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potting depth

17 years ago

Hi all,

I have tried keeping orchids on and off for a while with mixed results and I am valiently trying again as I think my currently living quarters are more suitable for them. My question is about potting techiniques. I have looked around the forums and various internet sites but I am not quite seeing what I want to know.

Here's the situations. I recently bought a couple of phals that seem to be potted in an unusual way. they are in plastic pots (with drainage) then in clay with drainage... so I think they are ok that way but they have been potted in sphagnum moss rather high up the plant and there are two plants in a pot.

I am under the impression that the moss should only come up to the level of the lowest leaf, these have several leaves under moss and indeed the flower spike is comming up through the moss.

My instinct is to pull the moss away from the leaves so they don't rot and when it finishes flowering to repot it in a more normal way, but on the other hand the plants seem really healthy and are well established in the pots with great root systems (that I can see in the clear plastic pots) and there are no signs of rot at all in the leaves... opinions please??

Oh and what do you think of them having two plants in one pot? again they seem happy but I keep wondering why they would have been planted like this.

Kate

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Comments (4)

raybark
17 years ago
Your instinct about the moss is a good one.

Two plants in one large pot is OK, but can lead to problems of timing of repotting, treatment, etc. I prefer "singletons".
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orchid126
17 years ago
Often growers tuck some fresh moss around a plant to make it look more presentable for sale. As Ray says, your instincts are correct, and your impression about the level of the moss is also correct. Moss so high can lead to crown rot. You may find when you pull the moss away you only have one plant with a baby. Let's hope you have two individual plants.
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kate_grow
Original Author
17 years ago
Ok... so I'll remove some of the top moss and consider repotting later. Is there any particular risk to the plant in disturbing it to remove the moss on top? and how far down should i go?

In this case, the two plants in a pot problem comes up as they are at different levels. Would it be good to just remove moss imediatly around the plant - sort of make a space - so that I can treat the two plants in the pot differently? or should I risk exposing roots on the upper one so that the lower one can be exposed to a correct level.

Kate
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jane__ny
17 years ago
Your gardening instinct is correct. Always trust it. Many times they 'fancy-up' plants for sale, but good luck keeping them alive that way. Pull the moss away from the crown of the plants to a normal level. Think of how you would pot a regular plant - do it the same. Phals are always in danger of crown-rot and unless you have high air movement, you risk losing those plants. You are not going to hurt them.
Remember, they grow hanging off trees, not in pots.

Jane
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