My Phals Thrive On Neglect...

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

I own five regular Phals, as well as seven mini Phals. They've stayed outdoors almost all year long, once it warmed up enough for them to do so. They've received direct sunlight early in the mornings and late in the evenings. All throughout the rest of the day, they received very bright indirect sun; very bright sunlight, almost too bright. Some leaves did get scorched one hot summer day when I forgot to move them back after watering them. But the sunburn was minimal and my Phals seemed to get over it fairly quickly.

Back in the springtime, I started to repot one of them, but stopped after I removed all of the old mix. I left it bareroot, thinking that I would buy some more potting mix soon enough. But the Lowe's that I always bought the mixes from had stopped carrying the brand that I use. Every time I went there and asked, nobody knew anything, and they pretty much gave me the runaround. Two years now, and I finally gave up on them. Whoever's running the place now has no idea what they're doing. They used to have such gorgeous orchids of all types, not just Phals. But for two years now, nothing. Very frustrating. I eventually ran out of the mix that I use, which is why my Phal was left bareroot all year long.

Long story short, I found out that I could order the mixes from Home Depot and have it shipped to my local store for free. Which sure beats the hell out of traveling to the next town over to go to Lowe's, only to come back home empty-handed yet again. Well, I was finally able to repot my Phals this past week. I still have three more to go. One thing that I noticed while repotting them was that most of them have started sending out flower spikes. I guess they're loving these warm days and chilly nights.

^ This is the one that remained bareroot all year long. The poor thing did receive some damage as it was growing. Despite having no potting mix, it still sent out roots through the inner net pot, so I wasn't able to remove it from the pot and repot it properly. Instead, I did the next best thing and just stuff as much of the mix in and around the roots as best as I could.

^ Considering the fact that it received more neglect than my others, it is currently sending out two spikes. Which I thought was pretty cool.

Another one that I wanted to point out is definitely one of my favorites. It has grown like crazy this year...

^ It was ready to bust out of the pot it came in. There are so many roots that the pot was warped. When I went to repot it, I could barely pry the plant out. I thought that I was just going to have to cut it away.

Now that the sun has moved down into the Southern Hemisphere, the sunlight isn't as intense and is more dispersed and weaker. Since my plants were already acclimated to very bright sunlight, I went ahead and moved them into direct sunlight all day long. I've kept a very close eye on them, knowing that I was pushing the limits. This second Phal was already a pale green color, but when I moved them into direct sun, its leaves have become a pale yellow color. Under other circumstances, I would be concerned, but the plant is very healthy and sending out one flower spike (so far). I'm hoping I get multiple spikes on all of them, haha. The warm sunny days and brisk chilly nights are most certainly helping.

^ Look how pale it is compared to the others. The blooms on this Phal resembled the typical large white blooms of other Phals, the only difference being that these blooms were a pale yellow color as well. Not the typical yellows that you find elsewhere. These are a pale pastel yellow color. In all my years of growing orchids, I had never seen this particular color before. You can see the flower spike emerging from the top right. Of all of my orchids, this is the one that I want to see again the most. I wish I had taken photos of the previous bloom spike, just so I had something to show you what I am talking about. The color was just so unique. I nicknamed this orchid "Blondie," for the pale yellow leaves and the pale yellow blooms.

I did a quick search and this is the closest resemblance that i could find...

^ Instead of being the typical white, the whole flower is a pale yellow.

^ Here are my cute little mini Phals. These remained in their tiny little pots that they're sold in all year long. Once I finally got my potting mix, I was finally able to repot them into the brand new dual core pots that I bought for them. For a size reference, these are 3" pots. Several of them have sent out flower spikes, too.

^ As for these dual core pots, I absolutely love them! I already owned the 5" pots. The large pot in the photo is the one that stayed bareroot all year. Its roots can be seen coming out the bottom. Having an inner net pot inside of the clear outer pot does wonders for orchids. Their roots stay nice and humid and get all of the fresh air that they need. Mine certainly love them. I plan on buying more of them later on. Such an ingenious design.

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Comments (3)

jane__ny
6 years ago
What you have shared is very true. I wish you shared where you live.

Many years ago we had a member of GW who always talked about light as being the most important factor in growing orchids.

Howard Ashley. We called him and his theory, 'Howard's Light."

I have always remember his writings. I still follow what he taught.

If you search on this forum, you might find some of his old posts.

You did a good job growing your Phals. If the light intensity had been less, you might have lost them due to old mixes and small pots.

Feed the leaves (light) you feed the roots.

You did a great job!

Jane
Photo Synthesis thanked jane__ny
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Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Never heard of him. I'll have to check that out now. Sounds interesting. Thanks for sharing that. I find myself telling others that if they want to feed their plants, then feed them sunlight. The mini phalaenopsis are my favorites. I just bought another one off of eBay last week. I couldn't help myself...
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Sean, a belated welcome, A couple of my earlier messages to you haven't posted here. You have my sympathy and empathy with your orchid loss, especially because it was a thoughtful and special gift for your GF, and she's loved it so. You've gone to great lengths to save this plant. Not many folks would have done that. Kudos to you. Dunno if this will help ease the loss for the two of you, but the beloved Phal could have been doomed before you got it because of the no drainage factor. The only retailers who raise orchids to last beyond that one (unnatural) flowering are the smaller commercial orchid growers, and some of those mistreat their plants, so you end up with poor quality too. You're in good company: virtually every orchid hobbyist lost at least a few of their first orchids. After you and your GF have had a chance to talk, & if you decide to get another orchid, I have two suggestions that will increase chances the new orchid will thrive and bloom again (no guarantees, unfortunately - we're talking orchids. :)). First, as Jane said, get Ortho's All About Orchids by Elvin McDonald; Meredith Books, 1999. It's a paperback, and Amazon's got them new for $2.79! Then there's shipping from their vendor, but the book was about $20 @ Home Depot a couple of years ago. The Ortho book's only 96 pages long and has guided tons of folks to success. After the two of you have skimmed through the book... Second suggestion - order a Phal from a grower who sells online. Picking out the new Phal together could help brighten your moods. There are lots of good growers who sell online, and folks here will suggest solid growers, if you decide to go that route. We can also tell you which Phals might be easier than others. One drawback is a new plant may not arrive in spike (have a "stem" maybe long enough to have buds on it already), or in bloom (flowers open). That's because the orchid's environment hasn't been messed with to force it to bloom way out of its natural cycle, like orchids you find in stores, even garden centers. This process could have compromised your orchid's health, too. But, you're in luck - this is the time of year lots of Phals are in spike. I live in Minneapolis, MN and see you're in SE Nebraska. We're geographically challenged in the orchid world. There may be small commercial growers kinda near you or your GF's school, but none that sell online as far as I know. Also, the only show around here where you can buy orchids is in conjunction with the St. Paul Winter Carnival in January, and only a few vendors attend. It's the absolute worst time to buy an orchid cuz of its exposure to cold temps. People in Chicago, S CA, FL, and farther up the E coast live in paradise re: lots of good growers and big shows throughout the year. I'll be thinking about you two. Please let us know how it's going. Whitecat8 Here is a link that might be useful: Ortho's All About Orchids, Amazon.com
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weekly watering is usually right if its potted in bark(and the overnight temp is 50+) but also keep repeating the orchid growers mantra "weekly weakly"!! That is, fertilze it with a liquid feed every week at about half the recommended strength. No direct sunlight, but not low light.
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tropicbreezent
6 years ago
I've been buying up some of the mass produced Phalaenopsis but they're going onto wood and masonry surfaces. Seeing they're mostly epiphytic/lithophytic plants they should be okay left to their own devices. It's said they need a good dip in temperature to initiate flowering but I don't know whether they'll get enough here. I'll find out in time, however, they still look good as epiphytes even when not flowering.

My Phals Thrive On Neglect...

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jane__ny

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My Phals Thrive On Neglect...

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jane__ny

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