Help! My mother repotted my phal orchid in regular soil. What to do?
garnet16
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Hello,
Newbie here. I have one orchid that I received last year for Mother's Day. I believe it is a phalanopsis (sp?) as my daughter picked it out from the grocery store. It has been doing fine, it bloomed once, I feed it ice cubes once a week.
Recently it has begun to produce rather large bulbs and so I'm guessing it will bloom soon. The roots have been coming out of the rather small pot that it came in.
I was planning on doing some research into what type of soil/mix to use. My mother was babysitting and while I was away she decided to re pot it into another larger pot (she said because the roots were coming out). She used regular MIracle Grow potting mix (NOT a specific orchid soil mix).
Now I"m worried about this orchid. I've read you shouldn't re pot it when it is in bloom (it looks almost ready to bloom) and apparently regular potting soil is bad for orchids.
What do I do? Repot now in orchid mix? Leave it be until after it's done blooming? Thank you!!
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shavedmonkey (Harvey in South Fl.)Z10b
7 years agobossyvossy
7 years agoRelated Discussions
should i repot or wait - my first orchid!
Comments (6)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!!...See MoreHelp!! my first Orchid and I don't know what to do
Comments (10)Hi smithjm, Welcome to the world of orchids! What you have there is a Dendrobium orchid. These are sympodial orchids, which basically means that it grows laterally, putting out a new growth when the old one is mature. Each of those growths is called a pseudobulb and, in the case of Dendrobiums, a cane. Flowers generally emerge from the most recent cane, but the other canes are there as water and nutrient storage organs, so leave them together. Dendrobium is one of the largest families in the orchid world and has been separated into groups. Your Dendrobium belongs to the Phalaenopsis group, because its flowers look like Phalaenopsis (moth orchids). It needs bright light (some people in Florida put them outside), warmth and humidity to grow well and flower. From what I know about them, these orchids do not rebloom from old spikes, so you did the right thing to cut off the old one. Orchid flowers last a long time, but most orchids are not always in bloom. You will have to wait until the newest growth (looks like the growth on the right hand side of the picture is growing right now) has matured (gotten to the same size as the cane that has already flowered) to get more flowers. If you want to repot, now would probably be a good time. Be sure to use a pot that is just one small size up, since the larger a pot, the longer it takes to dry out, which can lead to root rot. To repot, remove the plant from its current pot, removing whatever is loose of the old media and cutting off dead roots (stringy, hollow -- good roots are firm to the touch). Clean it up in the sink. Keep all the growths together. Hold the oldest (smallest) growth at the edge of the pot and then fill in with orchid media. I'll let someone else give you a recommendation as to which media to use, since conditions in Florida are much different than they are up here in Canada. Clay is a good idea, as they are heavier than plastic, which is good as these plants do get top heavy when blooming. Clay does dry faster, though, so be sure to keep up on your watering. Have fun - as many of us here can attest, this is an addicting hobby, but oh so much fun. Julie...See MoreWhat do 'serious' orchid growers think of cheap mass market phal?
Comments (21)Gary, it's more than *either* bozo *or* snobbish. Big middle of the continuum where most of us hang out. Knowing that live orchids are thrown out to die is tough. However, my 40 indoor plants are crowded, and just one of those large big box Phals would push a couple off the shelf. Denninmi, for me, the most important thing is to enjoy our orchids, whatever their source or price. I'm glad the big box stores have Phals and other orchids at low prices. I might never have gotten into orchids had it not been for one of those stores. Before then, I thought orchids demanded hothouse conditions and didn't know commercial growers existed. The stores introduce loads of uninformed folks to orchids. Your question about quality... Masses of big box orchids, identified or not, come from Thailand. Others may know if quality is similar to those from US commercial growers, but *I* feel better buying from a grower whom I can contact to see if they have an orchid not listed in their catalog, get detailed info about a particular plant, could visit if in the area, whatever. Your question about what the availability of these plants at low prices to the general public means to more professional orchid growers... I wonder about that, too, if I'm understanding your question. Have big box sales had a detrimental effect on US professional, commercial growers? My understanding is countless plants come from factory farms in Thailand, where the weather's ideal; utility, labor, transportation, & other costs are low; and the mammoth greenhouse compounds are largely or completely automated. It seems impossible for US growers to compete, but perhaps the two markets largely draw different customers. Or maybe hobbyists continue to buy from US growers while shopping at big box stores for inexpensive, blooming orchids that aren't available from US growers at those prices anyway. There are bound to be other variables. And... just know - for $15-$25 plus shipping, you can get a blooming size Phal from a US commercial grower, or one of the multitude of other orchids that grow in Phal conditions. These plants aren't likely forced to bloom, as the big box orchids are. If you order during the orchid's natural blooming season, you'll receive a spiking plant. Otherwise, it will flower during its next season, as most of yours probably do now. Enjoy, WhiteCat8...See MorePhal Orchid mold and repotting
Comments (14)Also, how much should i be watering the orchids per week? 1/4 cup? Don't be afraid of giving your orchid too much water-"overwatering" does not refer to the amount of water given to the plant but instead the frequency. For example-you could pour gallons of water on the roots when you water and the plant wouldn't care less, however, watering it once an hour without letting the roots dry first would eventually rot the roots. You can water the orchid a couple of ways- 1. You can get a decorative pot (no drainage holes), fill it up with water, and soak the roots of the orchid by slowly placing the pot that the orchid is in (the plastic pot with the drainage holes) into the decorative pot filled with water. Immerse only the roots-not the entire plant (e.g. don't soak the leaves/stems). After 30 minutes to an hour, take the orchid out of the water, dump the water that you used to soak it, then place the orchid back into the (now drained) decorative pot. 2. You can take the orchid to the sink, turn on the tap, and run water through the entire pot (without wetting the leaves/top of the orchid). After around a minute, you can place the orchid back in its spot. Don't water the plant on a schedule-water when the plant needs water. You can use a couple of methods to tell when to water the orchid. If you have a plastic pot, you can take a look at the roots from the sides of the pot. If all of the roots are silvery-grey/white, then the roots are dry and could use a little watering. If some roots are green, then the roots have enough water and you do not (should not) need to water. Oh and how do i know if the roots are dead too? Like JerseyGirl mentioned-dead roots are usually brown/black and mushy, while live roots are usually white/silvery (they should turn green if wet) and firm. If you're unsure, just give the root a gentle squeeze. If it feels mushy, go ahead and remove it. If it feels firm (even if it's not completely healthy looking), then it's alive. When you say orchid pot, how do I know if it's for orchids? Here is an example of an orchid pot (Amazon) Plastic Orchid Pot The orchid should fit snugly into the pot-not too small and not too large. You shouldn't have to stuff the orchid in-if you have to do so, then the pot is likely too big. The current pot size it is currently in should be fine. How can I decide on an appropriate potting mix? Orchids are usually potted in bark or sphagnum moss. Sphag can be a bit tricky to work with, so I recommend using bark for your orchid. Here's an example of a bark mix you can use for your orchid: Better-gro Bark Mix Whatever mix you choose-don't use Miracle Gro's orchid mix. The bark pieces in it are too small for orchids. When repotting, you can also use hydrogen peroxide (H202, you can find it easily at pharmacies) 3% and spray the root system after you remove all of the old sphagnum moss from the roots. This will help disinfect the root system a little and should help prevent any fungal outbreaks after you repot....See Moreoldmangroot
7 years agogarnet16
7 years agooldmangroot
7 years agogarnet16
7 years ago
Sherry7bNorthAL
7 years agogarnet16
7 years agogarnet16
7 years agobossyvossy
7 years ago
mesembs
7 years ago
mommas_secrets
7 years agogarnet16
7 years agomesembs
7 years ago
Sheila
7 years agodannie317
7 years agoalan_rr
7 years ago
joyfulsu
last year
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