Baldan's Kaliedescope 'Golden Treasure'

[Pete]

Well, my second orchid ever purchase is a Phal. Baldan's Kaliedescope 'Golden Treasure' AM/AOS.

I bought this orchid from Norman's. Despite the negative feedback that I have seen from some regarding orchids.com, I must say that I have nothing but good things to say about this purchase. Fast shipping, well packed and an orchid in excellent condition.




The flower...




Would it be alright if I repot this orchid into my media while it is flowering? And, can I bury the aerial roots without damaging or hurting the orchid?


So, how did I do?

[Judi]

Gorgeous phal, definately a good choice and it looks really good! I have never purchased online, so I don't know about sellers. As for repotting, I have always repotted when I got my phals home. Even when the bark medium looks good, I found that most phals are tightly packed in sphag in the center of the pot with rotting roots in the sphag. Maybe I've been lucky, but I never had a problem repotting flowering phals and I haven't lost blooms or buds. As for the aerial roots, I usually leave them out of the medium, but I know other people who put them in the medium, so I guess you could do either. Just don't forget to soak the phal and the medium when you repot; the phal to loosen the medium and make the roots more pliable, and the medium because new medium dries out more quickly and you don't want to dry out the phal. Good luck!

[Royal]

Looks nice, Pete. My experience with Norman's has been the same - thumbs up.

I'd wait until flowering is done to repot unless the medium is really old and causing problems. I don't do well with sphag, so I repotted mine but I waited. I'm glad I did because the roots looked really good and where packed in there. I'm sure that removing the old media did a little damage.

As for the aerial roots, if they go into the new pot - fine. If they don't want to cooperate - don't sweat it.

[Pete]

Thanks for the comments, folks.

Although I understand this hybrid/cultivar is common as the day is long, there is no doubting the beauty of the flowers.


A couple more pics in natural sunlight....






Note to self: This end table may make an excellent orchid table. Just need to move the lamp and all of the wife's junk...

[trdyl]

That is a great looking plant you go there. As long as the roots look healthy wait until the end of blooming. As for the aerial roots if the grow into the media they are fine. If they are buried during repotting they usually rot.

[tinabee]

I have two Baldan's Kaliedoscope/Golden Treasure phals. They are one of the most common phal. varieties, and one of my favorites. You made a good choice, and your plant looks strong and healthy. If you live in a humid climate, I'd repot it and get rid of any underlying sphag. If you plan on keeping your phal. indoors where it is considerably drier, I would do as suggested and repot it when the last bloom falls.