Repotting #17
Hi.
Sorry re bad pic, it’s getting dark here; sorry I didn’t take pics at every stage of this just earlier; I was in a rush.
Out of all my Phals (Around 32 as of now) which bloomed this winter at the usual time, one of my biggest whites, always vast number of blooms, perfectly presented on the inflorescence, and so, making a gorgeous cascade, good petal near overlap, very hardy NOID---as of today, still had 6 blooms.
Of course, they were starting to fade, this puppy has been in bloom for MANY MONTHS; we must never be greedy and should always think of the long term well-being of the plant first.
So, after removing the spike, knocking the plant out of its clear pot, I checked the roots, got rid of some bad ones. I then removed the bottom leaf, this Phal produces new roots at every leaf juncture; I did this so I could pot it deeper so that more new roots would be covered by the new medium.
I came to that this plant would now best be in a deep pot, so, opaque, and, with a smaller diameter than what I was growing it in. I chose the right plastic pot, burned three equidistant holes around the top with a skewer so I could hang this puppy. Then, heated both the knives I use for this on the flame, and opened three triangles around the perimeter to afford more air in the new mix (the year old bark mix was breaking down).
I then put three of my large smooth stones at the bottom of the pot. I find these decorative stones at the top of many of flowering plants my neighbors buy and then throw away when their blooms fade---I keep them in my drainage bin. I do this with my biggest Phals, because, if they produce as many blooms as this huge Phal always does, unless you add some weight at the bottom, when you display them, they fall over.
I then held the cleaned trimmed plant in the pot and rotated it gently as I lowered it to the bottom so the longer roots would fit happily and perfectly in a circle with no fractures.
After cleaning some of fresh bark mix in a colander, I added that, pressed down, tapped the pot to compact. I then added a nice compressed layer of good NZ Sphagnum at the top……wrote the specimen’s number (17) on the pot; hooked up my wire hanger and hung the plant in its new place….tho I switch around as I tend them ongoing.
I grow my Phals in my smaller growing area, mostly hanging around the window in my dinette.
I recently found some white, complex plastic garment hangars in the trash, and took two of them to use to hang several plants form each....seeing right off they would serve perfectly in that way.
Last edited by JMNYC; 06-23-2014 at 09:03 PM..
|
) and worthless without having taken pics at each step.
Linear Mode
