examine them thoroughly every day. I put them on my porch each fall for the temp. change and most of them spike every year. Last two years, however, I had to cut the spikes due to mealys (which was very depressing). Thankfully, I only have them in one room of plants. I had been trying to eradicate the mealys with alcohol and dish soap, but that never completely got rid of them. Just when I thought I had them under control, my plants would spike, I would hand pick off of the flowers, but eventually they would overtake the flowers completely. Should have used the Bayers a long time ago.

[Yanquister]

Need help with a Phal please! I tried to read all through the sticky and (unless I missed it, for which I deeply apologize), what in the world is happening to this leaf? This has been one of my happier plants and they have all given me year round blooms AND a priceless hobby (flowering spikes or not). The last couple of days I noticed this one had a withering leaf, and my water schedule (around every 8-10 days in this humid climate in south MS/LA area), but the leaf looks horrible! Has something gone wrong or is this natural? My others have never done this (yet), and as of now they have all been perfectly healthy and flowering on their own time (one phal after blooming four months miraculously showed up with two new spikes, and this one was considered one of my healthier ones! Please? Any advice to give this worried phal lover please?? (I've tried to attach a photo but I'm using my iPhone, please let me know if it doesn't work!)

Thanks so much guys, you and all your info/input is just a wealth of information that I read religiously!!!