Phalaenopsis Multiflora-to cut it or not?

[Ivana]

Hello everybody!
Last August I got my beautiful purple Phal and I must say- it was the love at first sight! My plant came in a transparent, plastic pot so I was able to monitor almost everything that was going on inside the pot, as well as on the outside.
The plant was in a very good condition, lots of flowers on both of its spikes. Those that were not opened started opening very soon, and also, the plant formed few new smaller spikes coming from the main ones. The old flowers started dying after a few weeks, but the new ones were constantly forming, and it has been like that till recently. Now, I have only 6 flowers left (one yet to be opened). I have been watching it very closely last 6 weeks, because I noticed signs of possible new flowers on the spikes that are bare now, but they are not growing.
My question is- should I cut the plant all the way down to the base, or a bit above the third node, as I have read that those are the usual ways of dealing with plants that have finished blooming season? The explanation "wait until it gets brown" won't help me very much, because the spikes on my plant are brown- they have the same colour as trees have, they are not light green like I have seen on other plants. They just look... woody (hope you will understand, English is not my native) The leaves as well, they are not light green, like grass, but dark green and very firm, a bit redish on the bottom side.
Also, I am a bit worried about the potting mix- as I have found out from reading on this site, my plant has a bit of bark on the top of the pot, and moss in the middle. Should I also re-pot it? The plant never seemed it minds the moss, because it has developed a lot of new roots, and the new leaf is also growing very fast (I had to cut one leaf, as the plant fell down from the window and the leaf was damaged... I cried like a baby). I never used a fertilizer of any kind, as I am not familiar with it, and I don't want to cause some damage to my plant.
I hope I will manage to upload a photo. (I am not sure how that works, I have put it in attachments,hmm)
And some background info, the plant is placed on the east window, and I am living in Denmark, so, it has some direct sun (but not too strong) in the early morning, and a lot of indirect the whole day long. I water it when I notice the roots are getting silver- white, once in a 5-7 days, it depends. It is a tap water, but not directly from the tap, but a "few days old" as I call it, I believe it has less chlorine.

[Val]

Hi Ivana, and welcome to OB!

Originally Posted by Ivana

My question is- should I cut the plant all the way down to the base, or a bit above the third node, as I have read that those are the usual ways of dealing with plants that have finished blooming season? The explanation "wait until it gets brown" won't help me very much, because the spikes on my plant are brown- they have the same colour as trees have, they are not light green like I have seen on other plants. They just look... woody

I'll answer with a question: who cuts the flower spikes in nature?
Now, my real answer would be: let the plant decide if/when it "affords" to rebloom on the old spikes.
The "wait until it gets brown" should be "wait until it gets dry".
You really need to cut the spike(s) if the plant is weak, to force it concentrate on healing/growing roots/leaves.

Originally Posted by Ivana

Also, I am a bit worried about the potting mix- as I have found out from reading on this site, my plant has a bit of bark on the top of the pot, and moss in the middle. Should I also re-pot it? The plant never seemed it minds the moss, because it has developed a lot of new roots, and the new leaf is also growing very fast

I would repot it, even if it seems to go well. Many people grow their orchids in moss, and many grow them in bark - but your combination (moss ball surrounded by bark) looks like a recipe for disaster. Until you repot it, you'd better just water "around" the moss - only the bark, so that the moss won't be actually watered, but will "extract" some humidity from the bark around it.

Originally Posted by Ivana

I never used a fertilizer of any kind, as I am not familiar with it, and I don't want to cause some damage to my plant.

Your Phal will need some "food", there isn't any in the potting mix. The only way you could hurt the plant is by giving it too much fertiliser. But forget about fertiliser for now. First make sure that your strange potting combination isn't causing any damage.

Originally Posted by Ivana

And some background info, the plant is placed on the east window, and I am living in Denmark, so, it has some direct sun (but not too strong) in the early morning, and a lot of indirect the whole day long. I water it when I notice the roots are getting silver- white, once in a 5-7 days, it depends. It is a tap water, but not directly from the tap, but a "few days old" as I call it, I believe it has less chlorine.

Lighting conditions and watering seem very good to me.

[Ivana]

Thank you so much Val!
While I was searching for the potting mix a girl from flower shop told me I should not remove the (I will quote) " the fungus that is in the middle of the roots" but that I should just remove some of the bark, not everything that the orchid is actually living in right now.
What was she talking about? I didn't hear so far about anything that is tangled around the roots (but the potting mix).
One more question, should I apply cinnamon on the roots I cut? If I am not mistaken there is something that looks like a brown root, but it is hard to tell since I didn't actually pull the plant out. I heard that the cinnamon acts like a natural antibiotic and prevents the plan from being infected. I already used it when I had to cut down the damaged leaf, it really worked well!
Thank you in advance!

[Tindomul]

Hi,

If your flower spike is dead, brown looks like hollow wood (which I think you described it as), then yea, just snap it off. It won't hurt the plant to keep though, unless it begins to rot.

As for repotting, you can repot in fresh sphagnum. If you do, keep it airy, not tight, and replace in 1 year or so. The sphagnum moss it is in now may look ok, but in the center it may be rotted. A lot of time Phals will grow healthy roots around the ball of sphagnum because the sphagnum has become a hostile environment for the roots.
Fungus......
Usually when talking about fungus with orchids it is one of two things.
A) A pathogenic fungus, where you use drier conditions and maybe a fungicide to cure the plant. THis is caused by rotting, super wet areas in the potting media, or not enough air circulation on the rest of the plant.

B) A beneficial symbiotic fungus (mycorrhizae) that help orchids in the wild obtain nutrients and water. This fungus I believe is not a major factor in cultivation. I would not worry about not killing it as you will never see it. I suppose you would kill it if you boiled the potting media and the plant, but I know you are not going to do that.

In repotting if you find any roots that look shriveled, hollow, mushy, yellow or brown. Or any roots that loose the velamen (the thick spongy tissue you see when looking at roots), then you cut that off. If your cuts leave any strong, green areas exposed then you can use cinnamon to prevent fungal disease.
Hope this helps.

[Ivana]

It does, and yet- it doesn't!
I have just read that plants that have lived in moss (my does in a combination, that truth to be told didn't hurt her, I had 6 months of flowers, new leaf, and a lot of new roots) have a big trouble after they have been transfered into bark ( Val's advice),but now you say to put it into moss!!?
Now I am so scarred to do anything! Moss or bark....
I know we all here love orchids, but I REALLY love mine, and if I hurt her... don't even want to think about it...fuf... it is complicated... So, honestly, what medium should I use?

[Tindomul]

Yes, I have had trouble transferring my Phals from moss to bark. The bark stays drier and the plant is not used to this. That is why I said to put it in fresh moss, the transition will be easier. I don't think the plant will die if you put it in bark because all you have to do is keep a better eye on how often it will need to be watered.
However, (and I am sorry to do this to you) bark is easier to keep dry so your plant is not as prone to rot. Many people prefer bark because it is easy to overwater with moss.
Ultimately it is your decision. We are trying to give you insight into our personal experience, but what happened or worked best for us may not necessarily happen or work best for you.
Your goal is to keep the roots from rotting or drying out. In order to do this you will need to keep them moist and never wet. And allow for sufficient air circulation.
You can do this with fresh moss as long as you don't use too much moss. It should feel like it has lots of air gaps but still have enough to support the plant.
You can also accomplish this with bark, because of its geometry, it will always leave large air spaces in the pot, but because of it's water retaining abilities it will dry out faster. You must choose which one you want best.

There are also other options.
You can use Semi Hydroponics, see the subforum dedicated to this growing method for more info.
Also you can mount it, and spray it everyday or as often as you like so long as you wait for the roots to dry between waterings.
Or you can put it in a fish bowl, submerge the roots for half an hour every two days or three days.
I'm sure there are many more ways to grow them too.

[Ivana]

Something you said in the previous post made me wonder... all new roots are actually growing around the moss ball! And I have a feeling, if anything is wrong, it will be in the center of it.
So, bark it will be! It is not hard to water it more often, pot is transparent and I know from the look of the roots when they need water. And I will increase the humidity around the plant itself, as warmer days are coming.
Can I be that pushy and ask for a few tips for repoting?
How to remove it safely from the pot?
Bark should be in the water for 24h before I use it?
How about the watering after I changed the medium?
Should it be at the same place or put in a shade?
So many questions...

[Tindomul]

Me, I would place it in the same location.
Wet it thoroughly before repotting. This will help the roots detach themselves from anything (pot, sphagnum etc...). Wetting the bark for a while is a great idea, but don't do it too long as you don't want it to grow a fungus overnight.
You will have to relearn how to water when using a different media. For the first couple of times you will need to test the pot for dryness everytime you water.
Increasing the local humidity is a great idea.
Good luck!!!

[Ivana]

Thank you so much for the advice!
I hope all turns well for my princess!

[Tindomul]

I hope so too!