Plant was bought in dormant(flowering) stage, but it's summer where I am

[Marbles321]

Hi I have had my plant for about a month now, and it was bought in the dormant (flowering) stage. However, I am located in the Northern California, Sacramento Valley, where it is beginning to become super hot and officially summer. I have read that my Novice Phalaenopsis should be in it's resting stage (growing new leaves, and roots), as it does in it's summer season. I just checked the plant's roots today, which I hadn't known I should've done right when I got it, and cut of a bunch of black dead roots, but there is definitely still some healthy root. Should I repot? or just leave it alone and maybe it will go into a resting stage? Super lost and any information that will save my plant is needed and appreciated!!

[estación seca]

They can be made to bloom at any time by controlling temperatures in the grower's greenhouse.

Most Phals are sold in sphagnum moss. Most beginners don't do well with Phals in moss because it's so easy to rot the roots.

A lot of people use large chunks of something for potting medium, like bark, hydroponics clay balls or lava cinders. The idea is to water the plant thoroughly, then let it dry before watering again. You can read more advice for beginners about growing Phals here on Orchid Board:

The Phal abuse ends here.

and you can read about using a wooden cooking skewer to check the moistness in the pot here:

Using skewers to determine when to water

[Orchid Whisperer]

Phalaenopsis do not really have a dormant stage. They grow (slowly) pretty much all the time.

I agree with estacion seca that your plant should be repotted, as soon as possible, getting rid of the moss and replacing it with bark. It can be repotted while in bloom, this will not hurt the flowers or the plant. Go to a big home improvement store like Lowes or Home Depot, they will sell orchid bark.

The pot you grow your orchid in must have good drainage holes in the bottom. You can repot into either a clay (terracotta) pot like the one you have, if it has drainage holes, or a clear or opaque plastic pot (again, with drainage holes). Sometimes orchids are sold with 2 pots, an inner pot with drainage holes and an outer one with no holes. Discard the outer pot, or use it for something harmless, like a pencil holder.

When you repot, remove dead roots, which will be soft and mushy, or papery. The dead roots will often be black or dark brown. There a hundreds of videos on YouTube about repotting Phalaenopsis.

When you are finished repotting, leave the plant in the new dry bark for a couple days before you water it. This will allow any injured roots some time to heal. The dry wait will not harm your plant.

When you water, do so thoroughly, running a lot of water through the bark. Allow the bark to become nearly dry before watering again. Usually this means watering once or twice a week in warm humid climates, less often if cool, more often if hot or arid.

To get them to rebloom, Phalaenopsis need a cool down period of a few weeks where the overall temperature drops about 10 degrees F. My plants get this in the fall as seasons change. Keep your plant above 50 F though; Phalaenopsis don't tolerate cold very well.

Good luck!

[Marbles321]

Thanks so much for all the info guys!!! I really apprieciate it! I repotted my novice Phalaenopsis yesterday and cut out all the dead roots, luckily there was actually a lot of good root left! I watched a youtube video. Not sure when to water it after repotting though... Any suggestions?

[estación seca]

Water when all the medium is dry. The wooden skewer helps you figure this out. When you have more experience you can go by how much the pot weighs dry and wet.

You can't go by the calendar because there are so many factors involved: relative humidity, temperature, air circulation, how fast the plant is growing.

[katrina]

FWIW - there are some summer blooming phals. A lot of them, actually. And the summer bloomers don't need a cool down but, rather, the bloom cycle is triggered by the warming temps and brighter/longer light. Just throwing that out there because, even w/phals, one size does not fit all.