Welcome, Rina! I'm no orchid expert, growing only a few, myself... I would like to become a lot more accomplished at growing some of the many types, though... they're so beautiful! Actually, I grow mostly Amaryllids, a couple of Hoyas, and an assortment of other plants. But I do so love orchids! I do know that Ludisia orchids are terrestrial and require different medium and culture than your Phals do. I would not recommend the 511 for your Phals, although a lot will depend upon the environment you have to grow in. I'm stuck with a very dry indoor environment, myself, and I grow most of my plants in an east facing window. Everything I read these days says that Phals are one of the easiest orchids to grow in the average home environment, but I have NOT found this to be true in my case! I've killed several, and I cannot figure out what I'm doing wrong. I've read and researched, tried different mediums and methods, and they simply do not like what I have to offer them, apparently. However, I find that Dendrobiums do much better for me, and seem to be doing very well in a slightly altered rendition of Al's Gritty Mix. In fact, I recently had a young plant develop nice buds... though they ended up shriveling up and dying before they had a chance to open. I am determined to learn enough, and perhaps sacrifice enough orchids, to become successful at growing and blooming them. It is often said that a person can't be called a true orchidist until he or she has killed at least a hundred plants in the learning process... or something to that effect... and though I hope this is not true, I've lost many different types within the past several years. I'm still determined, and I'm not ready to give up just yet! So far, two Dendrobiums, one Encyclia, and a Cymbidium backbulb are all surviving, and even thriving! They're all in a Gritty Mix with more bark than other ingredients, all minus the turface... and the Cymbidium has a tad bit of chopped up sphagnum moss pieces added, just to help retain a little more moisture around the newly grown roots. My question to you, Rina, is what type of environment do you grow in, and what are the average conditions like? As in light, humidity, average temperature, the mediums your plants are in currently, your watering and feeding habits, and anything else you can think of... perhaps we can help!

".... will having a fan running caused a drop in the relative humidity level? No The molecules in air vibrate at a frequency based primarily on temperature. The warmer it is, the faster the molecules vibrate and the farther apart the molecules are, which is why gasses expand when they are warmed and contract when they are cooled. We can imagine this property at work if we imagine a given number of molecules of air trapped in a balloon. Stick the balloon in the fridge and it shrinks, yet the number of molecules of air remain the same, they just become closer together. Think of air as a sponge that can only hold just so much water. When molecules are warm and excited, there are larger spaces between the air molecules that can hold more water. When the air cools, it 'squeezes' the molecules together, which literally forces the water out - just like squeezing a wet sponge. Now to what happens in the winter: The cold air outside your house, because the molecules are vibrating slowly, is incapable of holding much water; but as that cold air finds its way into your home, it warms up, molecules become farther apart, and it suddenly becomes thirsty for water. Water evaporates quickly to fill the large, dry spaces with moisture. THEN, some of this moisture-laden air finds its way to the outside, through little openings in your home. This carries moisture OUT of the home. As this occurs, more cold air is coming in, picking up moisture ...... In a continuing process, it is: cold, dry air in, air warms and absorbs moisture, moist air moves to the outside, relative humidity falls dramatically. Simply moving the air with a fan won't have an impact on this process unless the air movement pressurizes air against an opening and it forces more moist air outside (which would cause more cold air to come in to replace it) than would normally occur. IF the moving air is passing over a moisture source, it will upset what is called the boundary layer of moist air that surrounds the moisture source and actually slows evaporation. Upsetting this boundary layer causes more rapid evaporation, which INCREASES humidity, so having a moisture source in front of the fan is a very good thing when trying to raise humidity. I employ this strategy in my basement grow room to help save on the cost of running humidifiers to keep humidity in the 55% range. Al

Your plant is nice looking but I fear too dark looking. You should have it in an east facing window where it will get morning sun or it can be kept outside hanging from a branch of a tree where it is partially shaded but only during the day when nights drop below 55 degrees F. The media it was growing in was perfect for it and indicates the type of culture it was receiving. This commercial grower culture was probably watering this plant every other day with the room it was kept in with high humidity which I would suspect to be at least 65% relative humidity though up to 85% with fans running 24/7. To your questions: 1: if you use coconut chips mix in at 1 to 1 pumice as little stones or gravel. Keep in mind that even though this is a hybrid this plant is genetically designed to live on branches which may be soaking wet during some time every day but is exposed to constant air movement. 2. I would recommend Miracle Gro. They have an orchid food that you can apply every 2 weeks when the plant is in active growth. When new growths have stopped growing stop the feeding. The link is below. Follow the instructions. 3. This plant should get some direct sunlight sometime during the day. Most likely early morning or very late afternoon BUT because your plant has been so shaded giving it any direct sun will probably burn it, especially the new growth. So see my comments above on the light. If using it in an east window just leave it in the window during early morning when sun hits it and remove after an hour and place in partial shade, outside if possible. Monitoring it when adapting to a change in light exposure is needed throughout the period of increased exposure. While a lot of folk swear by hydroponics such is not suitable for this type of orchid unless the orchid is suspended above the water and not in direct contact with it except whenever you water it. So I would not soak the potted plant at all but rather water every other day. Good luck. Here is a link that might be useful: Miracle Gro Orchid food

There is no simple answer to this as it depends on environment and so many other variables. This person is growing in NY. Her plant needs to survive the winter indoors with low humidity. Orchid roots cannot stay wet. The mix has to fit the environment. The pot size needs to fit the environment. Bark soaks in the water. If watered too frequently it never dries out. The roots stay wet and air is blocked. If you want to overpot, you need to use a large bark mix, something which allows the air to flow through. But during winter some sphag should be mixed in to prevent the roots from drying out. Many new growers tend to over-water and in a large pot the bark, as James explained, does not dry out. The roots will start dying and the plant might send out aerial roots into the air. In a dry environment, those roots will dry out. The safest way to prevent all these hypothetical situations is to underpot. Water when the bark feels almost dry and the plant will thrive. I have grown Phals in NY for many years and now in Florida. Florida is a totally different culture. High heat, high humidity. New York, warm summers, cold winters indoors, very low humidity. I would recommend 'Summerlee' repot after flowering in a pot that is not too big. Give it some protection by covering the surface of the bark with a thin layer of sphag moss during winter and only water when 'almost dry.' Jane