A Phal in a glass jar??
 

I was given a beautiful phal for my birthday, and it was in a glass vase! I have left it in its pot for the moment, but I don't really know what to do with it. I am tempted to leave it where it is, watering it enough to keep the roots moist, but I'd love to have your thoughts on the matter. thanks very much!

The difficulty will be watering it enough while not leaving the bottom standing in water. There will also be limited air flow arround the roots.

The plant does look like it's been growing that way a while though so the roots are probably used to the enviroment.

If you leave it, I would water with enough water, then try and tip it upside down to allow excess water to run out again.

It looks like its growing really well in its pot!!! If you ever want to remove the plant I'm afraid you'll have to break the vase. At the very least I think it would need drainage as Rosie suggested but the plant looks very healthy.

Thanks for your advice. I think I'll leave it there for the moment, as it is growing well. Just a little water to keep the humidity in the glass. Do you think it will reflower un this environment

Personally I would repot it, for the reasons mentioned above. Maybe I would leave it like that while it's blooming, but definitely no longer. Good luck with the watering!

Any pic of the blooms? You say it's gorgeous, but don't even show it to us! ;)

I hope this works! That's why only sent one photo, I could upload anymore!

:shock: obviously its happy!!

my thoughts- the roots have obviously been happy thus far. id leave it there at least until its dont blooming.

so many spikes! :drool::drool:

Wow, that's a lot of spikes! :shock: Very very beautiful.

My thoughts entirely! I'll be leaving it in he jar for the moment, and it'll be fun watching the new roots!

Thanks for your compliments!

Beautiful plant, and very interesting growth.

Just goes to show that if you do it right, you can do anything.

I didn't believe that Vandas could be grown in a jar, and someone here did it. Now a phal!

Only thought to add to above - there's a chunk of green stuff holding the media in. In my opinion, that could be problematic. Moss against the plant like that seems dangerous, yet it's probably what holds everything in when draining the jar after watering.

The safest thing for the plant would probably be a repot, which could be traumatic on several fronts. I'd probably experiment and leave it as is, water infrequently with "upside down draining" after a soak, I'd watch the roots and the base off the plant (Where the moss is touching) very carefully for mold or rot.

If you can perfect this - it's truly a unique growing style.

i would personally take off that green moss, or whatever it is. it looks like it could be a problem and IMHO it doesnt add aesthetically

i do no think that plant was grown in that jar. I bet it was pulled out of a pot and plunked in the jar at point of sale.

-Cj

My first thought was that it couldn't have been grown in the jar, but then I looked at the roots - they look flattened out against the glass, which is how they sometimes grow on a plastic container. I really didn't think I could have gotten the roots separated and transferred intact.

The real "proof" would be if the roots are attached at all to the glass or just near it.

I agree that the roots DO look like they were grown in the Jar. My first thought was also that it must have been transfered, but I don't think the roots would looks so flat with the jar. When you repot a phal which has grown with it's roots against the edge of the pot they never sit back as neatly in the new pot. To my eye it does look like it's grown there for a while.

That is a lovely looking Phal and the glass does add a certain flair. I really love seein gthe whole plant like that.
I saw a very similar one on a site in glass much like that and it was very expensive @@! I would think such a site would not do such a thing as use a container with no drainage but as mentioned- it IS obviously a great looking, healthy plant.
Whichever way you go,
Enjoy :)

Yes it was. It was given to me in the jar, but the roots still had the marks of the original pot it was in. I hope it'll grow into this glass jar nicely. I don't think it'll reflower for some time. What a shame, I'll have to buy another one!!:lol:

The green moss is rather ugly, and came with the plant, but it's been removed now!

your saying you can tell that it WASNT grown in the jar, that is was placed in the jar right before selling?

generally, it is a yearly cycle, yes. I do not, however, think that keeping i in the jar is really feasible, in the long run. Sounds like a recipe for fungus and rot.

-Cj

I agree

WIth the new info, I would repot into something more suitable. It was VERY intriguing to think that someone had grown it safely in glass. Knowing that it wasn't brings it back to the reality of probable death in that environment.

It would be an interesting experiment to try, but is very risky. I keep thinking of the Vandas in glass that folks have managed to do successfully. The media here is what makes it unlikely.

What's the old saying about "a willing suspension of disbelief"?

I agree with Bob. If it hasn't been grown that way then there is a high chance you won't be able to keep it healthy in there.

I would repot it if it were mine.

Hi everyone, i'm coming to this thread a bit late I know, but thought I'd chime in as it's not the first time I've seen this:

Shortly after I started dating my other-half (about three years ago), we went round to his parents where I discovered his mum also grew Phals. I told her about my collection and she then took me round to see hers - they were all in glass vases (big and small). To be honest, I was horrified :yikes: having been brought up on the 'good drainage' way of thinking. To be honest, they did look a bit listless (compared to mine, which some of you will have seen on here) but they were all regularly flowering for her and some she'd kept like that for a good 5 years at that point in time! (oh, and she wasn't using fertiliser either)

They were all bought from a florist, so that gives you the idea that it was presentation style over anything else. Over the last three years I know she has changed some of the bark in them, but they're still there in the glass vases and flowering and growing keikis like any other phals!

Mind you, since I've bought her some, she's coming over to the more traditional growing methods. Maybe because the ones that I have given her (with normal draining clear pots) do look more healty in terms of leaf structure. However, next time I'm over there, I'll see if I can snap some pictures for you all to see

Interesting topic. I once grew a phal in a ceramic pot (with drainage hole). When it came time to repot, It took a sharp blow from a framing hammer to set that plant free. Pot cost more than the orchid.

This is great! I think I'll be keeping it in its glass vase for the moment, and giving it enough water to keep it looking healthy. Once every 2 weeks they said, which seems about right once the condensated water has evaporated.

An interesting experiment - good luck, and please keep us posted on what works with it.

Maybe the lesson from this and from "Vandas in glass" is that everything we know to be true isn't really absolute. We need to be more open to possibilities rather than impossibilities.

Thanks for your help, and I will keep you posted, but it won't be for some time yet! I'm keeping it snug in the house for the moment as the conservatory where it stays normally is cold, with outside temps very low (0° outside at the moment!! brrr!):cold