how much damage from 15minute exposure to -2 C temperatures plus another question

[KultureShock]

How much damage do you think my new Phalaenopsis will incur? I just bought it from the grocery store and it took me 15 minutes to walk home with it in -2 degrees celsius weather...this plastic bags covering it during the walk and all the flowers still look fine but i was wondering if i could get some opinions from some of you who might have been through something similar.
The last two orchids i bought had horrible root rot when i received them so when saw this lady in the grocery store i couldn't resist. she's in a clear plastic container filled with sphagnum and has tons of really healthy dark green roots

I've never had anything but trouble with sphagnum so i was also wondering if anyone thinks i should transplant it in a few weeks or just be careful about the amount of water it receives.

Best regards,
Kevin Disher

[silken]

The bags may have helped enough. I know I ran from Walmart to my car in the parking lot with a bag over my Phal but it was about -25 and the buds weren't happy with that. I was so ticked at the cashier, she was no help in giving it some extra protection.

I don't like leaving my new Phals in the tight wet moss. I usually at the very least lift it out and pull out a good amount of it to open it up a bit. Or if the roots already look troubled, I repot it completely in a mix of medium bark and moss in a well draining clear pot. Most phals don't mind even if in bloom, but the odd one drops some buds. Just be aware that it needs to dry thru before re-watering. And don't let it sit in water in the decorative container.

Lovely blooms by the way!

[Call_Me_Bob]

I like the phal! nice choice! As far as exposure to the cold, i think the plant will be fine, the flowers and buds may or may not fall off. But the plant should be fine either way!

If I were you, i would repot it into a media you are comfortable with. No need to wait a few weeks, do it right away. I do the same, even if I am repotting into the same type of media, media from the stores is usually pretty old.

[KultureShock]

Thanks for the replies you guys i'm going to repot it right now. I will let you know how it goes!

[Paul Mc]

I fully concur, on the great find you have there and on the advice given. Phals tend to be the most forgiving to temperature and environmental change when going from store to home, thus their wide appeal for stores.

[james mickelso]

You can repot it with no adverse effects. But........be veeeeerrrryyy careful with the roots. Try to pull the moss away from the roots very carefully. I use tweezers and pull out a little bit at a time. Once you have it out and clean, take the moss you pulled out (if you have no other media) and put the phal back into the pot and carefully stuff the moss back in loosely. Orchids grow on trees and not in soil. In other words they don't need their roots packed into a media. Just enough moss to support the plant in the pot without falling out. Wait a day and then water it. Don't worry about feeding it just yet. Your flowers should stay on for their full duration.

[KultureShock]

Originally Posted by james mickelso

You can repot it with no adverse effects. But........be veeeeerrrryyy careful with the roots. Try to pull the moss away from the roots very carefully. I use tweezers and pull out a little bit at a time. Once you have it out and clean, take the moss you pulled out (if you have no other media) and put the phal back into the pot and carefully stuff the moss back in loosely. Orchids grow on trees and not in soil. In other words they don't need their roots packed into a media. Just enough moss to support the plant in the pot without falling out. Wait a day and then water it. Don't worry about feeding it just yet. Your flowers should stay on for their full duration.

Thanks for the informative response i am well aware they grow epiphytically in nature just wasn't sure id be doing more good then harm by re-potting while it was in flower but i have it figured out now thanks to all the wonderful advice from you lovely people

Best regards,
Kevin Disher

[gardengirl13]

So how'd it go? I go against what some people say and re-pot as soon as I get a new orchid. I hate the moss only tightly packed thing they do. Even with the ones from better growers I will still pull it out and look at the roots and put it in the medium I want. If their medium looks good I may add some of that back into the pot (but never the moss!) But for the most part it gets what I want it in. I have lost a few buds from the one phal I got at the grocery store last week (super cheap and very cute, couldn't resist even though it meant getting less food!) he lost one bud (which looked a bit dry at the store to begin with) and the others haven't opened yet, but I'm not too worried.

[KultureShock]

Originally Posted by gardengirl13

So how'd it go? I go against what some people say and re-pot as soon as I get a new orchid. I hate the moss only tightly packed thing they do. Even with the ones from better growers I will still pull it out and look at the roots and put it in the medium I want. If their medium looks good I may add some of that back into the pot (but never the moss!) But for the most part it gets what I want it in. I have lost a few buds from the one phal I got at the grocery store last week (super cheap and very cute, couldn't resist even though it meant getting less food!) he lost one bud (which looked a bit dry at the store to begin with) and the others haven't opened yet, but I'm not too worried.

Heya it went pretty well i think, i repotted it in really well aerated sphagnum mix as it was all i had on hand. I only used about 1/4 the amount that was originally in the pot though so it should be able to breathe much better. When i was taking it out of its old medium all of it's roots looked wonderfully healthy until i got to the center and most of the roots in the center were completely yellow and some had cracks in them none of them were mushy and rotten though so i just left all of the roots that were their attached then gave it a quick basal dip in 50PPM paclobutrazol to enhance the plants resistance to drought, transplant shock and fungal infection.(as well a few other purposes but i wont get into that here its a long subject lol)
So hopefully she won't even notice that her media was changed except for the fact that her roots can breathe better So far all of the flowers are still attached and all the leaves are as perky as ever.

Sorry to hear you lost a couple flower buds but at least your plant is still happy : congrats and thanks for the advice

[KultureShock]

Just another quick update! my little lady would appear to be completely fine! not a single bud has dropped and 2 more actually just opened.

thanks again for the help you guys i truly appreciate it

Best regards,
Kevin Disher