I was able to take the orchid out of the decorative pot that has one large hole at the bottom and examined the roots. They appear mostly healthy to my novice eyes.

It also appears that the supermarket inner pot has decent drainage.

Both observations can be verified with the attached photos to this post. Let me know if I am wrong in my observations.

Also, for darker winter months in New York, will one of these cheaper lights from Amazon help the Orchids? Which would be a better choice to use for orchids?


Led Plant Grow Lights 5W, ANNT Succulent Light Clip Desk Plant Growing Lamp Flexible Gooseneck Light Spring Clamp for Indoor Plant, Home, Garden, Greenhouse Amazon.com : Led Plant Grow Lights 5W, ANNT Succulent Light Clip Desk Plant Growing Lamp Flexible Gooseneck Light Spring Clamp for Indoor Plant, Home, Garden, Greenhouse : Patio, Lawn & Garden


LED Plant growth lights , grow Lamp 5W 3 Level Dimmable Full Spectrum Grow Light for indoor Plants with US Adapter Amazon.com : LED Plant growth lights, grow Lamp 5W 3 Level Dimmable Full Spectrum Grow Light for indoor Plants with US Adapter : Patio, Lawn & Garden

The plant and roots look good. I can't see the medium well enough to tell how it is.

Those lights would probably be OK for a single low-light plant like a Phal. I didn't see enough information in the listings to tell how good they are. Almost nobody would use a dimmer on a plant light. People would almost always run them at the brightest setting.

I got a Kitclan 9W LED Plant Grow Light from Amazon..it worked pretty well and is not purple.
Please check your media, unlike ES, I think it looks mushy.

Thanks for the quick replies. I had just finished watering the plant in the sink so it looks a bit more mushy.

I took a closer photo focusing on the medium and attached it to this post. The red sticks are the plant fertilizer sticks.

I may consider swapping it out after the bloom since I heard that the flowers would fall out if I did a sudden swap.