Hi from orchid novice :)

[Sevelina]

Hello from an orchid novice!

I've got two Phalaenopsis orchids from Trader Joe's that I bought last summer. One didn't seem to be doing too well, and neither one was re-blooming, so I started researching things, and then kind of fell into a rabbit hole with so much information and things I never knew! I repotted one from very tight spaghnum to bark this Monday, the second its awaiting its turn, Kelpmax is on its way, and I want to get another Phal with purple-spotted leaves I saw at HEB (a major Texas grocery store chain). I think it's a beginning of something both terrible and beautiful.

Even after researching a lot online, I still have so many questions, so I'm really grateful for the opportunity to ask them here and learn from wonderful people like you all (I already read a lot of posts................).

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

[jkofferdahl]

Phalaenopsis are, in my opinion, one of the most delightful of orchids! Yes, it's both a good obsession and also a bad one, and you'll soon find that your own obsession is limited only by your pocketbook! While your Phals aren't reblooming right now, they will. A lot of them only produce one, maybe two, flower stems a year, so patience is an important practice!

Welcome to the OB, and congratulations on keeping your orchids happy!

[UserName]

Welcome. I am a new member here too. My orchids are of the same type as yours.

[Sevelina]

Estación seca - thank you!

jkofferdahl - you have given me much encouragement and joyful anticipation. I'm also finding that seeing a new leaf or a growing root also makes me happy, so that's good sustenance for the soul before I get to see new spikes some day! Thank you!

UserName - thanks and welcome! I went to see if you have an intro, and saw that you got a Phal, and then 8 more followed! I had a good laugh - it seems that it's the direction we're all headed......

[estación seca]

I was writing on my phone before. Now I can more easily give you links to threads here on Orchid Board that will help you immensely!

Using skewers to determine when to water

The Phal abuse ends here.

[Sevelina]

Thank you, this comes timely! I've repotted one orchid from moss to bark, and it dries so much quicker! It felt bone-dry after 2 days! I'm used to moss - watering about once a month - so the skewer method should come in very handy as I'm learning how to judge bark moisture.

From what research I've done, it seems that the medium should increase its water retention abilities over time, but I'm still a little afraid of underwatering them, especially for the first one where I snipped a lot of damaged roots. I somehow managed not to kill my orchids in moss, it would be only too ironic if they die in bark.

A new pot for orchid #2 is coming today, along with KelpMax, so I can't wait to get out of work and get to different kind of work.