My new addition via online purchase... - Orchid Board

tsun1108 · #1 02-18-2013, 04:03 PM

I have always wanted a mini phal, although not quite sure why havn't been able to find any of them in the shops (garden centre, home depot, even florists!)

After doing some research, decided I will get myself a Phal Queen Beer (Red Sky) and I bought it online from an orchid nursery (most of the orchid nurseries near where I live are at least 2+ hours drive, and most of them only do wholesale - I don't really need 200+ plants).

The plant size I chose is meant to be 12 months old near flowering which arrived my door stop today. It's a tiny little plant (which is what I expected being a miniature phal) with new leaf and nubbins at base - so far so good

BUT in a huge 5' pot!!

I pulled it out and it looks like the root mass is not even filling 1/3 of the pot (if I am correct from reading all these OB post, this is not ideal).

The bark even had bugs in it ewwwwwww......

The photo shows the roots, no rot as far as I can tell, the yellow one still feels firm so I didn't cut it. Interestingly, there are few bigger and fatter ones?

This is my contingency plan: after cleaning it and dipping it in some 5% hydrogen peroxide, I re-pot it in a plastic bottle which I turned into a clear pot drilling quite a bit of holes both bottom and side.

Hope whatever I am doing is correct and it will reward me with some flowers.

Bud · #2 02-18-2013, 04:15 PM

You have a happy healthy plant....post pictures of the flowers in the future....
trust your instincts, you are doing something right

mattryan · #3 02-18-2013, 04:16 PM

Looks really good! The re-potting is very good also. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later for flowers. Goodluck!

Cheryl

cbuchman · #4 02-18-2013, 04:18 PM

Indeed - a five inch pot is wayyyyy too big for this plant. I would contact the vendor and complain about the bugs and the over-potting! There is no excuse for either.

I love your bottle recycling! In general, pot in the smallest pot that the root mass will fit in. Pot-bound is good. Your clear "pot" may even be too big. So keep an eye on and make sure that it does stay too wet.

Good luck!

Vanda lover · #5 02-18-2013, 04:41 PM

That looks good. When I re potted my first mini phal, the only clear container I could find that was small enough is a clear plastic drink cup. It was hard to put the holes in without breaking it. Now that it's ready for something larger, I just may use your idea.

tsun1108 · #6 02-18-2013, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbuchman

Indeed - a five inch pot is wayyyyy too big for this plant. I would contact the vendor and complain about the bugs and the over-potting! There is no excuse for either.

I love your bottle recycling! In general, pot in the smallest pot that the root mass will fit in. Pot-bound is good. Your clear "pot" may even be too big. So keep an eye on and make sure that it does stay too wet.

Good luck!

Thanks for the reassurance, everyone!!

I picked this size plastic bottle, because the roots wasn't giving in even after soaking the whole root for 5-10 minutes and didn't want to break it by bending it too much.

I shall keep a closer eye on this tiny thing

and make sure it's not being over watered

---------- Post added at 11:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:11 AM ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vanda lover

That looks good. When I re potted my first mini phal, the only clear container I could find that was small enough is a clear plastic drink cup. It was hard to put the holes in without breaking it. Now that it's ready for something larger, I just may use your idea.

The bottom of the drinking bottle which actually had a raised centre cone like the professional ones

I used the heat probe thing that my husband uses to melt copper wires to drill holes. Just plug it into power and then it turns really hot - more than enough to melt the plastic. Or else heated screwer over fire also work too!

tsun1108 · #7 02-27-2013, 02:30 AM

So, a week after repotting. This little orchid is not doing very well.

First of all, the top little root nub stopped growing and turned a little yellow.

And the roots inside the pot appeared more yellowed, and when I checked today, there were mould (white one) at the end of one root, and some green one starting on the bark.

The thing is I only watered it twice since repotting, and always make sure it's totally drained to dry and only re-watered when there is no more condensation.

So I quickly soak it in 3% hydrogen peroxide.

Is there anything I have done wrong?

Wild Orchid · #8 02-27-2013, 02:52 AM

Hello,
I have just a few thoughts to share.

As others already mentioned, even this neat container that you've just created might be still a bit too big for the roots. Are you sure that when you're watering the inside and the bottom layer is almost dry??

One further way to decrease the moisture is to take some media out so that the roots are getting more of air.

I find that bark and sponge rock sometimes hold too much moisture, especially in the winter. So I recently converted to the coconut fibers from the pet store and those seem to dry quicker (Note, it requires thorough soaking and changing water for at least 4-5 days.)

As I mentioned in the recent post, in my experience, Phals roots always seem to sulk after repotting. So the only way to combat this is to reduce moisture (for instance, you could use a fine spray bottle instead of a watercan), increase time between waterings and/or place the plant into a warmer/lighter location (closer to the window, under the lamp, etc.)

You could also try using Physan 20 for fighting the mold
Physan 20 Orchids

Yours still looks really healthy, don't give up! It might take up to a few weeks for a Phal to adjust.

Lilia

tsun1108 · #9 02-27-2013, 04:03 AM

Should I change the medium? I have remove some bark to make sure that there are enough air around the roots?

james mickelso · #10 02-27-2013, 07:30 AM

I'm not a fan of hydrogen peroxide. This phal was growing just fine when it arrived, pot and all. It is still summer where you are I think so that shouldn't be a problem. I would stop watering it for nowe. just water when it is very light weight and then just run water through it quickly. I don't think the pot is too small and there are numerous holes in it so that should dry it very well. Sometimes we mess with things thatshould be left alone. The bugs didn't look like they damaged the roots or leaves. A quick spray of a household bug spray could have done the trick. In my opinion just leave it be for now and watch it. Water it when lightweight.