blooming flower is dying

[bonsai1504]

Originally Posted by fieldsofgold

The sphag is really compacted and there are some dead roots on the bottom due to my over-watering when I first got it (it's been a month now) I wanted to change the medium but when I went to an orchid store the lady told me to wait till the season ends with all the flowers gone.

I live in Houston, Texas, and it grows indoors on my nightstand facing West.

I re-pot all of my plants as soon as i get them so they are all in the same potting material to make watering easier. I do this blooms or no-blooms and havent lost very many blooms at all.

[Amanda L]

Welcome to the Orchid Board. I totally agree that you need to re-pot and very soon. Every Phal that I have gotten has the sphag too compacted around the roots. I personally use Coarse Fir bark mixed with Horticulture Charcoal. I ordered mine from CalWest Tropical. I mix 3 parts bark to 1 part charcoal. This mix works for me, because I too have a heavy watering hand. Clear pots are wonderful for helping you know when it's time to water and for keeping an eye on the health of your roots. As for mixes at Home Depot or other Big Box stores, I have been unable to find any orchid mix at all. That's not to say they don't have it where you are though. As for blooms, you shouldn't lose any if you are careful when re-potting. Good Luck and ask all the questions you need to! We are all here for the same reasons!

[justatypn]

You've got some great information and appears to be plotted for you, enjoy your orchid while in bloom. Phalaenopsis are forgiving...enjoy

[Gwenchanter]

I use the home depot orchid mix and my phals seem to like it very much right out of the bag. I do mix it with other things sometimes depending on the plant but I have also used it straight with good results.

The home depot near me actually sells 3 different orchid mixes, Orchid Special, Phalaenopsis Mix, and Dendrobium Mix. I think I actually like the den mix the best because it has slightly less bark in it and more inorganic things like perlite, chunks of ceramic and lava rock, which is good because I grow outdoors in Miami and in the summer it will often rain everyday and things stay wet for a very long time. The Phal mix stays wet the longest, the orchid special slightly less and then the den mix the shortest, but it's not a huge difference by any means and any of the three should be just fine for a phal as long as you water accordingly.

What I don't recommend is the spag that home depot sells. It's of poor quality and I find it shreds and breaks down easily and is full of sticks and sometimes rocks, even though it's sold as "premium" spag.

Just make sure you soak or at least rinse the bark before you use it.