yet another newbie :D

[Annette]

Hello all. My name is Annette, and live in Missouri, not quite the Saint Louis area but close, a little more westward. I am a beginning gardener and have a very small but cute and well loved patio garden. I have wanted orchids for about a year now and never known how to, or where to, get them. I happened across one at the home depot a couple of days ago and got so very excited and got it. It is a white Phalaenopsis. Today I went back for another, I believe it a phal, but maybe a hybrid it has purple veins on the flowers. They both have 3 spikes but only 1 flower. I've taken pics and once I figure out how to post them up I will.

Okay, so I have a few questions and concerns. First, like I said, I was very excited when I got the first. I got her home and (mistake one) I immediately put her in a normal pot with ordinary potting soil. Later that night I found this site and several others and discovered my mistakes (re potting while in bloom and not using proper medium). Well, the re potting while in bloom problem had already occurred and I needed to get her in the right stuff, so I accepted it and re potted her again. Also, now I'm afraid they may both be in too big of a pot. They both needed new medium anyways. So anyways my question is how bad did I do by re potting? Could this kill them?

Next, today while examining the new one I found a fuzzy spot on a petal, looking closer it had antennae. I got some tweezers and removed all of them I could see from both flowers. They were tiny white, almost like a tiny sow bug, aka rollypolly, they had tiny white fibers all around and on them. Are these aphids? or mealy bugs? and what do I do?

Some additional info, my porch is north facing, and my only other window is east facing. Should I need lights?

Thanks so much everyone, and its nice to meet you all.

[patticake]

! I really think you need to re-pot into a bark type mix like Schultz. Maybe add a little chopped sphagnum moss for moisture retention. I wouldn't wait for the blooming to stop in this case. Potting soil can smother the roots. They'll rot pretty quick. I don't know what to tell you on the insects. I think you have to post 5 times in order to post pictures. A photo would be helpful! Again, welcome and nice to meet you! Good Luck!

[myorchid]

Hi, and welcome!

I don't think you will hurt your Phals repotting them while in bloom, I have done it without problem. Phals are pretty forgiving orchids.

The pot size should fit the roots, so test the size with the root ball and see if it fits. Lots of people use sphagnum moss for potting Phals, but I use a fine bark mix, it works very well. You can get some orchid mix (bark) from Home Depot or Lowes. I soak it for a couple of hours prior to using it.

Most of my Phals are in an east facing window, and it works great!

You can also get a culture sheet for Phals on the AOS website (American Orchid Society) and that will also help you.

The bugs could be mealy bugs, I have used rubbing alcohol on a q-tip to remove them and it works great. You can also use Brookn's cinnamon spray (10 drops of dishsoap, 1/2 tsp cinnamon extract and 2 cups tepid water) I put it in a spray bottle and it is a great natural way to get rid of bugs!

If you post 4 more times you can post pictures of your orchids.

Good luck and I know there are others who will add more information.

Do a search on the site for: skewer method for watering

Hope this helps!

[kid a]

Hello and welcome! Well Phals are pretty good survivors! I think if you repot into a better medium and give them what they need they should be ok. Those little bugs are not good and you need to get rid of them asap because they will keep multiplying. It sounds like they are mealy bugs.Mealyworms
What bug is this?
Mealybugs out of control
The Best Stuff Ever!!!

[Annette]

thanks so much, I re-potted earlier today before my post with orchid mix from home depot.

I think I got all of the bugs but I'm going to try the cinnamon soap mix to make sure they are all gone.

well, it sounds like tomorrow I am re-potting again, all I could find today were 6in pots, and I do believe those are too big. Back to the plastic

[kid a]

I would go to walmart and get some pots they have different sizes of pots there. You can use clay to if you like. It might be easier to find clay posts that are smaller. I know the Lowes (here) had two different sizes of orchid pots with open ares in the sides available that are clay.

[Annette]

my area kinda sucks, my walmart is just a walmart not even a super :/ so they have a very small potting selection, and my home depot only had the 6in pots. I have some small clay that I think would work but as a newb I think I'll stick with the clear plastic until I feel a little stronger. Plus when re-potting today both plants needed some considerable root trimming so I'm sure now they need a much smaller (or the one they came in) pot.

also thanks so much myorchid I'm reading cynthia's skewer post and I think that will help me a lot.

***edit***

also my home depot didn't have this shultz mix, all they had was miracle grow.. is this okay?

[Annette]

pic 1 is a close up on the white moth phal with some spots on the petals

pic 2 is a close up on what i guess is a hybrid phal

pic 3 is the plant base of the hybrid

pic 4 is the full pic of it

pic 5 is a leaf spot on the white phal

pic 6 is the full pic of the white phal

pic 7 is just another close up

pic 8 is the plant base of the white phal

pic 9 & 10 are just of my patio garden, thought you guys might enjoy

[Rocinante]

Welcome Annette! Nice growing!