First Time Buying on Ebay - Advice on Unmounting - Too Young?

[chiirioz]

Hi...first post here! Please be kind. Also thank you for all your tips and help - I have a phal that is giving me its first bloom/spike since purchasing it a year ago!

So I made my first purchase on ebay. I'm a fairly new to the orchid craze and felt that Phalaenopsis would be the easiest to care for with my first go at some more "exotic" orchids. I've yet to dip my feet into others! I'm too scared!

I purchased two that looked interesting and they arrived in pretty excellent condition... I got a little excited and just bought them without looking at the actual size? Both orchids were watered & fertilized (with a spray) immediately after receiving.

I repotted the Tetraspsis which was packed super tightly in sphagnum moss from a flimsy 3" pot to a 4" slotted plastic orchid-pot. The orchid seemed the "right size" with moss for the 3-inch pot but seemed a bit tight if repotted with bark, so I went with a 4".

I'm worried that it will be over-potted since it the roots don't take up half the pot but I am hoping for more root growth - It currently has tons of good-looking, green roots, none rotted. I accidentally broke one in half during the transplant.

The biggest challenge is the mounted phal. chibae since I do not have experience with mounted orchids. I don't mind soaking it each day but I'd rather have it potted for convenience considering I live in an apt in NYC. I don't have any experience with seedling sized orchids and I'm worried that this guy is a little too small to remove from its mount. It only has 3 leaves - top two look good but the bottom one has a couple holes in it? I have a plastic 3" but the bark might be too much and I'm not great with orchids in moss.

Some others have suggested placing the tiny phal chibae, mount and all, in a terrarium (if I don't have a grn house) to assist in increasing the humidity. Please see the last image to see if this setup would be a detriment... Not sure. Just plopped it in there with a little water to evap (not touching wood or orchid at all).

Thank you for your advice as always!

[estación seca]

Welcome!

Phals are lower-light plants. They should be near the window, but don't let sun shine directly onto them. A sheer curtain between the window and the plant also works.

The tetraspis looks good. I would leave it like that, in that pot. Water it when the medium is nearly dry.

I would not move the chibae off the mount to a pot. Mounted orchids are easier for beginners to care for, so long as you water them once a day. There is no confusion about when to water again, or whether the medium has dried out sufficiently.

Your NYC water is very low in minerals (total dissolved solids, TDS) and great for watering orchids. Get the whole chibae mount wet every day. It will do well sitting in that vase, which will keep the humidity up. Fertilizer will be important, too. Most orchids prefer low amounts of fertilizer compared to many other plants. You can read a lot about fertilizing plants here.

If you use the Search feature in the top menu, you can look up the names, and see how others here are growing them.

Post photos when they bloom!

[chiirioz]

@estación seca

WOW! Thank you for such lovely advice! I've had a couple people say that it may be fine to repot to a 2 - 2.5" pot but it really is so delicate, I'm not sure. I suppose I will wait until it's a bit more hardy - I don't think I am a "serial over-waterer"... more like "oops I forgot to water my plants" person. Maybe why orchids have been so easy for me. LOL

Currently keep the older orchids at the north-facing, but very bright, window covered by an overgrown fern palm.

The new ones are "quarantined" in my bedroom on a table near the window.

[theloyalplum]

I would keep it mounted. The few mounted orchids I have do better than my potted ones. :/ But mounts are expensive, so I just put up with it!

Water it everyday and you'll be golden. There's literally no way to mess up unless you soak it too long and the mount/roots start to rot.