Newbie with Questions (So What Else is New, Right?)

[DweamGoiL]

Hi all!

I am grateful to have found this board. In the past, I tried caring for a beautiful orchid in a large clay pot. It was a gift for my boss. She let me have it when the flowers fell off and I was thrilled to take it home and care for it. Long story short; way before mainstream Internet and I tried and tried to save it to no avail, and the poor thing had an early death much to my dismay

Recently, a coworker and I were in our local plant district shops to purchase office plants and I saw the cutest baby orchids...who can resist, right? So here I am at it again, and this time, I want to make sure I help the plant in question rather than hurt it.

I would post a picture of her, but being a newbie seems that is a restricted priviledge for now. She looks like a purple and white striped Sogo Yukidian Phal orchid. She is only 7" tall and so very darling. She has 2 healthy stalks and some open and closed blooms. Right now, she is in a soft clear plastic (silicone like) container with sphag moss. The nice thing about the current container is I can see all the way around and under it and stick my finger inside to feel the moistness or lack of to gauge when to water. The roots also seem to kind of separate from the container when they are on the drier side. The condition of the roots looks good from what I can see. I bought some bark mix potting mix for the near future, but from recent research, it seems it is best to wait until she has finished blooming before I go on messing around with the roots.

So when I do decide to repot her...should I first mix in some of the sphag moss in the bark mix to acclimate her to the new substrate? These are so radically different. I have successfully repotted other plants in the past so I am not so squeamish about the process, but am just afraid as to what happens afterwards. I have never used a bark mix before so I do find it a bit intimidating.

I read through the "Phal abuse" thread which was very helpful, but I still feel a bit anxious. I just don't want to goof this up again so any input would be greatly appreciated.

DweaM

[james mickelso]

Hey DweamGoil, Are you sure it's a phal? They are very easy to grow and to repot. What is the office environment like? Sunlight? Flourescent lights? How long will it be in the office? Or did you take it home? If it6 is planted in moss watch the watering. Not too much. Let it finish blooming and then bring it here and we'll guide you through repotting.

[DweamGoiL]

She looks exactly like the Baby Cotton Candy Butterfly Orchid from orchids.com. The office environment is usually in the 70's during the day. In the Summer, RH is between 40-50%. In the Winter, temp is about the same, but RH is usually in the 20+%, but I use a humidifier for my own sinuses...so we will be sharing that.

She sits under fluorescent lights. She will be staying in the office.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I would remove the moss and change it out to bark. Air circulation in an office is usually very poor. It'll need all the air it can get in such an environment.

[james mickelso]

The plant will last awhile but will slowly deteriorate due to the wrong light. Once it starts to fade, take it home and repot it then put it in a south window but well back from it. No direct sunlight. If you have a bright north window that will do good too.

[DweamGoiL]

I have access to an East window which I can sit her in for part of the day. Do you think 3 hrs / day + all day on the weekends by the window + the fluorescent lighting will do?

I am really reluctant to take her home since I have cats and they will tear her to shreds. No plants survive in my house.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I'm not quite understanding what you mean by "3 hrs/day + all day on the weekends + the florescent lighting".

The plant should receive about 10 - 12 hours of light everyday or it will starve to death.