New addition! "Pure Silk" Phalaenopsis

[tsun1108]

By pure luck I obtained this young "Pure Silk" phalaenopsis - my first non-NoID! Looks like the supplier is Floricultura

Looks like a young plant with its first blooming (I say this because I didn't see any cut flower spike).

Potted in bark medium in clear pot which looks ok but the tag did say it was last potted July 2011. Very healthy green roots (although couple of the roots already growing out from the hole at the bottom).

And the price is so unbelievably good at NZ$15 (that's like $12 US dollars).

What's the best way not to damage the root during repotting, like when it's already poking out of the hole in an angle, what can you do before hand so they can be gently pulled out?

[gardengirl13]

Ooo pretty!!!

For re-potting soak the plant well, get everything saturated and let it sit a couple minutes to make sure everything got a little "softer". Then just carefully pull it out. you will break off some roots in this process, but don't worry too much about that, it happens ever time. Then just carefully pull all the moss/bark etc out of the roots and trim anything rotted. Then re-pot. When pulling it out of the pot just go kind of slow and push the root back into the hole as you go.

[Paul Mc]

The easiest two things to do would be to soak the roots well to get them a bit more flexible. Unfortunately, if roots are growing through the drain holes then either you will need to sacrifice that root (cut it off) or cut through the pot to release it.

Great find by the way!!!

[Paul Mc]

I see orchidgirl posted at the same time!

She is correct that you may be able to pull the root gently back through, but I know some of my roots seem to get thicker when just through the drain hole making that impossible. Sacrificing one or two roots, as long as there is a wealthy mass otherwise, shouldn't make a big difference though.

[tsun1108]

Thought I will update what had happened to this beauty. After the flowers lasting for 2 months they eventually all withered so I cut the spike off and repotted in bark. Great root mass and didn't require any trimming etc.

And guess what? Not only it grows a new leaf, and now also producing a root & spike!!!!

Should I continue with fertilising? I mean we are slowly heading into winter.....

[Paul Mc]

Wonderful, that's great news. Phals tend to like consistent fertilizer year round, perhaps a tad lighter in the winter if much at all. Congrats!