Repotting my Phal Amabilis

[ladyslipper]

I have just bought the amabilis & the grower told me that I should repot it by next year or risk losing it. It is currently in spag moss but when I repot I am going for med bark because I like the drainage better. I am also changing the plastic pot to a plastic orchid pot for the drainage benefits. What I am writing about is help for the repotting. I am scared I am going to kill this plant when I repot it. The grower told me I don't need to increase the pot size but need to refresh the medium as it hasn't been repotted in about 2 yrs. The plant looks like it is trying to escape the pot so when I do repot, do I put some bark in the bottom of the pot then (sort of) push the plant back in the pot then fill whatever space is left over with the bark? Should I gather the roots or sit the plant in the pot & let the roots go where they wanto to. How about any fertilizers (all plants get a weak fertilizer at the beginning of the month)? Any information you can give will be greatly appreciated!
Regards, Mary

[dennis]

you can soak the roots in warm water for 1/2 hour to soften them up before repotting. understand that these roots being have not been in a media may rot from the new enviroment water carefully. or you can leave these roots on the outside and i usally just mist mine once a day. once you repot you can gently push the media into the empty spaces to fill the voids i also use a gentle tapping the pot down on the counter to help fill the spaces. as far as fertilizer i would hold of for a while and let the plant adjust to its new home once everything is good resume the fertilizer

[smartie2000]

You will find that the plant will send new roots to adapt to its new media. I am sure it will be fine. I usually use some of the sphag as a top dressing over the bark.
You will also find that the roots in sphag will have a different texture (in the middle areas of the pot) They will be whitish and smooth, rather than the ordinary greenish aerial roots, because they are constantly wet. These sphag roots may die off in bark because bark tends to be drier, but new roots should form

[ladyslipper]

thanks for the imput guys, I have had a bag of spagh for over a year & it still looks okay. other than drying out, does sphag go bad? i used to like sphagh but one time, i noticed a plant that i had been "finger" testing to find if it needed watering badly but the sphag was still wet. thats mostly why i am considering changing medium. if i don't want to use physan, is there a more "organic" disinfecant of this type i can use?
regards - m

[Lagoon]

Morning M,

If your sphag is staying wet for long periods of time, then changing it too fresh sphag-moss is the way to go, Or you risk root rot. It's time to repot into newer media

[Ross]

I prefer something more open for my Phals. I sometimes water too generously and open mix (like medium-large bark) is better for me. I know lots of folks use coarse sphagnum, but not me.

[ladyslipper]

Originally Posted by dennis

you can soak the roots in warm water for 1/2 hour to soften them up before repotting. understand that these roots being have not been in a media may rot from the new enviroment water carefully. or you can leave these roots on the outside and i usally just mist mine once a day. once you repot you can gently push the media into the empty spaces to fill the voids i also use a gentle tapping the pot down on the counter to help fill the spaces. as far as fertilizer i would hold of for a while and let the plant adjust to its new home once everything is good resume the fertilizer

I really appreciate the feedback! This really is a great board! One question though. Dennis, I wanted to make sure that you mean that I take the plant out of the pot & soak in water (room temp I believe?) then sit the plant in the new pot, filling in any spaces around the roots. Regards, M

[justatypn]

Originally Posted by rsfrid

I prefer something more open for my Phals. I sometimes water too generously and open mix (like medium-large bark) is better for me. I know lots of folks use coarse sphagnum, but not me.

Just recently repotted a phal to sphagnum, but have always in the past used med/large bark. Both seem to be of equal likes but overall for myself med/large bark has to be the most effective for us over-watering nuts... Just hard to get the feel of the rooting system with sphagnum, maybe it's because it stays moist longer, not sure but bark works best for me.

[Ross]

:iagree: with Cheryl. I tend to ere on the overwater side thus I have compensated with more open pots, more open mix, fans to dry things off, etc.