Potting medium question for unstable Phal

[littleone]

I got a Phal a while ago and tried to repot it but it is very unstable - leaning off to one side and looks like it's almost falling out. However it's been a while and it just started growing a new small leaf from the center so it's still growing. When I potted it I used the orchid mix I bought from home depot that is mostly bark looking - I saw the repotting video in the sticky but I'm not sure if that would work better for my Phal or if changing it now will do it harm?

Would it be ok to just try and repot it in the same stuff?

I have a few pictures in my albums of the phal. there are a few droopy leaves on the side and then you can see roots sticking out on one side. It's kind of hard to tell that it is leaning in the picture but it always looks like it's about to fall out!

[Dante1709]

It's natural to phals to lean to one side a bit, but if it feels as if it might fall out, I'd consider repotting. I don't see why repotting wouldn't hurt, especially if there are any droopy leaves. Use a stake to support the orchids and try to pot it torwards the center.

[Optimist]

The more you mess with it, the more likely you are to set it back. All you need to do is tie it in. They sell pot clips at places like repot me. I've used all kinds of tie downs. Twine, fishing line, wire. It is only temporary. It is like a mount on wood, but it is in bark instead. The roots will grow and cling tightly to their new home. It takes several months. Give it some time.

[james mickelso]

Yes, give it time. HD sells a florist tape which is green stretchable plastic. Tie it into the pot with that. You can also take the phal out of the pot, run the tape up through the air hole, put a small cross bar across the bottom of the air hole on the outside bottom of the pot, and run it up through the pot and tie the phal in the pot.

[littleone]

Thanks for all the suggestions I will try to tie it down so it feels more secure then. Before the flowers were on the the stake but now that the long stems are gone it started to lean since it wasn't being supported.

I will tie it down instead of repotting it for now

[RosieC]

Agreed, I would try and do something to stabilise it (such as tying it down) but not repot it. As new roots grow they will grip the new medium and help stabilise it again.

[Optimist]

Finding a place for it that does not require moving the pot is also preferable. Until the roots have dug in and are gripping media (like an ivy) it shouldn't be moved a lot. This was one of my major mistakes when I started. Id repot, then proceed to destroy any roots by jostling the plant, touching them, or repotting again. Those root tips can be damaged easily and when they are the plant will just abandon them and start a new roots. If you'll notice phals have only about four roots per leaf layer, so if you mess up the roots, there have very few chances to make more roots. Other plants that put out more roots still behave the same way, but there are more chances of getting new roots.