Ok, so i kinda repotted my phal...

[vcuchick]

I have a phal growing in sphag moss that I've had some concerns about the plant's root system. Per the suggestion of much more advanced growers than I, I checked the roots this evening by pulling up the plant and taking a peek...

What I found was that the sphag moss had turned to concrete and my poor roots were being choked. The sopping wet moss was rock solid it was so compressed. (I hadn't watered the plant in over 15 days...) Because of my concerns for the general health of the plant(s) over the current blooms, I decided to make a switch in the potting medium. I changed out the moss for cocoa bark.

(see attached photos)

I hope I haven't damaged my plant, but I was very careful and very slow during the process and tried to save as many of the roots as possible. I replaced the potting medium and returned the plant to the same pot. The moss and pot were original to the plant which was a gift in early Dec 08 and has been continually blooming since that time...

I would love to hear what more experienced growers think of this...

[myorchid]

Looks like you have good roots. Usually when I repot mine that look like that, I run it under water in the sink to get all the moss out of the roots. I then repot in bark, works well for me.

I am sure that the Phal will be much happier. I haven't lost buds or blooms from repotting.

[vcuchick]

whew...great. I had a heck of a time getting it out of the pot without damaging the crown. Any tips for future plant extractions?

[myorchid]

Was it in a clay pot? Usually mine are in plastic pots and they come out easily. Roots can sometimes attach to the clay pots makes it a bit hard to get them out. You can always break the clay pot of you have too.

I do believe that soaking it would make it easier to remove.

[mayres]

Is the root mass as you have shown it exactly as you repotted?
If so, as April has hinted, I would have continued working on it for some time before repotting. Get 100% of that old "yucky" sphag out of there - as noted, wash under the sink in warm water if that helps. Hard to tell for sure from a picture, but looks like some bad root tips and maybe even a few questionable roots that could have been removed - any dry hard or hollow/squishy roots should go. In general your plant will be much happier now and hopefully will start regenerating lots of new roots instead of slowly dying. The very nice healthy foliage needs a lot of good roots to support it. I've also been challenged by a few phals in my past that were "machine pressed" into small pots with concrete-sphag. Physical force is about all you can do - try wiggling and gently loosening around the edges and ultimately just do exactly what you did it! Sometimes soaking in water first will loosen the root ball from the pots.

[lmartiny]

If you didn't soak your roots and/or bark before repotting be sure to watch the hydration. Actually, you could still give it a good soak.

[mrspontiac]

vcuchick...thanks for posting this. I've kinda been waiting to repot my Phal because of the blooms, but I think whe I get home this evening I'll go ahead and get that spag out.

[Hummer344]

Your repotting job looks real good. I do mine the same way within a few days of bringing them home(if their potted in sphag). Little pieces of sphag here and there will not affect the plants overall health. Good Going

[katrina]

Looks like you did an admirable job on the repot.

Did you use coco husk chips or bark? Bark will dry much faster than the sphag did while coco husk chips will hold moisture longer...more like the sphag did. I would highly recommend using the skewer method to monitor moisture while the plant is acclimating to it's new conditions. Just a suggestion.

[Tarad]

OO the roots look pretty good. Good job with potting, however from my experience sphag clinging to the roots has caused problems. You could soak the roots to extract the sphag as pre mentioned. I hate to give sphag a bad rap, but I have been burned(lost a several phals) before I figured out on here that it was the sphag it came in. Tara

[vcuchick]

Originally Posted by lmartiny

If you didn't soak your roots and/or bark before repotting be sure to watch the hydration. Actually, you could still give it a good soak.

I definately soaked the coco husk and gave it a good drenching after repotting...now I'll just sit back and enjoy the purdy flowers! :-)

[vcuchick]

coco husk. I prefer it to the other potting mediums. I know it can often require more watering and moisture, but I like that it's a renewable resource when so much else is wasted. I also got skewers at the store yesterday- left them at home (good place for them) I'll start that technique during the next watering...