I got a large phalaenopsis from a friend 2 years ago. It rebloomed on me in spring 2011 even though I new so little about phals I couldn't spell the word. I was encouraged and felt good about myself so I repotted it in a deep 6'' container full of peat moss.
I can almost hear experienced orchid growers say "AHA!" or "^%#$&^!"
The plant looked OK and tried to grow a leaf but it didn't progress. Imagine my horror when I removed it from a container and found a soppy mess reeking of mold in place of the roots. Apparently there is too much moss in 6'' pot to dry well; this coupled with a plastic pot and my desire to water it well almost killed the plant.
Bigger doesn't mean better with orchids.
I started to research the subject by reading some library books and countless web pages and found out my biggest mistake: treating moss as a "soil" rather than a support.
Orchids don't really need containers, people do.
I repotted the plant in bark along with another hand-me-down phal in poor condition and they are happy even since. My first phal grew plenty of new roots but lost about half of the leaves so I don't think it will bloom this season. The second phal promptly grew a leaf and put on a spike in December. Now the buds are almost ready to open.
I got some experience dealing with damaged orchids so when I walked by the "clearance cart" at Lowe's last December and saw orchids for couple of bucks each I decided to bring my "green thumb" to the test. After throughout cleaning, repotting, some swearing, a full bag of orchid bark and two months of gentle care all the plants started to recover. Even the abused Cattleya that was tucked in 2'' pot inside a 4'' pot is doing well and has 2 new shoots.
Phalaenopsis is truly a gateway orchid.
A few days ago I brought home my 8th orchid, an Oncidium Sharry Baby, but it split in half during repotting so this makes 9. Was it two plants in one pot? I don't trust BetterGro/Sunbulb anymore after what they've done to the cattleya above.
It's not hoarding, it's collecting!
I may have another hand-me-down coming so I plan to try semi-hydroponics. We have not one but three hydroponics supply stores in the area so I won't be paying shipping for LECA.
So far I have 4 phalaenopsis, 3 oncidiums a cattleya and a dendrobium. My favorite orchid seems to be oncidium. I adore phalaenopsis for their easy reblooming character but orchids have leaves only for 9 months of the year. Oncidiums have the most gorgeous flowy foliage of any orchids I've seen.
I searched for information on orchids in Google and one site consistently had the most relevant, down-to-earth advice on orchid care and very useful pictures. The site is, of course,
Orchid Board
I'm happy to be with you, guys.
Lucy from Upstate New York
lucyinthegarden.blogspot.com
A story of a steep learning curve
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