Phalaenopsis received- do I need to repot?

[misssara]

Hello!:
My exboyfriend (who I'm still in love with) just sent me a gorgeous phal for my new apartment. So unexpected.. what is going on... anyways...

It's very pretty, it's a double it seems. I want to know if it needs to be repotted or not. It seems like it's outgrown its container...
I've read into where it needs to be placed and how it likes to have a breeze, but I'm also confused on watering it. I'm also not sure of the potting medium it is in. Perhaps I should call the flower shop and ask?

I REALLY want this thing to live a long time and start me as an orchid collector. I need help lol, I'm not good with plants


Edit: I want to post pictures, but it wont let me

[RandomGemini]

It's definitely planted in moss. The leaves look to be in great shape. It has two spikes, but it's not two plants. Those dead looking branchy things in the background look to be a decorative touch added by the florist, as does the white mossy stuff at the top of the pot.

Orchids can grow multiple spikes, my two larger phals (yours is also a phal) both have two spikes each.

As far as info on your new phal start here and read through King of Orchid Growing's posts. Take your time. It's a LOT of info to go through!

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ends-here.html

[Bud]

Yes you need to repot on the next bigger size pot. Maybe a six inches diameter pot ( looking at your picture you have a 5 inches size pot). The plant is in sphagnum moss and Spanish moss on top to moisten the aerial roots. You can use Phalaenopsis media mix or maintain it on fresh sphagnum moss.
Look at videos on You Tube on how to repot Phalaenopsis.
Water the plant as needed. It also depends on the media mix you use, your grow zone, the humidity percentage in the environment the plant is....some water every other day ....others every week....it will depend on the need of the plant....you have to trust your instincts on this and also research and follow the Phalaenopsis Baker culture.

[Judi]

Welcome to OB and congratulations on getting this beautiful orchid! Looks like you have a lot of good roots, and a two flower spikes, so if it was my orchid, I'd wait to re-pot until it is finished flowering--just because I would be afraid of breaking the spikes. Not sure, but looks like it may be planted in moss. I would remove the ornamental dry moss from the top and I would check to make sure there are a lot of drainage holes in the pot--especially if it is planted in moss; I would also gently pull out some of the moss if it looks tightly packed. The most important thing is to make sure the roots get air and are not kept constantly wet or they may rot and you may lose your orchid. How often you water depends on your environment. I don't grow in moss so I can't really help you there but I'm sure someone else will chime in.

Good luck!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Spanish moss is not a true moss. It is a bromeliad which goes by the scientific name of Tillandsia usneoides.

An example of a bromeliad is the pineapple.

Bromeliads are flowering plants, not mosses. Mosses don't produce any kind of flowers at all.

Here's a little tidbit many people don't even think about with pineapples...

The whole pineapple fruit you see in the market comes complete with a new plant. The leaves on top of the yellow fleshy goodness we eat, that's a new pineapple plant you can cut off the fruit and grow for fun. Pineapples don't come from trees people.

I recommend growing the "Spanish Moss" separately from the orchid.

Yes, you heard me right, grow the "Spanish Moss" separately, as in that clump of Tillandsia usneoides is still very much alive.

Tillandsia usneoides needs fairly high humidity to do well. They also like some air movement, (doesn't have to be too heavy, but a nominal breeze is fine).

Moderately bright indirect light for the Tillandsia usneoides.

They grow in intermediate to warm temperatures.

Water 1 - 2 times a week.

The flowers are tiny and are yellow-green.

These do not bloom very easily, nor do they bloom frequently in cultivation. But they have cute, fuzzy, grey-green tufts of soft foliage.

This link will show you what the flowers for Tillandsia usneoides look like:

http://fcbs.org/images/Tillandsia/t_usneoides2_mja.jpg



For the Phalaenopsis, if it is grown in Sphagnum moss, (Sphagnum is the genus name of the moss, and yes, they are considered to be true mosses), then remove the orchid from the pot and change the media out to large pieces of fir bark.

This is what live Sphagnum moss looks like:

File:Sphagnum moss in May 2010.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

Dried and cured Sphagnum moss looks like so:

http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j0...agnum-Moss.jpg

If it is already planted in bark, just leave it alone until you see that the bark is starting to deteriorate. How you can tell if the bark is deteriorating is when you start seeing little particles of decomposing wood draining out of the pot pretty regularly.

For basic Phal tips, go to: http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ends-here.html


Btw, before I started growing orchids, I was growing bromeliads in the genus Tillandsia.

[RosieC]

Philip is right, you have Spanish Moss (live) on the top, but I think I can see Sphagnum moss (dead) inside the pot.

I would agree with Philip, grow the Spanish Moss separately. I just hang it and mist it with rain water regularly. My clump from years ago is now three large clumps. I actually hang them around my mounted orchids in the greenhouse as they help with humidity.

I would repot the orchid because I don't get on with Sphagnum moss with Phals, because it looks like you have masses of roots, and because usually when you buy them in moss it's too tightly packed.

[misssara]

Thank you all for your replies!!

So should I repot it now or later?

How do I know when to water it? It seems to vary so much... does it need to be misted?
Should I put rocks underneath the pot (in that large ceramic pot) with a bit of water in the bottom?
I don't get a lot of light in my apartment, how do I know if it needs more light?




Sorry if I sound annoying, I just really want this plant to have a happy life and not screw it up!

I tried to cut some more holes in the pot and pull out some moss. I draped that spanish moss over the decorative branch.

[RandomGemini]

Your orchid needs to be watered when the roots look like this:



Your orchid's roots are hydrated and happy when they look like this:



Some people like to wait until the blooms drop to repot. Some people, just go ahead and repot while it's in bloom. Repotting while it's in bloom does run the risk that you will shock the plant a bit and it will drop a few of its blooms. I have repotted orchids in bloom and lost a couple of flowers, but otherwise, the plant was fine. I did this on plants that did not have a lot of root damage.

If your orchid has a lot of root damage, that may be another matter. I don't think yours does from the photos you posted, but you never know until you get in there and look at the roots, especially if it's been potted in moss and has sat in the moss for a long time, since you just got it, there's really no way to know how long it's been sitting in that moss.

I just rescued an orchid yesterday that was potted in moss and the roots looked great on the outside and then when I went to loosen the moss so I could wait to repot it until after the blooms had died, I found a lot of rotted roots on the inside, so I had to perform surgery on it.

[misssara]

Thanks for those pictures, extremely helpful.

I really hope the roots are okay on the inside! That's definitely my worst nightmare that when I go to repot it's a huge rotted mess. I cut more holes in the bottom and pulled out a lot of moss, it's really wet, so that worries me.

[Island Girl]

I agree with what has been said. Here is a link to a repotting tutorial for Phals, it even shows you pictures Orchid Repotting Clinic - Phalaenopsis

And, Welcome to the OB! If you have anymore questions, don't be afraid to ask, everyone here is very nice, and we all love to help! Hope you stick around, and find more orchids that you like! Just to warn you, they can be addicting! ...but in a good way