repot while in bud??
 

Hello again, i just received a new plant a "fullers sunset " its quite big and in bud , is it safe too repot a plant this close too blooming? the current material is just a big ball of moss very dense with styrofoam on the bottom.
plant looks healthy. so im not sure if repotting is a good idea?

AHHH when i lifted it up for the photo several bugs fell out small spiders, ants, and somethings i cant identify

You could pull out a bit of that impacted moss. Put in a clear slotted plastic pot. Or drill some more holes in the pot they are in now. Spagham moss is used by many for these orchids (phals) just watch that you wait till the moss is just slightly damp before watering again. They like to be damp but not soggy.

They are packed like that for travel, and so they do not need to be rewatered while in a shipping container as they travel from taiwan.

Based on the root ball alone, I would have said no, just remove some of the moss so it's not so densely packed. Moss looks to be in pretty good shape in the pics and its not root bound.

But........because of the ants and the bugs you can't identify, then I would.

Spiders won't hurt anything. Ants on the other hand might indicate scale as they like to harvest the honeydew that scale produce. Can you describe or take a pic of the other bugs?

Regardless, before you decide whether or not to repot, you may want to give the pot a soak in warmish water with a few drops of dishsoap to see if you can get rid of the ants and other bugs that way first. Also check crevices and the undersides of leaves for scale.

If the treatment doesn't work, then I would repot. Repotting really shouldn't affect blooming. Just be careful of the spike when you do.

That's my :twocents: and only what I would do personally. :)

Nice plant BTW. Make sure you post pics when the blooms open!



Judi

Hello again, Thanks for the input i really appreciate the help. I decided too repot it and wow! I had too soak the moss ball 3 times too loosen it, it was so hard the roots werent growing thru it but on top and around the sides of it.
i' ve never seen anything like it. roots looked good when i got it cleaned up healthy green/white roots. I feel better and i think my plant will feel better now , but time will tell.
Buds look like they are about too pop open, i will post pics when they do , so stay tuned "same bat time same bat channel"

Repotting is a risk, but a risk I willingly take. In many occasions I have been pathetically glad that I did, because had I left the plant there for the season, odds are it would have died.
There is the risk of the flowers dropping, I won't deny that, but I always say that I am buying for next year. So, I like to buy plants with good shoots as those will be the next tranche of flowers.
Take the 7 denphals I bought. They were all repotted at once into wide shallow pots that will be able to support 10, 15 maybe more canes. My mouth is watering imagining what 10 - 15 flowering canes will look like.

Of the 7, only two have not yet thrown a new shoot, and I think there might be a stirring at the base of number 6. One has dropped all its flowers very fast, but the one next to it has two base shoots, has retained its flowers and is throwing another spike.

All in all, I am classing that as a win.

Hello there, thanks for the reply, i am also in it for the long run i want the plants around for as long as possible so a short term setback is no problem.
i repotted for the health of the plants. I used the arcadia mix and things look much better now.
I had a nice surprise this morning the first bud popped open , it very nice im pleased and i think the plant is feeling better also.
thanks too all the great members here its a fine group. i appreciate all the help and input from folks who have been there done that.

Phalaenopsis can be repotted in bud or in bloom without stressing the plant. It is probably best to repot the plant now, while roots are healthy, into whatever medium (and pot) you normally like for Phalaenopsis. For me that is bark-based growing medium and a terracotta pot (but your preferences may be different).

Very pretty Phal. I kind of like that little fella in the back ground he's on my list.