Big Box Phals Happy in New Home

[PlumCrazy]

My husband claims he doesn't like my orchid habit, but he does buy one for me every Black Friday (except this year, they didn't have any) From left to right in box: 2015, 2018, and 2016 editions. The 2015 and 2016 ones have bloomed every year. This is the first rebloom for the 2018 one. I have threatened to throw it in the trash multiple times, but so glad I didn't. I did not have that beautiful bit of yellow when he bought it. It must like the new setup.

I put these guys in this box at the end of last spring. They seem pretty happy! There is a bit of larger sized orchid mix in there, although not a lot. It is covered with decorative moss for terrariums. I modified it so that the bottom pops off so I can take it to the bath tub and use the handheld shower thing to water them.

[DeaC]

A quartet of cuteness! Container counts as 1!

[PlumCrazy]

Well, it turns out they did not like it in there after all. The dark pink one dropped it blooms maybe a week after I posted. They'd only been open a few weeks, so I knew there was an issue. Sure enough, a good portion of that one's roots had rotted away. The mostly white one had some root rot. The orange one was loving it though. TONS of new, healthy roots.

Anyway, I repotted them of course. It's been about three weeks. The dark pink one has produced new buds at the end of the stem. The orange one also developed a cluster of new buds.

They seemed to all have very similar amounts of bark around them, so I don't know what happened. I must assume that for some reason the pink one wasn't getting airflow and wasn't draining well and the orange one was. The good news is I think they'll all be just fine.

[Dimples]

Aw, what a bummer. Glad you caught it early enough to intervene and save them from a worse fate. I wonder if the parentage of each hybrid had anything to do with the outcome. (Complete speculation of course)

[PlumCrazy]

Originally Posted by Dimples

I wonder if the parentage of each hybrid had anything to do with the outcome. (Complete speculation of course)

Interesting... probably correct. I should know. I just read an actual, physical book about hybridization of Phalaenopsis two weeks ago (we still go to the library for books for the kids and surprisingly they had Moth Orchids: The Complete Guide to Phalaenopsis by Steven A. Frowine.) Yet, that didn't cross my mind. Apparently I learned nothing

[estación seca]

Glad they're still with you. You probably realized this but that box was too big for even 3 phals. Most drying out of Phal medium happens because of evaporation, not them taking up water. A very large box like that will have many air spaces occluded by water for a long time. It might have worked had you used extra large bark, so there was more air in the box.

Growing Phals in a home it is often better to pot individually, and use the smallest pot into which the roots can fit easily. You can't go wrong with extra large bark as long as you are able to water more often than with smaller bark.