First time repotting

[tgard87]

I bought a phal back in February from Trader Joe's and I have several questions on how to proceed with it.

1. I know that I need to repot it because it's in a glass pot with no drainage and all of the blooms dropped about a month ago. I'm afraid that this has already caused damage to the roots and need some advice on what size of pot to use. All of my phals in the past have been in clear plastic pots.

2. Once I find a pot, I need to know what kind of medium is recommended. Right now, the plant seems to be in bark, but I have no idea what kind.

3. I'm a serial over-waterer. I live in Phoenix where the air is extremely dry and I always feel that my medium dries out very quickly. That being said, when I increase the frequency of watering, I lose leaves.

4. Should I cut the spike? I've read quite a bit about this and some say yes, others no.

Any help with these questions would be greatly appreciated!

[Wynn Dee13]

Welcome! Use a pot that just fits the healthy roots snugly. If you have to cut off a lot of dead roots you might have to use a much smaller pot. You want to match the pot to the roots, not the size of the leaves. You do not want to over pot the plant. Use a pot with a lot of drainage holes. I do not recommend planting it directly in a decrotive container. Use a plastic pot or a terra cotta clay pot. Do not use a glazed clay pot. You can put the plastic or clay pot in a decrotive container but make sure there is air flow to the roots and between the two pots. If you have low humidity and the pot dries out fast I would use a plastic pot. But then again if you like to water a lot clay pots dry out faster. It's up to you.

You want to use a bark mix. Lowes or Home depot carry a brand called Better-Gro special orchid mix. It consists of fir bark, horticulture charcoal, and sponge rock. Do not use the Miricle Grow Orchid Mix. It is a peat mix and is too soil like for most orchids. When you get the mix soak it for at least 24 hours. Longer is actually better. New bark doesn't retain water as much as older bark.

When you repot and look at your roots you will see if you are over watering. If a lot of the roots are rotten and squishy then you might be over watering. A lot of people use a wooden skewer to help them know when to water. You can use a skewer you use for kabobs. Put the skewer in the middle of the pot and always keep it there. You can pull it out of the meadium to check when it is time to water. You want to put it in the middle of the pot because the medium in the middle usually dries out last. Even if the top of the meadium is dry there might still be enough moisture in the middle of the pot. If the skewer is dry then it is time to water. If it is wet, don't water. If you are not sure if it is dry enough you can always wait an extra day to water. Over watering is worse than under watering. You can fix under watering easier than over watering. People kill orchids more by over watering than under watering.

The leaf drop could be normal. Phals will shed their bottom leaves every once in a while. If it is happening a lot, it isn't normal. Over watering can cause leaf drop. If you are concerned about humidity you can place your orchids on a tray full of pebbles with water in it. Make sure the water isn't touching the bottom of the pots. You can also use a humidifier.

Everyone has their own preference on cutting spikes. If it turns brown it is time to cut it off. I cut my spikes all the way off at the base of the plant after all the flowers fall off. I don't wait for the spike to turn brown. Some people cut the spike to the next node on the spike to try and induce a second blooming off the old spike. Some Phals will branch from the node and some won't. I don't like to let my plants do that because I want them to rest and put their energy into new leaves and roots. I find that if you let them branch the flowers are smaller and there are fewer of them. My personal opinion is that it is healthier for the plant to cut the spike all the way off. It is up to you though. But if you find that your plant has a lot of root rot it would be better to cut the spike all the way off. You want the plant to put its energy into roots in that case instead of blooms to save the plant. I'm kind of worried about your plants roots because you said you are an over waterer and the pot it is in doesn't have any drainage holes. I would get it out of that pot ASAP.

There is a great thread called the Phal Abuse Ends Here. It has a lot of information on Phals bought from grocery stores and big box stores. It is long but is worth reading. I recommend reading it. http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ends-here.html

I have a hard time finding pots I like around where I live so I buy them online. I don't have a store that carries many orchid supplies. Like I said Lowes or Home Depot has a decent bark mix but I usually don't find the clear plastic pots that I like at my local stores. There are many online orchid supply stores. There is Repotme.com, Kelly's Korner Orchid supplies, and Tindara's Orchid Supplies to name a few. I really like the slotted clear plastic pots. At least one of these stores carries them.

Good luck! If you have anymore questions don't hesitate to ask! You are going to love Orchid Board!

[tucker85]

Welcome to Orchid Board! Wynn Dee has given you some excellent advice. I agree with everything she suggested. Good luck.

[RosieC]

Welcome to Orchid Board

I agree with the advice above. GL.

[Bud]

if you want to learn the vase culture of orchids, as I have seen the way the glass vase was done ...but it must not have any media, since you need to remove the water after five min of soaking it...and your plant is not a good candidate for vase culture...I suggest you repot in a clear plastic pot(or bore holes in a chinese food takeout plastic container) and use the media mix in that glass that you already have...

[Wynn Dee13]

Bud- Why would you use used meadium when you have access to new meadium? The meadium I suggested at Lowes or Home Depot is a good mix. I have used it before. I think new meadium is better than the old meadium. You don't know how old it is and her container doesn't have any drainage holes. She also said she likes to over water so the meadium probably needs a change.

[james mickelso]

Wynn Dee has given you excellent advice. I know it's 105+ outside where you live right now and keeping this phal hydrated as you seem to have done successfully will be a chore but not difficult if you understand the needs of your plant. If you are running air conditioning then the humidity will be around 20-30 percent and your plant needs a bit more. Here is a caveat to Wynn Dee's potting mix. Get some spagnum moss and cut it up into short 1 inch pieces. For every handful of potting mix you use, add a handful of moss to it. Not a heaping handful but a slightly closed handful. The reason being that it will keep the media hydrated but not wet. But when you pot with a lot of moss in the mix, you must flush out the salts at least once a month as the moss will tend to accumulate salts in it's structure. Get a pot with lots of holes. I take regular clay pots and make the hole in the bottom about 3 times larger than normal. I put a 1/4 inch screen (hook rug knitting screen works well from a cloth store) and don't put any foam peanuts in it. I would also get a clay pot that is slightly larger than normal for this orchid because you will need the extra moisture in the pot to help cool it. With this slightly courser media and moss in it you can water a little more often. Kabob skewers work ok for gauging the moisture in the media but I prefer to judge this by the weight of the pot. And here is how you do it. Repot the phal and when finished, lift it up and feel how heavy it is. Now run water through the pot for a few minutes and thenwhen you feel it is thoroughly watered, lift the pot again and feel how heavy it is. When it begins to feel light, water it again. I know your water in the Phenix area has about 500+ ppm tds in it so I would buy the drinking water you get in the machines in front of the supermarkets and fill a pan with some and set the plant in it for a few minutes when you water. This will saturate the media and keep it damp longer. From what I see in the picture, you have done well with this phal. Let's all try to help you keep it growing this well.