Repotting my Phal orchid

[mrystntn]

This is the first time that I am repotting my Phal orchid. Right now it is stil in the small clay pot from store. It has bloomed and all the flowers and leaves fell off. I also trimmed the main part per the directions. I purchased a larger basket for it and also some spagmoss and a special mix of coconut coir, fir bark, hydroton, and sponge rock. What is my next step? Do I have to trim the roots? Also should I use both of those with my Phal? Any help would be very appreciated as I am very much a novice at this. Thank you.

[jcec1]

If all the flowers AND leaves have fallen off, it's probably dead certainly dieing. The usual cause is overwatering, pics would help of the remainder of the plant and it's current growing media.

[Optimist]

You should have roots and leaves after the flowers are gone. Like a plant. If all the leaves have fallen off, do you only have a bunch of roots? If this is the case, there is probably no way to save it.

My thought on phals is to get one based on the flowers you like, go home, cut the flower spike immediately, repot, get those roots going, and make sure the plant is healthy and robust, and then allow an infloresence to grow. As long as the plant is at risk, allowing energy to go to flowers is harmful. most people are willing to let the plant die to save the flowers. People who love orchids will work on making sure the plant is healthy first. It will bloom again, if cared for.

[judith_arquette]

The blooms will last a LONG time once cut if kept in water

[tarev]

Okay for blooms to die off eventually..but not all the leaves too. Any leaf left? How many? You may have to really check the roots, if there are still any left. Trim off the dead ones. A picture would help for us to see how it really looks like now.

Also when you repot, it does not really need to be a bigger container. Phals like just good snug fit, too big a container will make it longer for the media to dry off and may contribute to root rotting. Container with lots of side holes for air circulation is very good for Phals.

[Optimist]

The small pot/snug fit is debateable. Mounted phals have no pot at all, so do phals living in their actual enviroment. A big pot is okay if it has good drainage, and if you cannot raise 50 to 70% humidity in the growing area. Phals do not love pots. They also donot want to face upwards. They are sideways or upside down facing plants. They get crown rot because they are facing the wrong way. The best way to pot a phal if you can't mount it on wood, is to put it in a vanda basket, or even an easter basket.

[RosieC]

A large pot tends to dry slower, possibly uneavenly, and has lower air flow.

I have had a big phal in a big pot because it's roots wouldn't go in anything smaller. It was potted in Leca which has good air flow and there were plenty of holes in the pot. (This wasn't S/H, just plain Leca). I found most of the roots rotted after potting in this, while those at the top were always too dry (as I tried to leave it long enough for the lower/central ones to dry).

I repotted it today into a much smaller pot, possible because of all the root rot it suffered in the big pot.

Mounted Phals don't have any constraint on their roots, but they DO have a lot of air flow and dry quite quickly.

While Phals don't need small pots to constrain their roots (which doesn't happen in nature) they do need small amounts of medium that can dry quickly and evenly and lets plenty of air to the roots. A large pot tends to lead to a lot of medium and that can suffocate the roots.

That having been said, while potting this Phal into a smaller pot today I have then put another large phal back into the same pot (because it's roots won't fit into any other), when there are a lot of roots there is not much other choice except to cut them off and I don't like that.

I've not tried phals in baskets. I grow Bulbos in moss in baskets. I do think it would work well though. Plenty of air flow all round. However for me I can't do them for the same reason I only have one mounted Phal. Anything not in a pot tends to leak water so I can't grow them on windowledges. I need pots/vases for windowledges.

---------- Post added at 08:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:47 PM ----------

P.S. I've moved this thread to the potting/repotting area.

[Optimist]

If you fill most of the pot with lava, and only keep a bit of bark on the top you do not get the issue of wet medium in the center of a large pot. Older orchid culture books tell you to fill one half to two thirds with lava or stone, some say broken pots. The thing about the tree limbs is that it is a flat surface with maybe a bit of leaf litter. A wonderful method is to fill the pot with a chunk of coconut husk, making the plant mounted, but inside the pot.

[tarev]

You can use any of your media, as long as you do not pack it in too tight, especially using with sphag moss. You are aiming for something to support your plant in the container, allow some moisture retention, and eventual drying off, and good air circulation in the root zone. That is why it is good to have containers with side holes too.

But it would really be nice to see a photo first, if the roots are gone and no leaves too, then it will be futile.