Greetings from Juneau, not the one in AK!

[SuperGramps]

Hello all,
I've been nursing this phal for 3 to 4 years. I bought it at a discount grocery store around easter. I had always admired great orchids I've seen in offices and homes.
My wife is the green thumb and we have a superb collection of roses and lillies that adorn the outside of our home. We enjoy creating fruits from our garden but the orchid deal was my own.
I had never reached out because I didn't want to be a dummy but I never gave up on my orchid. I fed it and watered it from what I could find on the web. To be honest, there's really no complete beginners guide that I've found.
I'm hoping with what I learn here I will create that guide.
I knew that it had two bud stems and one was from when I bought it so I knew it would flower. I just didn't know how to make it flower. I just figured it was shy so I just took care of it for those years.
The photos are the results of my patience. Yes, that's my bride an I in the last photo.
So now that I know I can keep this beautiful little baby alive I am hooked. I want another to work with. My problem as you all know is I am a complete novice. But with the help of OB I'm hoping you can all guide me.
I'd like to get started on another and I'd like some advice.
Here are some questions I hope everyone can help me with:
Should I repot my "baby". I know it's been 3 years and maybe 4. A guide to accomplish this? Obviously she's in bloom now, will that hurt her? Is it wrong to refer to my orchid in female terms? I just don't think anything as beautiful as that can be male ya know?
I'm sorry I didn't relate earlier, I am really, really thrilled my patience paid off so now I'm full swing ready to do all to get all the information I can gather.
Thanks in advance to all of you wonderful people who will offer advice on this.

[RosieC]

Welcome to Orchid Board

Well done on your success so far

If it's been over 3 years then yes I would repot. What is it growing in now? That's obviously worked for you so I would use something similar, that way both you and the plant are used to it. The choice of medium to use is quite varied and different people prefer different things, but roots tailor themselves to the medium they are in, so as long as you get on with what it's in (you must do... you've had success so far right ) then it's best not to change it too drastically.

Quite a few people use female terms for orchids. I'm afraid I use 'it' rather than 'she' but that's just me.

[WhiteRabbit]

There's lots of good info in this thread: http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ends-here.html - if you care to read the first 10 pages or so.

Orchid flowers have both male and female parts

[SuperGramps]

Thank you Rosie,
Here are some photos for follow up. I'll read up on repotting (I'm nervous).
You can see a photo of what looks to be small chips of wood. I suppose that is either mulch or something else.
You can see her current container. Things look crowded in there. You can see one root that is sticking outside of the cup. I suppose I should push in back inside after repotting. Do I need a larger container? It would seem reasonable.
Finally, should I put in any food? Miracle grow or anything else? Thanks again for the speedy reply.
I really appreciate any and all advice.
Don

[SuperGramps]

Thank you Sonya, I'll be studying tonight!
Can you folks tell I'm excited?

---------- Post added at 11:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:39 PM ----------

Last question.
Is this a NoID Phal?

[RandomGemini]

If there's no tag, it's a noid. Very pretty flowers! Good growing and welcome to OB!!

[SuperGramps]

There may or may not have been a tag. I had no idea to look for a tag at the time of my purchase. I'm sure I'm among millions who've bought flowering orchids at a mega store. Fact is, I've talked to a multitude of people who've given up on orchids because theirs never "flowered" again.
The difference with me is I never give up on a living thing. Thanks for the compliment on the flowers. The thing that's always amazed me about growing plants is that with success comes immediate gratification. I'm learning a lot in a few days, thanks for your input.

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by SuperGramps

Thank you Rosie,
Here are some photos for follow up. I'll read up on repotting (I'm nervous).
You can see a photo of what looks to be small chips of wood. I suppose that is either mulch or something else.
You can see her current container. Things look crowded in there. You can see one root that is sticking outside of the cup. I suppose I should push in back inside after repotting. Do I need a larger container? It would seem reasonable.
Finally, should I put in any food? Miracle grow or anything else? Thanks again for the speedy reply.
I really appreciate any and all advice.
Don

Orchids are often grown in bark chips, it needs to be stuff designed for orchids, ordinary bark mulch would already be rotting and isn't good for them. Repotme.com is one place you can get orchid bark from in the USA, it's sometimes available in shops but others might have to advise on that as I'm not in the USA so don't know where.

Roots sticking out the side is fine. They tend to do that and it's hard to stop them. Some people say if you push it back in the pot that root will rot, other say it's fine to put back in. My experience has been mixed, it's worked sometimes and not others. I think if it goes in then it needs to be kept airy enough.

Orchids should be potted in pots JUST big enough to fit the roots back in. Sometimes you would repot into the same pot, other times into a smaller or larger pot. It's often hard to know which until you've taken it out unfortunately. If you think it's roots are healthy it's more likely to go up a pot size than down, but if it will fit back in the same pot then use that again.

When you repot orchids the main aim is to remove all the existing media (the bark in your case) and replace it with new. The aim of repotting orchids is not for the pot size change, as it often is with other house plants, but to give it fresh medium. In the wild they grow clinging to trees (at least Phalaenopsis orchids do) and so having their roots in media is a bit unnatural for them. That being the case they like a lot of air arround the roots, which is why they are often put in the bark chips which hold air between them. However as the bark get's old it breaks down and the gaps fill up and so the roots start to suffocate.

Orchids do like feeding but at a very low rate. Current advise is to use a very week solution every time you water. Some people use it a bit stronger but less often. Either way it's weaker than most house plants would get. On any fertiliser you get there will be three numbers, like 13-4-10 or something. From the first number which represents Nitrogen content we can calculate how much you should use for you. I use some calculators on First Rays Orchids site. Ray is a member here and provides some good info on this type of thing.

[SuperGramps]

and thanks again for all the information.
I've repotted my phal and I've got an enormous spike with many buds coming in. I'm thrilled.
I did go to a bigger container as it seemed rather cramped in the last one. I also decided to put the outer roots back in the pot. It has obviously been a success.
So now that I've got a little experience I'm thinking I might like another. I don't have a lot of east facing windows so my space is limited.
I've seen orchids indoors in offices and our local library. Does it take a specific type or orchid to thrive in artificial light?

[DeaC]

Good growing! BTW...big box stores like Home Depot or Lowes have orchid bark and no need to put those aerial roots back in the pot next time you repot-just let them hang out. Perhaps your local library has orchid books just to get you started.I like having fotos in front of me but even YouTube has some great info.Sounds like you have a green thumb!