Repotting phals: should I wait till they're done blooming?
 

Hello!

I purchased a few orchids locally and was thinking of repotting them as suggested by many members here. However, two of the phals appear to be still be blooming at this point. Given that, should I wait till they finish blooming before repotting them?


Thanks!~

Depends on how bad the medium looks. Does it look old and wet? I typically repot, even if in bloom or spike - as long as I think the medium may be bad. Good reason to use clear pots :)

I would do what Ross says too. If the medium is fine and the roots are in excellent condition, leave the Phals alone.

If the medium is bad and rotting, and the roots are as well, repot and cut away dead roots or dead parts of the roots only.

Repotting a plant in bloom or spike usually causes buds to blast out. If you're lucky, nothing happens to the flowers after repotting.

Thank you both for your quick responses. I'm new to orchids so I'm not sure what it means if the medium is bad. It came in a clear pot and from what I can see along the exterior perimeter, the roots look good and green. I'll take pics later on and post tomorrow.

Generally, is it best to repot between blooms?

Thanks!

Steve

Usually after it blooms. In emergencies, blooms don't matter, the plant does.

I mean after the flowers fall off.

as these guys have pointed out the phals tend to be sensative about it. paphs don't really seem to care. whenever I purchase a new plant I go ahead and repot it. even if its in spike or bloom. some commercial growers just toss fresh media on top to make it look good and you go happily on watering and rotting in the roots out without knowing it. I would rather loose the blooms than the roots.

I repotted two phals today. The roots towards the outside of the pot looked good, but the ones in the center of the pot didn't look so hot. I think this is pretty common, and usually happens with any plant I have bought, especially if it's in moss.

When you repotted them, were they still blooming? I have 3 buds that have opened up and about another 7 on their way. Would suck to lose all of them :(

It would suck even more to lose the plant! Trust me, many Phals will respond so favorably that 6 months from now you won't even remember doing the repotting - you may just have new spikes and flowers. I've had Phals respond to repotting (I use KLN in the water when I repot) with lots of new root growth and even new spikes at same time. The point is to protect the plant - unless you purchased this as a table decoration and plan to throw it away after it's done (My B-I-L does this).