There are lots of complete notes on how to take care of Phalaenopsis. Just google Phalaenopsis, growing or Phalaenopsis, cultivation.

Whether to use bark or moss depends on where you live (Growing conditions) and your watering routine.

Re, what kind of bark to use? just go down the page a bit and read all the posts under "The best wood chips for orchids."

If you add the state to your my page details and describe your growing conditions other posters may add extra information.

Buy a book, "Ortho's All About Orchids." It has simple instructions and pictures of how to repot. You can get it at any big-box store or Amazon. About $10.00

Hello Bolo. Just to complicate your life, might I quote a portion of a recent post titled "Quick fix for water retention", to wit: "I recently repotted my phal in a Schultz brand orchid mix  itÂs composed of bits of charcoal, clay, etc. IÂd hoped it would prevent overwatering and the mould problems present in the moss it lived in for a year. Unfortunately, the water retention of this mix is terrible, as the water runs through it so quickly that nothing is maintained for the plant. The leaves have become wrinkled and wilted,..." Bark is not magic, moss is not magic, nothing is magic, anything you decide to use as a potting mix needs to be given the proper amount of light, air circulation and watering and most of us find (whether we know it or not) that when proper amounts of light, air circulation, humidity, etc. are supplied it just doesn't @#$$%! matter what you put in the pot as a substrate to hold your orchid in an upright position. Perhaps I have overstated things a tad to make a point but only a little. So my point isn't to tell you not to use a bark mix, I do (ammended with sphag moss) for some things. I am saying that different potting products have different physical properties and regional availabilities that determine how appropriate they ultimately will be for your uses and should be considered on those standpoints than a knee jerk consideration of water retention because ultimately a degree of water retention is often a good thing. If you have an average sized phal in an average sized plastic pot (~6") and you are seeing signs of overwatering you might conclude that a bark mix would solve your problem. WRONG. Or more accurately 'not quite'. Yes the faster drying bark mix would fix the most immediate signs of overwatering but chances are the phal was underlit to begin with and is still underlit even though its drying cycle is now closer to 7 days than the 10+ days when it was in sphag. Ultimately it is the being chronically underlit situation that will prove detrimental although it can take many months to discover this.

H

Hi Bolo,

Have you ever repotted any other type of houseplant (ivy, Boston fern, etc.) before? If so, orchids are no different.

I usually soak my bark mix in water the night before. Pour some bark mix into the pot you want to use. This will give you some idea of how much you may need. Then, take this bark mix and put it into a large bowl. Add enough water to get it wet. I usually add enough water until the first piece of bark starts to float.

When I'm ready to repot, I take the orchid out of its current pot and remove as much of the material as possible from the roots. I check the roots for squishy velamin (the spongy outer covering of the actual root) and rotted roots. If I find any, I remove it. I've actually "slid" the velamin off the root and just left the root itself.

Now I take a large slotted spoon (used for things like vegetable) and put some of the damp/wet bark mix in the bottom of the new pot. Put enough in the bottom so that the orchid sits near the rim (like it was positioned before you unpotted it). Place the orchid in the pot and start putting bark mix around the roots to the rim.

Don't pack the bark down like you would potting soil. Orchid roots are designed to dry out and breathe so air pockets are necessary. I usually just thump the pot on the counter to help "settle" some of the bark in case I need to add a bit more.

Place the newly potted orchid back in its spot and don't water until it's dry. I use wooden skewers placed near the center of the plant to determine if the mix is dry or still wet. I've found that this helps prevent me from overwatering and rotting the roots.

I hope this helps answer your questions about repotting. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Good luck,

Penelope

Most commercial growers pot phalies in sphagnum moss because water is a premium when you have a large range full of plants. They usually water once a week. The moss can have a tendency to be overwatered. But if you water the moss once a week or so, it should stay fresh. Growing a phalie in moss would do better if grown in a clay pot so that it airs out. If you grow in bark, there are commercial "orchid" mixes available. It's usually a mixture of medium fir bark, canadian peat, perlite and maybe some charcoal. It's very simple to repot a phalie in bark mix. I usually put styrofoam peanuts in the bottom of the pot so that the drain holes stay open. Not necessary. Anyway, clean any of the old media off the roots of the plant. Cut off any dead (dark brown or rotten looking) roots. Place the plant in the middle of the pot. Don't over pot. Most adult size plants will fit into a 5" pot fine. The plant should be planted slightly lower than the lip of the pot and and just fill in around the plant with the mix. Lightly tamp the mix down in the pot. There's no need to pound the mix in (like cattleyas). Water the plant immediately.

You should pot for your growing area -- so being in a house means low humidity so you probably really don't need to worry about moisture rentention - I now have all my phals in bark and mud but I tried bark alone and not all phals like it, but I did spag before

Most important -- what I never understood was that those non-degradable peanuts in the bottom of the pots serve 2 purposes -- one your plant most likely in surface rooted -- you don't need a pot full -- secondly the more stuff in the pot the longer it takes to dry out.

Right on -- I get the ones in from vendors packed tight in spag -- but they might not water for -- hey maybe two or three weeks or more. What I do is loose spag - then you let it get damp dry to the touch -- then you water and let it dry again --so you might still only water once a week, you might want to contact your local society - most give advice on this and hands on is best

Peanuts in the bottom of the pot serve another purpose--to let air get at the roots from the bottom. Also, they keep the roots high and dry and prevent them from sitting in water.

The purpose of any orchid medium first and foremost is to stabilize the orchid in the pot. If there is the slightest amount of insecurity in the potting most orchids will refuse to put on size. No doubt an evolutionary response to living in tree branches(!) Sphag is fairly expensive and vendors won't use more of it than is neccessary to securely anchor plants in their pots. A tightly packed pot of sphag has less space, not more for the cells of sphagnum to absorb water, however there will be more sphag overall in a tightly packed pot but surely the difference would be much less than one ounce of liquid? Insignificant I think. I think a pot of sphag that is taking around two weeks to dry needs more light and/or air circulation. Opening up the mix may help but IMO it is the wrong response. Why? Because if the light were good the drying time would be on the order of seven days or less regardless of the density of sphag so the packed sphag serves as a valuable 'light meter' which does not change the fact, when ignored/bypassed that the orchid 'must be' in sub-standard conditions which situation has not been addressed. If sphag is wetted thorougly and slopped in the pot around the roots making sure there are no air pockets when it dries it will be at just about the right consistency for keeping a phal secure. The drying time at that point, whatever it turns out to be is then adjusted with the application of light and/or ventilation to bring a plastic pot at just around seven days and a clay one at just around half of that.

H