The Phal abuse ends here.

[bellatrix]

Hi

I purchased my first orchid ever on Tuesday! It's a Phalaenopsis orchid. This is all I know about it really.

I uploaded pictures of it in the Identification section - I'll post them again here since I am unable to insert a link in this post.

I have a couple of questions:

1. Do I need to re-pot it any time soon? The leaves look rather crammed. It's still in the medium I purchased it in (from a grocery store). It seems to be in moss of some sort. I suppose the moss looks more compact and stays more moist than one would like it to. And today I noticed a thin yellow outline around one of the largest leaves. I did water it the day I got it (is that bad?). I poured enough water for the medium to look moist and didn't know I had to drain it. I happened to do some research that same night and learned that I had to drain it since the outer pot was holding the water that seeped out from the inner (clear) plastic container. The outer pot was one third full of water when I dumped it out that same (Tuesday) night. The plant seemed fine the next day. A few days later (on Friday) a faint yellow outline appeared.
I now have the inner pot sitting on the inverted cap of a bottle - and all of that is in the outer pot. I'm hoping this will allow it to drain further - the excess water can drip into the bottle cap if it wants to.

2. What sort of fertilizer should I purchase for it? i.e. What concentrations should the three numbers be? I know that Miracle Gro has some specifically for orchids, but would it be okay to use one that would be useful on other plants too? Such as one for flower plants in general. Or an all purpose one. Must I select one for acid-living plants? Is my plant acid-loving? Also, should I get a liquid plant food or a powder?

I have a million more questions but I wrote so much already! Perhaps I can start with these. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Assume I know nothing! (And you'll probably have assumed correctly.)