repotting emergency

[Paulyn]

Hello Fellow Enthusiasts!
I recently bought a beautiful mini phaleanopsis but discovered that it had completely overgrown the small plastic container that was inside a decorative pot. The roots had grown out of the small container and where starting to fill the decorative pot is was in. So I decided to repot using bark. The plant was planted in vermiculite but it was so tight and compacted I really had to carefully take the pieces out and it was very moist in the middle. My concern is that I had to do this now while the flower is in bloom and it is quite a big change from the highly compacted vermiculite to tree bark. Will this be to much for the darling to handle?

[violetta]

Hello Paulyn,
Phals can handle repotting at any time very well, so I wouldn't worry!

[Paul Mc]

Indeed, Phals can handle repotting at any time but when in bloom one must take extra cautious steps to avoid accidentally braking a flower or spike off. That being said, moving an orchid from something water retentive to not so water retentive can cause some mild shock and cause blooms to blast but it should recover nicely if you are aware of that and water a tad more frequently. I don't know how water retentive your original mix was as compared to bark, as I was mostly thinking of switching from moss to bark. Just take the water needs into consideration given how retentive the original was compared to the new. Also, new bark medium I find tends to retain less water for a few months, so even going from a decomposing bark (1 to 2 years old) to fresh presoaked bark requires watering a bit more while it adjusts.