Congrats on your first orchid. I was 12 years old when I got my first plant (a cattleya). 40 plus year later, I'm still growing cattleyas. Orchids are infective. Phalies like most epiphytes grow in trees and extend aerial roots out. The green tips of the roots possess chlorophyll so they are photo-sensitive and sometimes grow toward a light source. However, it doesn't sound good if the roots outside the pot are dry and shriveled. Wait till the plant finishes blooming and repot in a fresh medium. When you buy these plants from the store, there's no telling how long the plant was sitting in the pot. A lot of phalies are potted in sphagnum. Nothing wrong with that, but in a plastic pot, it has the problem staying too wet for too long and the main roots might have become rotten from over-watering. While Phalies don't possess a water storage system like the pseudobulbs of cattleyas and the like, they don't like to be in standing water or soaking wet medium. They need to dry out between watering. Phalies in the wild grow in the humid jungles of Indonesia. There is regular rain, but there is also a good amount of breeze and airflow that allows the plant to dry out before the next shower. Also, the higher humidity helps the plant from being desiccated. The "little green horns" on the inflorescence maybe either another secondary flower spike or a "keiki" or the formation of a baby plant. Sometimes if the plant starts to break keikis over flower, the plant might be in distress. When a plant senses it is dying, it will do anything to preserve itself, either by flowering or making keikis. But you will not know that for a while. A good sign is that the plant is putting out a new leaf. Make sure that when you water, never leave standing water in the crown (the axil of the leaves). Standing water can lead to crown rot and this usually is fatal to the plant. Also, never have the plant sitting in a plant saucer filled with water. Again, this will keep the medium too wet and cause rot. Phalies (though they say tolerate shady conditions) do like a good amount of indirect light. The key to flowering most orchids is the quality of light. A north facing window won't do. A south facing window is the best. The leaves should always be a medium green. Very dark green leaves means the plant isn't getting enough light, and they become long, thin and flaccid. Too much light and the leaves could bleach out, turn yellow or burn. Phalies and Paphs don't need as much light as cattleyas that is true. You can put the flowering plant anywhere in the house to be enjoyed. But when you want it to start growing, put it in a sunny window. And if you live in areas where you can summer a plant outdoors under shade cloth or lath, (a tree sometimes can cast too much shade; depends on the tree) do that. Really, an orchid growing indoors is rather foreign to them. But that goes for all plants. Soon you will be hooked and adding more plants to your collection. You will want a greenhouse. It never ends. Trust me. Good luck and have fun!!

Both are probably warm growing hard cane Dendrobium with a long flower stem like this.. It is normal for a cane a few growths back from the newest growth to lose all its leaves at some time during the year. Regarded as difficult here and i would not repot them with winter coming on. Seek out some detailed cultivation notes. You might find them as Hard-Cane or Phal. Type Dendrobiums.

Arthrum: good point, the temps in my house are only kept above 65 degrees, but it still seems that some temperature hardy plants still show dislike of my repotting... Dbarron: oh my! Sounds like a tragedy! I get upset enough when I break of a new shoot! Vtandrea: thanks for the suggestion! I'll definitely try it on one of my oncidiums! Jane: I live in the Oakland hills in the SF Bay Area. I grow almost all my indoor orchids in the same spot, positioned around a fireplace to control the amount of light. The facing of the house isn't the best. 80% of the light is late morning to afternoon sun . 90% of the windows are west facing :( like the house... The problem might be I repotted at the wrong time. I didn't a lot of reporting in the winter/ late fall (whoops...)

Hi, If the mini is a phalaenopsis orchid it won't hurt to re-pot it even if it is in bloom. As you stated the sphagnum moss is not a good thing for Orchids. I have bought several orchids at Lowe's myself and I always re-pot them immediately, due to them being in sphagnum moss. If it fits in the same pot use it, but you can always use any other pot that is the same size or a little bit larger. I hope this helps, Rich.