Should I repot my new Phalaenopsis?

[Lady Oscar]

Today I went to an orchid nursery for the first time, just to look around, and thus ended up leaving with a new Phalaenopsis with lovely patterned dark red flowers. (I posted a pic in my post in the introductions section, but it doesn't seem to want me to have a URL here to link it.)

It was the only one they had of that color, so I suspect it had been there for a bit. It has a lot of enthusiastic healthy-looking roots, but I'm worried that the leaves are a little yellow, compared to the other Phals at the nursery, and compared to mine at home.

I've read that they like to be pot-bound, but is this too much? Any other suggestions for making it happy? I currently have it in my living room, which gets light from all directions but North and has good ventilation. It's not right near a window, but will be pretty bright in the afternoons. Would it be happier in the kitchen, which gets less light? (I have another Phal on top of the microwave by the East-facing kitchen window that seems happy, but sadly my microwave isn't big enough for two.)

I apologize for the noob questions - I read the thread about not abusing your Phal, but I'm still anxious about my new baby!

[estación seca]

The leaves look a little wrinkled from drying out. The roots look fine. If the medium is older - crumbly, breaking down into small pieces - now would be a fantastic time to repot into fresh medium. I think the same pot will be fine, if you clean it well.

[Orchid Whisperer]

I agree, the size of the pot you have is fine.

Timing for repotting should be based on the condition of the roots and medium. Your roots look OK, so if the bark is OK, you can wait on repotting. If the bark is breaking down, repot now, or at least soon.

BTW, the green ceramic pot with the large holes would be fine on its own, too. You can leave as-is, or repot just into the ceramic pot.

[cjm3fl]

That's the kind of healthy root system I hope for in my Phal's.

estación seca makes a good point about the slight wrinkle visible in the leaves.
Maybe a small increase in watering for a week, then back to "normal" watering..see if it helps.
I don't believe it's anything "critically" wrong, just something to try to correct.

Not all of my Phal's have the same colored leaves.
Some are really dark green while others range a little closer to a yellow-tinged green (lighter green).

Yellowing can be a (lack of) water issue, too much light, too little light, or just plain old age (mostly the lower ones die off 1st).


If you decided, or need, to re-pot now..I like Orchid Whisperer's idea about using just the green pot shown in your photo.

[theanalyst]

I agree with the others. It looks good, just needs some water. I also wonder if it had a bit too much light, which is another reason the leaves could be on the lighter, yellowish side.

[Lady Oscar]

Thank you so much to everyone for the advice! I haven't repotted due to lack of time (the media looked maybe a little crumbly, but not horrible? I'm not sure), but I will this weekend. I stepped up the watering a little. The final bloom opened and it looks pretty happy, overall.

One concern I have with taking it out of the clear pot and putting it in the decorative one is whether I'm going to have media falling out of the holes onto my carpet, but maybe I can use something too big for that.