Repotting Videos--Phals in Moss and Bark
 

I just found these and thought I would share. I know she knows what she's doing, but she seems so carefree with the orchids. I spend so much time being delicate and gentle when I'm repotting. :blushing:

What do you guys think of these?

Phal Moss Repotting:

Repot an Orchid with Moss - MonkeySee

Phal Bark Repotting:

Repot an Orchid with Bark - MonkeySee

She's a little rough on the plant.....:)

First of all, I think it's a way to see how repotting should be done. It's quick and gets to the point. Since people are more visually oriented creatures, it's easier to understand than reading text. I couldn't see what she was doing with the roots, but in my collection I tend to be a bit more careful of where I cut along the roots.

I think she's rough with the plants cause she learned how to repot hundreds of these guys and she's used to it.

Personally, in my collection, I wouldn't be so rough with mine. Especially when I'm dealing minis where flower spikes are as thin or thinner than hair follicles. Also, the less the roots are damaged, the faster the plant can re-establish itself and has more energy to flower.

Otherwise not a bad series of videos, definitely a useful tool in the arsenal.

She is a bit brutal isn't she :biggrin:
Joann

OMG! I couldn't believe how she just thrushes that poor phal in and out of the bucket when repotting! And how she pulled the leaves back when putting the moss in the pot!

I was excited to see a lesson on repotting with moss, but when she snipped off that stem before it was done blooming, I literally gasped. :rofl:

I also wondered about getting the water all over the crown and leaves like that. But yes, I agree, once you've done it hundreds of times, it probably just becomes second nature.

It was quite reassuring to see that it is possible to cut back so much root and the plant will survive - I have recently had to do the same to my sister's Phal and it has since put out four new roots.

I agree about the flower spike though, such a shame. I have repotted phals in bloom and they have been fine, although I can see that the production of new roots will be more vigorous if there isn't a flower stalk competing with it.

As for practise making her handle them roughly, it's the same with anything that one gets used to doing - my vet just opens my dog's mouth to check her teeth, whereas I'm a real coward about it. But the dog doesn't bite her, and these orchids obviously survive this treatment!!

Fascinating link - thanks

Heather

Every professional that I have seen work on large orchid collections has been shockingly tough on the chid. The first few times, I was mortified...then I realized these were some of the people my favorite plants come from so there must be something to it ;)

I'm only very careful when there's a bloom on the plant but otherwise...watch out! :lol:

I'm worried by that much root being removed.

I am 99% sure that removing too much root (even though I left a lot too) when repotting this time last year, is what put one of my Phals into ICU. It's only just starting to grow new roots this spring and is still looking almost dead.

I was following advise I had found on a website where they removed a lot of root. But I now think it was bad advise. When I repotted one a couple of weeks back I was VERY careful and only cut back what I really had to (luckily not much).

I've just received a new batch of fresh medium and plan to repot another two or three again will cut back as little as possible.

I'm inclined to think Phals can be handled quite roughly, but cutting back the roots is not a good idea in my view.

lol, "careful not to damage any roots" she said, and she is stuffing the poor phal in and out, just hillarious!!!

Except for the fact that she was stuffing sphag into the pot, the rest of what she did looked exactly the way I do things here. It was like watching and listening to myself, almost ;) Once I cut all the roots down and remove any leaves I don't like is when I give mine a good spraying of Listerine and a rinse prior to potting or mounting it.

When she was dunking the phals, I got worried about the water getting down into the crown or damaging the leaves. I once had a droplet of water basically eat through a phal leaf.

Do you think letting the water get "in" there so much is OK?

I don't dunk, I spray :)
To rinse the Listerine, I spray every part of the plant with clean water but I then hold it upside down before potting/mounting it.

She seems to know what she's doing and didn't seem concerned about the amount of water that got on the plants...I would follow her lead and not worry too much either ;)

I for one felt faint when she snipped off the spike! And to just toss it aside like it deserved the compost heap shocked me! I would at least put it in water to admire it a little longer.

I once watched a bonsai master repot a crabapple-- it was beautiful. And she treated it like a red-headed stepchild. So rough! The thing remains beautiful, though, and is blooming nicely to this day.

That's funny :lol:

When the blooms on mine get visibly past their prime, I grab a clipper and snip it off...and my husband's reaction is always the same;

:yikes:

:coverlaugh:

Yeeeeeesh! I thought those phal leaves were going to snap! And here I've been treating most of my chids like glass! Although I did accidentally knock the tip off of an Epi cane just this morning :faint: . It's ok, it started growing a new cane about a week ago anyways!

And I can definitely say that after working in a nursery for 3 summers now, and after repotting literally hundreds of plants (not orchids, unfortunately), I can understand her rough treatment. Once you've had enough practice like that, and you've gotten said practice in a business setting where speed and production are key, then you know how far you can push the plants while maximizing productivity.

And about the water getting in the crown. Yes, there is some risk, but as long as the water evaporates relatively quickly, it's really not a problem. I'm sure their greenhouse has excellent air circulation and those plants dried out long before dark. I give most of my houseplants, including orchids, a spring shower to wash off dust (even though I wipe them down obsessively, this gives them a more thorough cleaning, and everything responds well to it). My phal has never had any problems from this, nor have any of my other orchids or non-orchids.

This may sound silly but if I get water in the crown of my five orchids (all phals), I blow it out with a straw (blow, not suck-- eew). I angle it just so that it gets blast out the side and not deeper into the plant.

Water in the grown is no issue whatsoever - if it has time to dry out by evening.

I wasn't shocked at all, but I did laugh (like Vinh) when she jammed the plant back in the pot while stating to be careful not to break the roots!