Phalaenopsis with dried up roots, other novice questions.

[Cassie16]

So if I remove the decorative pot, that will be OK? I'll go ahead and do that right now. Thanks so much for telling me that, I would have never known! And thanks for the lighting tip, too. I was actually very excited to realize our windows are east and west facing; the major highway by my apartment runs north and south, and our windows face the hightqay, so I thought that was 100% accurate at all points. I took out a compass and that is not so; the window the orchid faces is 106 degrees east. What if people don't have east or west facing windows though (apartment dwellers)? Are their orchids doomed?

As for humidity- I have a corn snake and so im concious of the humidity of his enclosure, at least. His humidity gauge reads 55%, which is pretty typical. Is this enough? If not, what are some ways to increase this (ideally without buying a humidifier)?

[bballr4567]

My apartment faces north-south so I have my windowsill set up facing north and I have a plant light to give extra light. Was about $40 online but it was pretty much vital if I wanted to get anything to bloom in this wretched place.

[Wynn Dee13]

I think you should repot your phal too. If you got it from the grocery store it probably needs to be repotted. You don't know when it was repotted last. It also looks like in your pictures it is planted in moss with bark on top. A lot of grocery store orchids are in that medium. Moss is usually hard for begineres to keep the plant watered right since beginers tend to over water. Oh and ! Keep asking questions and you will be on your way. I'm sure this won't be your last orchid. Most of us started out with a grocery store orchid! And I too think you will benefit from reading the phal abuse ends here thread. It's long but has lots of good info. Good luck!

[Cassie16]

Thank you, Josh and Wynn Dee! Hopefully my next place will have all sorts of windows, but I'm glad to know there are relatively inexpensive lights in case not.

Ive been concerned about repotting, so thank you for bringing that up. Is there a resource of some sort that outlines the steps of going about this? I really have no idea where to begin. From the size of the new pot, to the type of soil, to how not to manhandle the poor plant- I'm clueless!

[Wynn Dee13]

You can put your orchid on a tray that has pebbles in it and some water for extra humidity. Just make sure the pot is not sitting in the water. Sit the pot on the rocks with the water just below the surface of the rocks so the pot isn't touching the water. Also puting it around other house plants can help too.

Did you read the phal abuse ends here thread? It might have some info on repotting. You can also read some of the threads in the repotting forum. That should get you started.

A good book I recommend you getting is called Ortho's All About Orchids. I got mine at Lowes or Home Depot. It is a good beginner book that will help you learn the basics. Reading is how I learned a lot about orchids. I wish I knew about this forum a long time ago!

[Cassie16]

I'm actually going through the "Phal abuse" thread as we speak- I already feel like I'm learning a great deal. I didn't even know there was a repotting forum! I guess I should have browsed around more before jumping the gun.

If I get a chance Thursday, I think I'll visit a garden center and see if I can pick up some new supplies. Im getting great suggestions here. I already feel a lot better- I'm glad I found this forum.

Does Lowes garden center have a pretty complete selection of things I might need (medium, fertilizer, new pot, et. Cetera)?

[bballr4567]

Just look at the bag mixes at Lowe's. Do NOT get the MiracleGro orchid mix. It will kill it. Seriously. My Lowe's just started to carry all kinds of orchid mixes even for orchids they dont carry. Just check out the repotting forum and you will get the right advice in there on the size of the bark etc.

You shouldnt need a new pot honestly unless your roots are rotted. If you need just a slightly smaller pot you can put some packing peanuts in the bottom of the pot and you instantly made it smaller.

[Cassie16]

Oh gosh. I actually have the miracle grow orchid fertilizer, and kind of sort of used it after making my original post. Boo. Alright. Well, I will toss that and hope my orchid won't suffer the results. I guess I can't do much other than think positive, and read up on repotting in the mean time :/

[bballr4567]

No, not the fert but the potting material. The potting material is more like soil and it literally chokes the roots to death.

The fert isnt bad but its not the best either.

[Wynn Dee13]

Miracle Grow fertilizer is fine but it might be better to get a balanced fertilizer like 20-20-20. Just use 1/4 tsp per gallon of water instead of what the package says. Orchids are weak feeders for the most part so it's best to give them weak doses at every watering. Its called feeding weekly weakly. (Feeding week doses once a week.) Then flush the pot with plain water every third or fourth watering to flush any extra salts out of the media. Another thing, do you have softened water? Orchids don't do well with softened water because whatever they soften the water with adds a lot of salts to the water.

What kind of pot is your plant in? Sometimes orchids bought at the grocery store are planted in a very flimsy, thin clear pot then put in a decorative pot. If it is a flimsy pot you might want to get a better one. Just make sure it has enough drainage holes in it. A clear pot is great because you can see the root growth and it gives the roots light. (The roots photosynthesize too.) But if you can't find one it is okay. A good site is repotme.com or Kelley's Korner Orchid supplies. kkorchid.com
They have every orchid supply you would need. I usually have a hard time finding the supplies I need where I live so I sometimes I have to order them online. But you should be able to find what you need for now at a garden center or Lowes or some place like that.