Yellow Phalaenopsis with purple/pink spots?

[Porcelain]

Hello, I am new with a couple questions.
Still in the process of reading up more on related topics, it will take me some time & i hope to get some recommendations on what to read etc.

I am an arachnid enthusiast, so i know when purchasing live animals & plants from local stores that the information or care they give won't always be accurate. So what better place to come to then the enthusiast forum

I was at the hardware store today with my mother and she bought me an orchid for my new condo since every time i have seen one i stop and look. So out of all the ones there i picked up the only yellow one they had, it seemed a bit smaller and not as many flowers compared to the others.
I picked up a bag of peat moss and added a bit to it when i got home. Roots seemed super dry but i guess that's how there suppose to be. Gave it a bit of water & placed it in my room.
Really don't want it to die and my husband was talking about purchasing more.

Now i was planing on repotting it into a pot with holes and substrate would be a mix of peat moss and regular green moss. Would this be fine?

Which Phalaenopsis sp. is this? or is it a hybrid?


Thank you, Britt.

[camille1585]

First of all, welcome to OB!
Yes, that is 'just' a hybrid. It's extremely rare to find species in hardware stores and similar places. It's always hybrids, and most often without names. And yours is gorgeous!!

Peatmoss is not good for orchids. It's too fine, and holds too much water. If you want to use moss, the one you're after is called sphagnum moss. Alternatively you could pot it in a bark based orchid mix, but you need to be careful what you buy since many mixes have too many fine particles.

[tucker85]

Welcome to Orchid Board! That's a beautiful phalaenopsis. Congratulations. It would be impossible to know what the name is unless it had a tag on it. Phals grow attached to tree trunks or tree limbs, in the wild. So their roots are out in the open, exposed to the air. When cultivating phals we try to use an open, airy mix that will allow air to get to the roots but will also retain some moisture in the pot. Don't be fooled by the mix that phals are in when you buy them. It's very difficult to keep them in peat moss or sphagnum moss although some people can do it. You'll have a much better chance if you get an orchid mix that's mostly medium sized bark or coconut husk chips. Pot it in the smallest pot the roots will comfortably fit in and one with lots of good drainage. Let it almost dry out completely between waterings but when you do water, put it in the sink and really wet the medium well. Good luck.

[Slobo]

Welcome to the OB. Your plants look beautiful.

I agree with previous posters. Don't use peat moss. I think the best is to make your own medium, bark, charcoal, perlite. Make sure that the pot is just big enough to accommodate the root system, but not bigger than that.

Good luck.

Slobo

[silken]

Welcome! I love that Phal! Never seen one quite like that! I agree with what others have already told you.

If it's currently in a pot with no drainage , or even if it has drainage, I would be checking the roots quite soon. Make sure it doesn't stay wet for too long as the roots are prone to root rot in a tight wet moss environment which is how they usually come from the stores. that's why it's good to get it re-potted into a more open and well draining mix soon. Healthy roots are plump and firm. They are green when wet and silver grey when dry. Remove any rotten mushy or shriveled ones when you re-pot. Don't let the plant stand in water after it has been watered.

[magicatt]

What everyone else said. It's a stunning phal.

[PeaceLoveOrchids]

Yes a very beautiful orchid! And it seems you and your husband have aready caught the orchid bug!

[Porcelain]

Thank you all for the great responses, well appreciated.

I couldn't seem to find the right pot today, so i decided to take a large plastic cup (unused) and made plenty of holes in it (including the bottom) for ventilation.
Purchased some bark chips as well.

The roots looked pretty healthy & watered, 2-3 bad roots were removed. I let it dry a bit before putting in the cup since they were moist.

Just curious, is it possibly to use glass marbles instead of bark chips?

I have also been watching American Orchid Society videos on youtube. Been a lot of help as well

[silken]

That's a healthy bunch of roots! I would worry that glass marbles wouldn't really hold any moisture. but who knows. Leca balls (clay balls) are used mixed with bark and other things in some of my mixes, and they are used in semi hydro because they do absorb some water.

[aleksanne]

Im rather confident I have the same exact orchid hybrid! ive been looking for an ID for a long time now with no luck. I purchased mine at an Ikea and it has been an amazing grower, though. Hope all is well with your orchid