new zygopetalum orchid - care and advice needed

[Cranly]

Hi all,
We stumbled across a shop that sold orchids that were not just Phals. For Christmas, the husband bought me two. I'm super excited about them, but know nothing about them!

I'm going to post about each flower in different threads, since the plants may need different care and advice. I hope that's okay; I just thought that might keep things cleaner...

zygopetalum orchid
It didn't have any identification tags, so if you know it to ID it, i'm curious!
(It's slightly more purple than the picture represents)

Attached are pictures of the buds, leaves, and roots.
note - i haven't re-potted it yet. I wanted to get some opinions before putting it into the wrong soil or mixture.
It looks like, lifting up this moss on it, that it's in a soil? That doesn't really seem right. Also, is this moss here for a reason, like moisture retention, or incidental?

Water -
for waterings, it almost sounds like Phals -- never let it completely dry out, but they don't really need to be constantly "wet"

Light -
It also sounds a bit like a Phal to me with light requirements -- bright but indirect. Correct? Anyone know a recommended footcandle brightness?

Temp -
My place does stay a little on the chilly side. We keep the heat on about 64*F (though the husband will knock it lower if I don't catch him)
Is this okay? or do i need to look into a way to heat the orchid?

Humidity as well, I feel like my place during the winter is a little bit dry, but is there any special humidity requirements here? Is there any way to test humidity in a place?

Any other thoughts on how to keep this healthy?

I really do appreciate it.
I'm excited about branching out from Phals to try something with some other requirements, I just don't want to kill these in the process!

[Cranly]

A few more pictures.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Well I don't have any Zygo's but it looks like it is in soil. I do know it should not be in soil. But of what I know about them sounds like you might have it right. Don't let them go bone dry sort of like an Onc I think. Hopefully some one will experience will pip up.

[My Green Pets]

My Zygo and Onc are both potted in large chunks of bark with sphagnum moss mixed in.

They are watered thoroughly when the moss starts getting a little crispy.

They get some sunlight, but cool temperatures, especially the Zygo. Your cool house will be perfect. Warm temps cause them to slow growth and get spots on their leaves.

[Cranly]

Yeah - so I definitely want to get it out of that soil.
I assume i should do so ASAP and not wait until it's done blooming?

Thanks!

[estación seca]

There is a lot of information on Orchid Board about zygos. I suggest you go to the Forums, then the forum Maxillaria Alliance, and do some searching and reading. Some Zygo species are terrestrial plants that do grow in soil.

[WhiteRabbit]

Some basic care info here
Basic Zygopetalum Culture

I recently also got a Zygo potted in soil-like mix - I presume it's a peat based mix. I'm using a skewer in the media to be sure to not over water, and not drenching the media when I do water.

[Mocres]

I've got two zygos (in fact, divisions of the same plant, which became huge), and they are both planted in bark in clay pots. They live on the balcony, because our winters are not really cold, it doesn't usually go below 3°C. They are always in the shade. I water them once a week in winter, 2-3 times a week in summer, and they are really happy. I use a very diluted fertilizer with each watering, they seem to bloom much better this way.