Phals in sphag

[ezil]

I never use just sphagnum any more for any of my orchids over 5cm. I buy my Leca in a hydroponics store. I also use styrofoam pellets. I prefer net pots for all my not-mounted plants. You can always put them in an over-pot if necessary, and you can easily see the roots.

Thank you everybody for sharing your experience. Looking at all the options I think I would like to try the net pots - like the black one on Tucker's picture.
It seems that they would provide the most air circulation with moss. Since we here have much lower humidity especially in winter with heater on, it may require more often watering which I don't mind.
Where would one buy the net pots? I never seen them in the stores.

[tucker85]

You can buy net pots at hydroponics stores, Amazon.com, Green Barn Orchid supplies, Repotme.com, Tindara orchid supplies, and many others.
Net pots work great with sphagnum moss. Here's a couple tips from my experience that you might want to keep in mind. 1. Use the smallest pot that will accommodate the roots. 2. If you need to use a 5" pot or larger always use a small net pot upside down in the bottom (interior roots can rot even with net pots). 3. Repot once a year. Phals will quickly deteriorate when fertilizer salts build up in the medium. 4. If you're not sure if the medium is dry and don't know if you should water. Wait another day or two but mist the plant each morning for those couple days. 5. Use the end of an orchid stake to push the medium down in around the roots. 6. Don't repot all your plants. Try one or two in the net pots and see how it works out for you. Good luck.

[ezil]

Try hydroponics stores, if there are any in your area. I don't know where you are located, but there are a few that would ship them inside Canada. Bustan in Toronto comes to mind. Hope this helps.

Tucker85, thank you so much for sharing your tips. It is very helpful for a newb like me.
Ezil, thank you for the info on bustan. I will check them out. There are many net pots on amazon.com, but I have to see if they will ship to Canada. Too bad amazon.ca does not have them.

I checked out bustan:
package of 10 5" net pots costs $8 - which is nice, BUT estimated shipping with cheapest option gave me $24 inside the same province
what is up with that?!

[tucker85]

Check the phone book or internet and see if there's a hydroponics store near you. They always have net pots.

[Lagoon]

I love my sphagnum moss combo with perlite. It stays moist and airy. I use the larger perlite or also known as coarse rok around the middle of the pots to aid in unwanted moisture build up. Dries out much more evenly.

I get my media tash from clouds orchids

PS. Whats you're location in Canada?

[tucker85]

Lagoon, thanks for reminding me about sphagnum and perlite. I've always heard good things about that mix and I always forget to try it.

Right, perlite! I used it a lot for my other house plants to make the soil more airy. Thanks for reminding.
Lagoon, I am in Ottawa Ontario.
Amazon.com sellers wanted to charge close to $40 for shipping from USA, plus I imagine there will be duty fees. So that is not an option too. I will look around locally as Tucker suggested.
While looking for net pots - for experiment I potted some phals into clay pots using sphagnum moss loosely and inserted turned upside down 1-inch net pot under the phal base to give that area some extra air. Will see how it works out.