New to Orchids

[ttanner]

Hi Everyone. I am new to ordhids but am a plant nut and have been told I can grow most anything. I started with a phalaenopsis, which is white. It was blooming when I got it and just about 6 months later it is developing a new blossom shoot after developing three huge leaves. It is in bark and dries out once a week so I seem to be doing it right with this one. So I bought a pink phalaenopsis and this one is in moss. The leaves are not stiff and pretty like the white one and the blossoms are fading faster than the white one did. I am thinking it should be planted in bark but not sure about that. Now i was given a rare bellina phalaenopsis by a friend wiht a blossom stock on it. The darn thing is in bark and am not sure what to do. Leave it in moss this it blooms, hope it will bloom, or what. I hear pros and cons on moss and am just not sure what to do. Any help would be appreciated.

[ryrycochinco]

There's nothing wrong with moss it just depends on how you water. The bellina should be fine for now in the moss unless you'd prefer bark. The moss will take longer to bry, just wait till the top turns crunchy. I'd eventually repot everything in bark, that way everything will be on the same water schedual. As for the pink phal your probably watering it wrong, pay attention to how the medium drys and play around with it, you'll eventually get it right. Good Luck

[Bud]

Welcome & Hello
Repot to bark or coco chips, charcoal, lava rock and sponge rocks...unless you know how to water your plants with moss...make sure the ball of moss under the root is cleaned off...
It takes a special person to work with moss...I am very confident in growing Phals in coarse media...I will kill phals in moss with root rot and miswatering ...if you're a beginner...use coarse mixed media...when it's dry u know it's time to water...but with moss you don't know if the ball under the roots are dry or still wet...but the top layer is dry...very very tricky

[tucker85]

Moss is OK if it's in a very small pot and you let it dry out completely between watering. Bark is a lot easier. Good luck.

[Eyebabe]

Welcome!

Your pink phalaenopsis I would repot in bark like the white one and treat it the same.
It may already have root damage so don't be discouraged if it does not survive.
When sphag moss is too wet it will suffocate the roots and you can read through the forum here about phals for more details on that.
Repotme.com has great bark mix and videos on how to repot phals.

The Phal bellina is different. I would pot this in sphag moss! It needs to be more humid than many of the phal hybrids.
Furthermore, it needs to be warmer and give it less light.
I like to mix the sphag with medium perilite to keep better air spaces and don't soak sphag moss when you water it.

Good luck

[ttanner]

thanks everyone. I figured that I needed to repot the pink one when it finishes blooming and was better off leaving the bellina where it is for now. I did read that they need more moisture but to not soak the moss. I'll keep you posted how it goes.

[RosieC]

Welcome to Orchid Board

I agree with what others have said about potting in bark. I have my bellina in bark as well, but it's finer bark than the others and I do keep it damper than them. I would be inclined to leave that one where it is.