Mini Phal 2 is the worst one, so it was the first to come out. I didn't have to break it's pot, but it's the one with the very long aerials. I cleaned out all the gunk and it the roots are mostly white and green. Only snipped off a couple, but it did seem very potbound, so I guess that's the reason for the long aerials.
Mini Phal 3 was just like 2, but with short aerials... Or, so I thought. The orchids are in a small plastic pot wedged into a small clay pot. This baby had a long root that went through the bottom holes of the plastic and up between the very tight plastic and clay. Once above the pot, it had the aerial appearance. I had to break the clay and cut the plastic pot to get it out. The root had grown out of the plastic, then forked into the bottom of the clay under the plastic, so I couldn't slide it back through the hole! And, it was a dang healthy root too, go figure.
My son commented that it's amazing what plants have to do to live with me.
So, I cleaned off both plants. Since I don't have any potting medium yet, I threw them both in a plastic cereal container stuffed with leftover crappy sphag. They're not tightly packed. In that container, I was able to put the really long aerials of #2 pointing downward without breaking. So, they're covered in loose sphag now. I'm hoping this helps convert the aerials into something less dry and fragile. All in all, though, the lower roots were fine.
Since both of them looked OK, I'm not going to repot #1 right now. It's leaves are dry, but not desperate. I'm sure it's just potbound and not getting enough water. It's sphag was bone dry today even though I watered it about 3 days ago. I think the water probably left the tiny holes, hit the clay and then evaporated through the clay pot.
I hate sphag. I think I'm allergic to it. Is that even possible?
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