I will throw another little tidbit out there, which would encourage you to stick to your plan of growing your Phal in a clear plastic pot...
Scientists have done a study on green roots in plants. What "green roots" translates to are roots that contain chlorophyll pigments, (that was not a typo, there are more than 1 type of chlorophyll pigment), and are therefore able to photosynthesize.
Here's the irony...
They didn't study orchids - the plants they studied are in the "Sunflower family" (Asteraceae) and "Nightshade family" (Solanaceae). The study was about roots kept in the dark vs roots exposed to light and what physiological significances they have on the plant.
Their results was that the physiology of the roots in plants in the family Asteraceae and Solanaceae changed when they were allowed to photosynthesize. Long story short,
it significantly changed in favor of the plant!
If you want to check out the study, here it is:
http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/101/2/363.full.pdf
I know the study is not directly dealing with orchids, but it is dealing with "green roots", and many orchids, (as the article acknowledges), have "green roots". In the end, this study has a tie-in with orchids even if it doesn't directly deal with orchids, it's just that the specific results will not be the same as those of plants in the family Asteraceae or Solanaceae.
This article has particular significance to possibly partially explain why a plant such as the Ghost Orchid (aka
Dendrophylax lindenii eventually evolved into a "leafless" orchid.
---------- Post added at 06:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:40 PM ----------
Like I said prior, if you want to grow the Phal mounted, under your conditions it can work just fine.
A potting media of medium - large grade bark is preferred, but if coconut husk chips are all you have, you can use that too, just use a larger grade and water less.
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