Are phals hard to grow?

[tucker85]

When we buy phals they are often in tiny plastic pots with almost no drainage and tightly packed sphagnum moss. It's confunsing for the new grower because in the home environment that type of culture will almost never be successful. In fact it's almost the complete opposite of how to grow phals. I found that the more I try to get air to the roots, the better my phals grow. For me that means a loose medium with lots of spaces for air to get in and pots with lots of slots or holes for drainage and air. The plastic pots with the raised bottom like the air cones and some others are particularly good I think. I also let the medium dry out almost completely between waterings but never stay dry for long. Good luck.

[Strider 60]

King of Orchids, I'm a newbie and I received a Phal as a gift so the choice was not mine, most of the lit. I have read recomends the Phal as a great beginner, I also know that alot of the lit. gives conflicting info but if not the Phal then what do you suggest is the best to start with? By the way, mine is doing great, two spikes with lots of blooms and the spikes are still growing.

[camille1585]

I tend to disagree about Phals not being beginner orchids. Easy is a relative term. IMO, Phals are good beginner orchids if you don't get the ones with pots full of crappy sphag and if you are aware of the basic cultural requirements. Maybe their reputation for being difficult is because nearly everyone starts off with a Phal, and it's inexperience that will often kill it.

[Strider 60]

Originally Posted by camille1585

I tend to disagree about Phals not being beginner orchids. Easy is a relative term. IMO, Phals are good beginner orchids if you don't get the ones with pots full of crappy sphag and if you are aware of the basic cultural requirements. Maybe their reputation for being difficult is because nearly everyone starts off with a Phal, and it's inexperience that will often kill it.

I agree, my Phal noID has worked for me as a beginner, it was properly potted in bark, some I have seen were packed very tight with sphag. When I repotted the roots were healthy with only a small number of bad that I removed. So far it's thriving so I purchased a Phal violacea v. Malaysia seedling to work with, it too is doing well

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Strider 60

King of Orchids, I'm a newbie and I received a Phal as a gift so the choice was not mine, most of the lit. I have read recomends the Phal as a great beginner, I also know that alot of the lit. gives conflicting info but if not the Phal then what do you suggest is the best to start with? By the way, mine is doing great, two spikes with lots of blooms and the spikes are still growing.

Yes, "easy" is a relative term, but I think I clarified how "easy" I thought Phals were to grow as specifically as I possibly could.

However...

My first attempts at growing Phals were failures, even when they were potted in bark. Granted, yes, I didn't know what I was doing, and made a lot of the mistakes I now say not to do. I also was growing them before the advent of the internet. I never had the benefit of asking other people other than the store owners themselves (which we all know is not 100% reliable, and can be very hit or miss). I simply didn't know very many people my age who'd be into orchid growing at the time. I had to read books, and that didn't help either. The only book I read about orchids I was aware of at the time, and the only book I got orchid growing information on was written back in the '70's or something, and I was starting to grow Phals at around 1990 or 1991.

My first truly successful batch of orchids were the following plants, and it was after several failed tries with NOID Phal hybrids. And yes, Phal hybrids were some of my 1st contacts with all things orchid growing. So without further ado here's the list of orchids I was finally able to succeed with:

*** Anacheilium cochleatum (Encyclia cochleata) - Never grew an Encyclia species or hybrid prior to this attempt. Never even read a thing about them. Bloomed it out and everything. Grew like a weed, roots, shoots, and the whole 9 yds!

2nd attempt with these several years later, and I was still able to grow these pretty easily (didn't bloom them out 'cause they were still medium sized seedlings at about 2" - 2 1/2" tall). They took some really heavy neglect (personal issues) before they gave up a little under 1 yr after trying to make a comeback (I think about 3 - 4 months neglect). So yeah, if they weren't neglected so badly they'd actually still be around.

Ascocenda Princess Mikasa (blue) - I had tried a few Vanda types prior to this success, but they were mostly Mokaras which I now know does not tolerate cold.

Just to make things clear, Ascocendas can tolerate cold.

I tied this to a tree and watched it grow.

Cattleya NOID (a hybrid that appears to have a heavy C. mendelii influence) - I had also tried Catts prior, but they were not in the greatest of health. The first Catts were purchased bareroot with shriveled pseudobulbs and very little to no living roots on them. This was the first one I bought that was potted that had very plump pseudobulbs and a good number of healthy living roots.

Doritis (Phalaenopsis) pulcherrima - I think... This had no tag on it, but it sure looked a lot like the species. It was one of the smaller Phalaenopsis types with fully erect spikes (the inflorescence didn't arch at all, straight as a pencil). This was a happy accident type of success. I just left it in a shady area outdoors and it grew nicely, oddly enough. But again, this was after several tries with Phal NOID's.

*** Maxillaria tenuifolia - This was the first time I've ever bought any kind of Maxillaria whatsoever! Never had I tried this before in my life and I bloomed it out without trying!!! This 1st one didn't survive me moving several times in short succession, but I've had this one for at around 1 - 2 yrs prior to its demise. My current specimen of Max tenuifolia is actually my 2nd run with this species, and I've had it for 5 or 6 yrs.

I even gave my friend's mom a division, and she's never grown a Maxillaria before, and it's still around for her. I think she's had it for around 3 or 4 years or something.

*** Neostylis Lou Sneary - Never bought one of these prior either. Didn't even know what a Neofinetia or a Rhynchostylis was back then. Bloomed it out and everything. Started out with a nice specimen with roots growing out of the pot. Bloomed like crazy.

To clarify...

The plants with the 3 asterisks in front of their names were the ones I had got it right on the 1st run.

I told you all there were plants that I thought were sturdier than Phals.

[Tim P.]

Thanks for all of your help!!! When I buy my phal I'm gunna get a paph too!!!!!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

You're welcome.

I'm not very versed with growing Paphs (Paphiopedilum), you will have to consult with others on the OB.

My thoughts on Paphs are that they are a much more diverse genus of orchid than Phals are. They have a slightly larger variation in the way they grow...

However...

If you really want another genus of orchid to try out other than Phals, I recommend Anacheilium cochleatum (aka Encyclia cochleata) or Anacheilium radiatum (aka Encyclia radiata). Both are easy to grow (much easier to grow than Paphs imo), easy to bloom, have interestingly beautiful flowers, and are also very fragrant. I also think that you may have strong enough lighting to grow these.

[Leafmite]

Hey, don't worry. Phals aren't all that difficult. Just give them a medium that won't suffocate the roots. I grow mine in lava rock, clay pots, and this gives the roots the air they need. Bark with a net pot would also be great. Your household conditions sound perfect. They like bright but not direct light and, yes, don't get water on the leaves or in the crown. If you do, just dry them with tissue or use a fan to dry them. Good luck!
Leafmite

[fishmommy]

That paph is going to want to be wetter than the phal.

good luck!

[Paul Mc]

I have to agree that phal's can be one of the easier orchids to deal with but may not be the easiest, and of course that easy is a relative term.

In the scheme of things, start with a cheap NOID from home depot or lowes. That way if you lose it you haven't spent a lot of money. That's how I started, and how the addiction began. Now I'm up to 55 orchids, some easy, some not so easy.

For me, it was more of a cost/benefit analysis. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on something I couldn't grow.

Just a thought.