Not sure if my phal is drying out too fast

[OhioGranny]

Hi, I'm new to orchids and new to this forum. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I replanted my new Phalaenopsis orchid (bought it one month ago) into a mix of fir bark, coarse perlite and hardwood charcoal. Now it seems to be drying out too quickly and I am wondering if I need to add a little sphagnum moss to the pot and if so, how much? I watch the roots to determine when to water and it seems the roots turn grey/silver a couple of days after watering. The flowers are all wilting and I'm not sure if it's from replanting or drying out too fast. I don't think the flowers have reached their life cycle yet and there is one bud that has not opened. I have it in a clear 5" pot with air holes in the bottom and sides. I put that pot in a decorative pot and there is about 1" space between the two pots so I believe it's getting enough air circulation. I've fed it once so far with an orchid fertilizer. I water by soaking for 30 minutes making sure not to get any water into the crown or spaces between the leaves. It gets indirect light across the room from my west facing window. What am I doing wrong???

I took these pics right after I watered it.

[Dollythehun]

:

[Ray]

Repotting a plant can be a bit traumatic to the plant, and moving it to a drier mix than it had been in simply means you need to water it more.

That looks to be a fairly coarse mix with lots of air space, so I dare say you probably cannot overwater it at this point.

[OhioGranny]

Thanks Ray. Do you think I should add some sphagnum moss? I've read so many pros and cons about it I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not? Also, do the roots at the top (not air roots) need to be covered with the medium?

[Dollythehun]

Originally Posted by OhioGranny

Thanks Ray. Do you think I should add some sphagnum moss? I've read so many pros and cons about it I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not? Also, do the roots at the top (not air roots) need to be covered with the medium?

I avoided moss like the plague. But then I got plants from a dealer that seemed to thrive in a moss mix, such as Repot me.com sells. I just started switching over to it and my plants literally perked up immediately. You'll just have to be more careful watering.

Chop some up and add it, you won't hurt anything with that coarse bark to create air space. IMHO.

[OhioGranny]

Ok, I may do that and test it out. I lost my first phal last year to root rot so now I'm trying to learn and not repeat old mistakes. Thanks!

[Mountaineer370]

First, welcome to the Orchid Board!

I have my phals potted in medium bark, period, in clear, slotted pots similar to yours. We all seem to have different preferences, depending on what works best in our particular conditions. I grow next to a windowsill, and the humidity in my house is low, especially in the winter. Yes, they do dry out quickly, but since I don't have a ton of plants, and I enjoy putzing around with them, I simply water more often. Around twice a week seems to be working, but I judge by pot weight, appearance of the roots, and a bamboo skewer in the pot.

About this: "It gets indirect light across the room from my west facing window." Others will chime in, but I'm wondering if it's getting enough light. It would depend on how far across the room it actually is and whether the light from the window is obstructed by awnings, trees, and the like.

This is a great thread for beginners with phals:

The Phal abuse ends here.

[OhioGranny]

Thanks for the welcome Mountaineer370! I'm enjoying what I'm learning already reading the forum.

My phal is 11 ft from the west facing window (just measured it). There is an open porch right outside the window but the afternoon sun still comes in very strong. I have a big plant stand against one of two windows in the room and have to alter the blinds where the plant stand is after 2PM or the plants will burn. The blinds of the window across from the orchid is open all the time so full sun shines in but no direct light reaches the orchid. Should I move it closer? Also the ceiling light is always on during the day since I like the room bright.

The humidity in the room is moderate and in the winter I use a humidifier when needed. I have a hygrometer in the room. I keep the windows open as much as I can.

I enjoy putzing with my plants too so watering my phal more often will work. I'm just concerned about root rot. My first orchid was also solely in bark but at the time I didn't know about keeping water out of the crown and between the leaves so I watered/soaked it wrong which caused it's demise. I love orchids so want to do it right this time from the beginning before I add more. I'm really glad I found this board!

[charlesf6]

I have honestly been getting 12-14 days between watering my Phals. only in all med. bark. coming out of winter/spring.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

Everything you've done looks just great. Sometimes plants drop flowers when the conditions in the new place are very different from the old place.

You can use a wooden cooking skewer to check the dryness inside the medium, just like testing a cake:
Using skewers to determine when to water