Also, what are these light spots?

another example of poor care.

repeat post

This post was edited by kateanne on Tue, Aug 20, 13 at 13:52

I am in honolulu, hi. my neighborhood is sunny and windy with little rain this time of year. I have the orchids inside because of the wind, we have a moderate amount of humidity and no air conditioning. Our apartment gets a lot of bright, indirect light due to having big windows.

I did find spider webs on 2 of the plants, but both seemed to have regular spiders, rather than mites, from what I could tell. Just in case I sprayed them all with water to get rid of anything that might have come in. I've learned the hard way that bugs can easily hitch a ride on the good will of others.
I got some good quality mix, and am looking to repot, as I am not really a fan of plastic pots, plus I want to inspect for root problems. Are regular terracotta pots ok? my Orchids for Dummies book is vague on that. My friend gave me the pots she meant to repot them in, which are terra cotta and vented, but each is 6 inches diameter, the pots they are in now are only 2 to 4 inches square. but roots and bulbs are starting to grow out of each one.

Pots are a personal choice. Clay is good for drying out. Roots stick to clay which makes it hard or impossible to repot later.
Plastic is good for dryer climates but probably not good for you. You could use wood baskets too. Whatever you're comfortable with or have at hand.

Pot in the clay pots and when they outgrow you can just stick the smaller pot in to a bigger pot without damaging the roots.

You should have good luck with your orchids. You are living in the perfect place!

Jane

Lime or calcium (hard water) deposits on a plant's leaves don't interfere with photosynthesis. However, to remove them, a tablespoon of white vinegar and a quart of distilled water will remove it. (Apply with a soft sponge or cloth and let sit for five to ten minutes..then wipe off with a clean wet cloth, dipped in just the distilled water). The acid from the vinegar will dissolve calcium and lime.
The yellow round "spots" could be from past scale damage.
Plastic pots are fine, but it depends on what kind of media and how often you water. Bark mixes break down quickly (in a warm, humid environment like Florida or parts of Hawaii) it can be a year or even less (if left outdoors, and doused with afternoon rain). Such bark mixes do better in clay pots.
Growers in Florida often use Hydroton or clay pellets. Or lava rock. Some use granite chips or small stones. These non-organic media can be used with plastic pots.
Some growers have had success with red ceder chips: the tannins in the cedar (like redwood) don't break down as quickly as fir bark. There is also treated pinus radiata or Monterrey Pine bark.
If you plant in a non-organic mix like clay pellets or rock, then you can simply keep the plant in the old pot, and place it in a bigger one, and back fill with more of that same potting mix.
Not true with bark or organic mixes, which break down, and cause roots to rot. Tree fern, hardwood charcoal, perlite are good additions to a cattleya potting mix.

Update, I repotted the one who has finished flowering and put up new growth last night. I put it in a clay pot of comparable size to the plastic one it came in, and used a local hawaiian mix from an orchid seller at the farmers market, which seemed to be mostly lava rock, with some kind of large hardwood chips and stringy twigs that look like the aerial roots from a banyan. (there was a language barrier so I have had to guess) I removed most of the twigish pieces.
There was a good portion of mushy rotted, or styrafoamy roots, I had to remove about a third of the root mass, and about a quarter of the plant (the part with the new growth) came apart from the whole. I put that in the same pot, for lack of a suitable alternative.
This is the plant from the last picture, I love the foliage and structure of it even more than the flowers, when they were in bloom, So am hoping for the best.

Good luck and post back to update us.

Jane

Good luck with your repotting. It sounds like you are doing it right. As for the water stains, I have found lemon juice to be very effective at removing stains from and adding shine to leaves.