Should I repot or wait?

[Becca]

Hi Everyone! I have two phal hybrids that are currently in spike. The buds are just barely starting to develop. They are currently in 3 inch pots and they live at work with me under a lamp. It is soooo dry here that even with misting the aerial roots they have shriveled up since I got them back in November. I am having to water every 2 to 3 days and they are potted in a bark/sphag mixture. My question is....should I wait until they are finished spiking/flowering to repot, or should I be fine to repot since they haven't actually formed the buds yet? This will be my first time blooming phals so I am just unsure of what is ok and not ok. Thanks!

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[dennis]

i would wait till they are done blooming. as far as the conditions go if they have been where you have them now for awhile they should do good. post some pics when they bloom

[Bill_NeOh]

Wait till they are done blooming (which might be a while). Anyway you an get a humidity tray underneath them? That along with the spraying might do the trick.

[kiki-do]

Now here is a totally different approach. I would repot while they are in spike if I thought something didn't look quite right. As a matter of fact, I did exactly that yesterday and I found some root rot going on and glad I did. But that is just me. The only time I do not repot is when they are in bloom. All the books say it's better to wait until everything is done blooming and growing, but that could take a few months. If you think something is wrong in it's growing, I say go for it.
Only my I could be wrong. Well, I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken. kiki

[Leisurely]

I agree with kiki-do. Unlike Cats and some other plants, phals can be repotted at any time. I would soak the plants real well and gently tip them out of the pot, trying not to disturb the root system and then move them to a 4 or 5 inch pot, depending on the leaf span. A visual inspection will tell you which size is better. The plant will never know anything has changed. Give us a follow up in a couple of weeks on how you are doing with the plants.

[gmdiaz]

I'd go ahead and do it too. . .no point in waiting if there is something wrong.

Also, you're going to have to get a humidifer or something for work. I highly recommend the frog humidifer that you can get at Home Depot.

[Lagoon]

Unless you did suspect some root rot, I would leave it alone. Repotting now will likely shorten the spike, you'll end up with few blossoms - I learn that one

I'm unclear why you want to repot

[Becca]

Hi Everyone! Thanks for the feedback. I don't suspect any root rot, I want to repot it because the small pots dry out so qucikly, and they are pretty much crawling out of their pots. I would get a fogger, but I don't think my boss would like that so well...I am lucky enough to have my orchids under a light...lol. I guess I'll wait and see what happens...I am just worried that they will get to dehydrated because they dry out so quickly.

[Paul]

Well if it is just a matter of drying out to quickly, you might try putting a top dressing [not too thick] of sphag moss over the bark. That will help contain the moisture a bit more

[Becca]

Hi Paul, thanks for the suggestion. That is the problem....they are potted in a mixture of sphag and bark, mostly sphag and I still have a problem with them drying out quickly. So unfortunately I don't think it would do any good to add more sphag on the top. I have to water them Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on average. Sometimes I can get away with a Tuesday/Friday watering. I was just hoping to keep them a little more moist and not so much on the dry side.