Christmas in April!!

[birdybrain]

I attended my first Memphis Orchid Society meeting yesterday and really enjoyed it! But the best part was all the goodies I came home with

I got a cochleata from Peter Lin of Diamond Orchids to give my mom on Mother's Day. It's in wonderful shape, absolutely beautiful.

An MOS member gave me a gigantic blooming keiki (25" spike tip to spike tip!) from his phal lueddamanniana. The more orchids I'm exposed to the more I adore the species phals!

And Melissa (shadytrake) brought me 6 (yes, 6!) phal crestwood mahogany keikis. I was overwhelmed! Here's her recent post with pictures of the beautiful blooms: Phal Crestwood Mahogany
Thanks, Melissa!

I will attach pics of all three and I have some questions if someone might be willing to help me out with advice.
1) am I correct that the cochleata could use a repotting? It's definitely reached the edge of its pot. Is there a certain time that's best for repotting these guys? I know they can be in bloom for many months.
2) oh the luedemanniana! I can't decide if I want to go with s/h or BetterGro phal mix or bark on this one. The previous owner grows in sphag. About half of the roots have green tips. Any opinions on either of these media or any others for this particular orchid? Also with the position of the spikes, there's no way I can get the base of this guy into the potting media without the beginning of the spikes being in the media. Any suggestions there?
3) as you can see 3 of the phal crestwood mahogany keikis are tiny. Do I need to do anything differently for those guys or treat them the same as the bigger ones?

A little info on my growing situation: currently a windowsill grower, orchids will go outside for the summer, then in the fall I'll switch to shelves with lights to help deal with my quickly expanding collection. Warm temps, currently 75-80 F day and 65-70 F night with RH of 40-60%. I've been watering twice a week, but have decided that's probably too often & I'm experimenting with just once per week.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I'd have to agree that the more orchids you're aware of, the greater the appreciation.

I'm aware of why species Phals are not popular, and I think they get a bad rap. The reputation of species orchids being more difficult to grow is unfounded for the most part.

I actually think many Phal species are far hardier than many of the Phal hybrids out there.

They deserve a place in every Phal lover's collection.

[The Orchid Boy]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

I'd have to agree that the more orchids you're aware of, the greater the appreciation.

I'm aware of why species Phals are not popular, and I think they get a bad rap. The reputation of species orchids being more difficult to grow is unfounded for the most part.

I actually think many Phal species are far hardier than many of the Phal hybrids out there.

They deserve a place in every Phal lover's collection.

I agree that species orchids get a bad reputation for being hard to grow. I was scared to try species at first, now I know that most species are easy and species are what I mainly collect now. They have to survive in the wild, so they've got to be tough.