Display & re-pot a phalaenopsis

[topiarybud]

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[topiarybud]

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[james mickelso]

Very nice expose' on how Topiary handled this phal. I applaud the initiative to post a follow-on to what Topiary did. The issue with the differences we see from our members is not the media but the way in which we approach watering. Whether bark, rock, leca, moss, tree fern, or mounted, each media/method requires a different watering strategy. I have lots of phals and they are planted in all of the above. And they all take a differing watering schedule. With my 30% to 60% RH I have come up with a way to be able to match my schedule with the needs of my plants. And I have learned that phals don't need to be watered exactly on time. My bark dries quickly and that is the base watering schedule. My phals in moss dry nearly as quickly due to how tightly I packed the moss into the pot. The phals in lava have a small layer of moss on top which modifies the moisture in the pot. The phals in leca are potted slightly deeper than those in bark to compensate for it's extreme dryness. I find leca to be the driest of all my media including my lava. It's all in how you pot and water. But of all my phals, the best performers are potted in moss. I wouldn't have given you ten cents for moss a few years ago but after learning how it works and how to successfully grow orchids in it, I even grow oncids and cattleyas in it now. So bravo to Topiary for showing us how they grow phals and from the looks of it, successfully.

[topiarybud]

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[orchidlover1554]

Hello: I recently purchased two phals in bloom with 3 unopened buds on each plant. These plants were very tightly packed in sphagnum, I let them adjust in my home for about 3 days did a root check some on the outside were rotten so I cut them off inside the roots were so rotten I don't know how the plant survived this long. Cleaned all the remaining roots off with water re-potted them in Orchid bark. A few days later I noticed my yellow orchid its flower started to wilt this was only after all remaining buds had opened.....my question is why did now the flowers start to die ? and did I put it into shock? I have never had this happen before. Any help would be awesome

[Cym Ladye]

Going from broken down sphagnum to dry bark was a shock, to say the least, and you had few roots to support getting moisture to the flowers as well as the leaves. The plant chose the leaves and forfeited the flowers.

You might increase the watering in the bark if it is large to medium and see if this stops the die back of the flowers. Some growers recommend cutting the flower spike when there is a poor root system discovered at repotting so that all the energy will go into growing new roots and leaves.