| Hi Nick -
1) Most people who are not yet "into" orchids would not repot them for some time. Many of us who are "into" them in a major way would repot a phal ASAP regardless of whether or not they are blooming - because of two reasons. One we want to examine the entire plant including the roots and clean up if necessary. Two we often want to use the media we are most confortable and find works best for us - which is rarely the media that comes with the plant we want. Lots and lots of choices of media - you will need to experiment and find what works for you - read about what we are all using and try a few and see what you think. My personal favorite for phals is a coir mix I make up myself - there is a thread here talking about it - others like media totally different.
2) The prices you paid sound reasonable for big box store plants - many people like to try and find plants with name tags - others are not as concerned. I have found good phals at places like Trader Joes for as little as $8-16 and other places in the $25-30 range. One of the main issues to buying plants at places like Lowes is that they usually don't care for them properly, so if you don't get them soon after delivery they are already headed downhill - from over or under watering and/or other poor culture. The most common issue is overwatering.
3) Good idea - skewer method - once you are a pro you won't need them, but they are good for starters. If in doubt of whether to water or not - wait a few days. With two different media to start with you will probably not water them at the same time until you get them planted in the same (repot). Even then, if one is a significant different size they may need watering at different times.
4) I would leave my phals indoors in bright indirect lighting - back a few feet from east windows is a good choice. West or even south with filtering or back far enough will also work. As noted, be careful not to get phals too close to T5 lights - probably will want the several feet away from the tubes. Yes, your plants will be fine in just about any subdued light indoors for a number of days.
5) Enjoy!  |