White fuz in my bark medium!

[bil]

Originally Posted by silken

If you give it an airy enough media and good drain and air holes in the pot, it will dry at a much more even rate. Otherwise the top gets real dry and the bottom stays wet. I like medium bark that has been soaked (I usually microwave mine immersed in water in a pyrex bowl for 5 minutes). I add a bit of moss to help add a bit of moisture. Remember new bark dries out much faster than old bark.

If the bottom roots are always wet, then they will eventually rot. You can also use a bamboo kebab skewer. Insert it into the pot and use it to test how wet or dry it is down in the pot. Pull it out and test and place it back until you test again. Water when the stick is nearly dry. You can mist the top roots when they are silver if you want but don't let water sit in the crown of the leaves.

Well, I still haven't killed one of mine and I deliberately still fill the crown with water every time I water them. I'm also not sure about the whole 'The Roots Must Dry Out' mindset. I can see that if you have a lot of moss in the pot, enough to obstruct the flow of air to the roots, then yes, you need to have that dry out. I find that bark without moss manages to keep moist for quite some time.
Ray, I think mentioned that he doesn't think the roots need to dry out. (disclaimer, there may be some rare orchid out there that does.)

[bil]

Originally Posted by Devogenes

I feel that way too! I just don't want to rock the boat too much as I'm learning. I'm going to see if I can find some wide, slatted clear pots.

If they aren't deep, they don't need slats. If you use 2" bark, it doesn't even matter if they are deep. I was originally using 12 diam pots, that were more than that deep. I never had any problems, except the depth made the pots intrusive and hard to house. I kept the width and cut the depth.

Here's an example.

[bil]

The shallow version was a little too shallow, and the roots started to climb out. The holes are not for ventilation. Those pots are both made from the tops of 35 diam cm pots put on the bottoms of 40 cm pots. The holes are made with a heated rod and that welds the two parts together.

[silken]

There are always many ways to grow the same orchid successfully. A lot depends on the individual grower and also the environment. For me, I could only have 1/2 the plants I have if I used foot wide containers for every plant when it could fit in a 4 or 5 inch pot. I just wouldn't have the space.

The main reason that I know of for suggesting keeping things somewhat pot bound, is to prevent over-watering, which is likely the foremost cause of orchid death. I never leave my Phals to completely dry out, although if left for a few days like that and the plant is healthy, no harm would come to it. But in the wild they grow on trees where their roots attach to the tree. They are subject to tropical rains, and then balmy breezes where the roots likely get fairly dry before the next rain. The humidity is likely rather high tho.

What works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. That's the beauty of this forum, where a person can ask for help, get a lot of advice and take away what they want from it to apply to their own growing practices.

[bil]

Originally Posted by silken

There are always many ways to grow the same orchid successfully. A lot depends on the individual grower and also the environment. For me, I could only have 1/2 the plants I have if I used foot wide containers for every plant when it could fit in a 4 or 5 inch pot. I just wouldn't have the space.

The main reason that I know of for suggesting keeping things somewhat pot bound, is to prevent over-watering, which is likely the foremost cause of orchid death. I never leave my Phals to completely dry out, although if left for a few days like that and the plant is healthy, no harm would come to it. But in the wild they grow on trees where their roots attach to the tree. They are subject to tropical rains, and then balmy breezes where the roots likely get fairly dry before the next rain. The humidity is likely rather high tho.

What works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. That's the beauty of this forum, where a person can ask for help, get a lot of advice and take away what they want from it to apply to their own growing practices.

I quite agree Size of pot can be a killer. If I were more restricted I'd stick to minature Phals, but even they have quite a surprising amount of roots, I'm finding.

As to overwatering, I'd worry that was more likely, not less in a small pot. With a phal in moss, or a high moss mix, in a small pot, isn't there a danger that the roots will suffocate before it dries out enough to breathe?

[silken]

Originally Posted by bil

I quite agree Size of pot can be a killer. If I were more restricted I'd stick to minature Phals, but even they have quite a surprising amount of roots, I'm finding.

As to overwatering, I'd worry that was more likely, not less in a small pot. With a phal in moss, or a high moss mix, in a small pot, isn't there a danger that the roots will suffocate before it dries out enough to breathe?

I don't like just moss, or I would pack it very loosely. I like some bark to keep it open. If the pot is not a lot larger than the healthy root ball, then the roots will take up the moisture quite quickly whereas if it is a big pot full of wet media and only a few roots compared to that, then the media will stay wet for too long. This will encourage damp rotting conditions for the roots.

[bil]

Originally Posted by silken

I don't like just moss, or I would pack it very loosely. I like some bark to keep it open. If the pot is not a lot larger than the healthy root ball, then the roots will take up the moisture quite quickly whereas if it is a big pot full of wet media and only a few roots compared to that, then the media will stay wet for too long. This will encourage damp rotting conditions for the roots.

I don''t find the media stays wet. Damp, yes. I find that after a small while in those pots, the roots grow well.

[Orchid Whisperer]

I would definitely recommend repotting. Remove all the old medium, wash the roots off (clean water is fine - nothing extra is needed). Re-pot in fresh, coarse chunky medium, such as bark or bark & charcoal.

The choice of a pot should depend on your growing conditions and how you tend to care for your plants. If you tend to water less, or your conditions/climate are on the dry side, a plastic pot may be a good choice; not so good if you tend to water a lot, though there are some that like to be able to see ther roots before they water. Bil's wide but shallow pot makes sense, but I feel it is not too different from selecting a pot with height roughly equal to diameter, just big enough to fit the roots. I much prefer terracotta pots for Phals, they dry faster, and chances of getting root rot are low.

Whatever pot you choose, wait a couple days after repotting before watering (allows any damage to the roots to heal a bit before getting wet). Water when your Phal is nearly dry; water thoroughly at the sink, drain, don't water again until nearly dry again.

---------- Post added at 09:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:19 PM ----------

Originally Posted by bil

If they aren't deep, they don't need slats. If you use 2" bark, it doesn't even matter if they are deep. I was originally using 12 diam pots, that were more than that deep. I never had any problems, except the depth made the pots intrusive and hard to house. I kept the width and cut the depth.

Here's an example.

Bil - they way you are growing looks good, and is practical for you, but from a space standpoint, I agree with Silken - it would take up way too much space for me at times when I need to grow indoors.

I recently had a nice white Phal bloom for me, about the same size as yours (assuming for scale your 12 diam = 12 inches?). Mine was potted 'tight' in a 10 cm diameter terracotta pot with 1-inch bark. I can assure you, the roots are not suffocating. There are abundant roots growing all inside and on the outside of the pot - a very happy plant.