Blooming phal in non-draining pot :/
 

Hello!

I got a pretty little NOID phal as a gift yesterday, full of blooms with a few buds left on it. Problem is, it's in a decorative ceramic pot with no drainage.

Should I just try to repot it as gently as possible into a proper pot? Is there a way to keep it healthy in this thing while it's blooming? Can I avoid making it drop all of its flowers?

The leaves are turning yellow at the edges, and I'd like to get it looking healthy, even if I have to sacrifice the flowers.

I would definitely repot, I have never had it affect the blooms...

Unless the mix is turning to mush you may be able to slip it out of the no drain pot and into a new one before the plant even notices. Repot as gently as possible for now and flowers will probably not be affected, but plan on a complete repot with new mix in spring even if it isn't done blooming.

Lack of drainage isn't a problem in and of itself. I have a customer who keeps Phals in clear glass vases without drainage. The media is large river gravel, and he waters by filling the vase, letting it soak a minute and then pouring out the excess. Since the vases are clear he watches the roots to know when to water.

I would repot ASAP, in a pot with good drainage, in well-drained medium such as coarse bark (no moss). The flowers will barely notice, likely will last more than a month, maybe two, plant will stay healthy.

If you decide not to repot, it will be difficult for the plant to survive more than a few weeks without getting root rot.

You can move (re-pot) phals when they are in flower. some people warn against moving them when in bud. The options are, wait to see what happens and kill the plant and thus never see flowers from it again, or take a risk, save the plant, and maybe miss out on one year of flowers. My choice is to save the plant, and let the flowers live or die as the wheel of fate allows.

Phals don't really mind being potted into new medium while in bloom. I have done it many times. If they have long spikes, though, you just need to be careful not to knock the buds/blooms off.
If you do feel nervous about potting it while blooming, you can either gently lift the orchid from the pot and set the entire mass in a container that allows much more air to the roots or you can leave the orchid in the pot but carefully remove the medium (if the roots are clinging to the pot).

Good luck!

Thanks guys! I dug them out today and discovered that while they were totally saturated in water, there were two of those flimsy clear plastic "pots" buried in the moss....so right now I've just pulled them out of the ceramic and I'm going to see how well these things drain. :)

I wondered if there was a clear pot inside your decorative one, that is usually how they come. Sometimes it is hard to see the plastic one.

I was going to say the same thing. Most of the little phals sold at the box stores are in the plastic pots set inside the ceramic cachepots and then decorated on top with moss. You can take the plastic pot out, water, drain completely and then replace until the next time to water.