Since I'm also discussing this over at the Orchid LiveJournal Group, I thought I'd add this:

I pulled the phal out of the ceramic because it was also in a little plastic pot. That'll at least get it by until my shipment comes in from calwesttropical.com. I ordered some of these:
http://www.orchidbasket.com/

I ordered two 4" and two 6" baskets. I'll just leave my oncidium in its pot until it is done flowering. I also bought a pound of sphagnum moss and a humidity tray for the shelf.

I'm so excited. So you think I should hold off since at least they're in plastic containers for now? I just pulled all the "showy" stuff off the top and it's REALLY wet down in the phal. There's a spot that's reddish looking while the rest is just a wet greenish/brownish. It's really hard to tell because I don't know what I'm looking for. I think I should probably repot the phal in the basket & sphagnum when it gets here. Don't you think?

The oncidium is in bark and seems like it's pretty happy. Doesn't look overwatered from what I can tell.

No, don't repot the Phal now. You did the right thing taking the stuff off the top and getting it out of the ceramic. All that is necessary is to let it dry a bit before watering again.

Phals should not get COMPLETELY dry, but they don't want to be soppy either. Look up the pencil test or bamboo skewer test for moisture level.

Good luck.

Thank you Richard! I will try the skewer test tomorrow morning. I hope it dries out enough. Poor thing was soaked on the top. :(

If it is soaked down in there, do you think repotting might be a good idea? I'm also posting this up over at the orchidculture LJ community and everyone is like "repot repot!" I know it's scary to repot in bloom, but at the same time, it's probably at a high risk for root rot huh? :( Poor little phal! I want to go rescue them all now. Hehe.

Are there drainage holes in the plastic pot? If not, but some with a straight-edge or knife. You need to get it to drain and dry. If you can get it out of the pot without too much damage to the roots, you could sit it in a clay pot or basket until it finishes flowering. If you mess with the roots now, you might lose the flowers. Sometimes though, its necessary.

Jane

It does have a few drainage holes but it looks like the really watered it hard core. It's really mushy and gross on the top.

I just ordered some great orchid baskets (see above). Maybe Ic an transfer it to that, just to help air it out, w/o taking it out if it's potting medium for now? Then once it is down blooming, clean it up and get it into some new sphagnum moss?

Any chance you could take a pic of the medium and roots through the plastic pot (I'm assuming that it's a clear pot)? It would give us a much better idea of how the medium's holding up.
Thanks,
Jem

Hi there. It's not a clear pot and all I have is my iPhone, but here are some pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/57179629@N00/2470148326/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/57179629@N00/2469326231/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/57179629@N00/2470148178/

I noticed today too that it smells down there. It smells like a dirty sponge. :( It's so moist. I just stick my finger on the top and it feels all wet. I don't even need to do the skewer.

Thank you all so much for your help.

I can't see your baskets and your photos are not clear. Use your own judgment. I assume you have grown plants before and if it looks like a sewer in that pot, remove the plant. If you can dry it out, it might be fine. You could cut holes in the pot around the sides to try to air it out. But if its really a mess, you have no choice but remove it. Only you can tell.

One other note - it is spring and the time for growth. This is the best time to make any major changes regarding the plant. You seem to feel it should be removed, and I would trust your feelings. It needs to dry out quickly before you lose the entire plant.

Good luck,
Jane

As I said in my first post, I'm a newbie, so I've never had grown orchids before. That's why I came here for help.

Sorry I couldn't get clearer pics. :( I don't have anything better to photograph with at the moment.

I think Jane has a good point. No one can tell you without holding the plant in their hand what the right thing to do is. And I bet even if we could all pass the plant around you'd still get different advice. So, the final decision is comletely up to you.

That said, if it were up to me I would repot it now. Phals are in general very tolerant of repotting (in large part because they have such thick roots). When you take your phal out of it's current pot you will be faced with one of the following situations: most (if not all) of the roots are rotted or the roots are still in good shape. If all of the roots are in good shape the phal should be able to adjust just fine to new potting medium and the phal should have sufficient water absorption ability to sustain the blooms. If most of the roots are rotted, there is a good chance that you will lose the flowers when you repot. However this is probably a good thing since the plant will be given a chance to grow roots and establish itself. If your orchid has few roots left and you don't repot it now, you will most likely lose the blooms very soon anyway and at that point you might not have any roots left. But that's just my opinion :)
~Jem

Thank you jem for your kind response. I really appreciate it. I punched some holes in the plastic container and have it up on rocks in the terra cotta dish to help dry it out. It is still so wet though so I think when my supplies come from calwesttropical.com, I will go ahead and repot. You're right. Better to love the blooms and save the plant. :)

Again - thank you all for your help.