Phal. pulcherrima - need help to improve its happiness!

[DrDawn]

Hi All!

I got a hand-me-down Phalaenopsis pulcherrima from my dad. He said it wasn't happy in his greenhouse (even though it flowered a few times), so I took it on since Phals generally love my setup. But, not this one! So, I'm looking for advice. I've got a variety of complex hybrids, and another species and species-cross (feel free to check out my profile). But this one I've hear likes to get dry? (My dad had it in the terra-cotta pot, I usually grow in clear plastic with holes in either sphagnum or orchiata). The leaves are clearly angry, but the roots seem ok (nice and green when I water it!). It has this little baby starting on the side. Both are sprouting new leaves. I'm thinking about repotting (while it is in growth phase), trying to split off the baby, and putting them in medium that I'm more familiar with. What say you, more-experienced species growers? Am I on track or missing something big here?

[Roberta]

I wouldn't split off the basal growth - not really a keiki, probably shares a root system with the mother plant. With species Phals, I have had better success in baskets with either bark (for bigger root systems) or sphagnum for the little ones. Hybrids grow fine for me in plastic with either small bark or sphagnum, but the species just seem to grow better My with the extra air (and wet-dry cycle) that a basket gives. Where I can hang them, they do even better. My (completely untested) hypothesis is that the species are close to their wild origins where they grow completely exposed to the air, while the hybrids are domesticated and have "learned" to adapt to their mass-produced environment (or the ones that didn't adapt didn't end up in production)