New and Needing advice

[f8ted_2b_me]

First of I just wanted to start off by saying what a helpful forum this has been. I have been reading past postings and have found an abundance of information. I have a Phal. Hybrid and i'm not sure exactly what type it is but a few months ago it dropped its last flower. I was thinking of repotting it, so I have a few questions and concerns, especially since this my first orchid.

1. I cut the spike down half way as instructed, but the stem turned brown, should I cut it off completely or will that be too drastic.

2. How will I know if it is ok to repot?

3. I found a bag of potting mix labled "Better Gro Professional Blend Phalaenopsis Mix" in a purple bag, I also have a bag of dried "Long Fibered Shaagnum Moss" and some packing peanuts I saved from a delivery last week. I was thinking of layering it (peanuts, sphagnum moss, potting soil, and another layer of sphagnum moss at the top), any suggestions?

4. I have two types of fertilizer; Orchid Plant Food (19.31.17) and Bloom Plus Plant Food (10.54.10) both by Schultz. If I repot which one is better.

Sorry for the long post, any and all help will be greatly appreciated.
V.

[Lucinda Brown]

I'm not an expert but I've got several phal's and haven't killed one in a long time I like to use the foam peanuts in the bottom for good drainage and then the sphagnum moss for phal's. Why? Because it's easier(especially for a newbie) to tell by the weight of the pot when that babies close to drying out to me. I killed a couple of them in the beginning because they like to stay moist but I overdid it! The peanuts are a good safeguard and when I'm in doubt I barely "breeze" the water over the moss on top, in other words I don't soak it down good. I barely moisten it. I've now put them outside to "chill" [a trick I read about I believe,here]to get them to set buds again.I'll leave it at that, GOOD LUCK!

You might also consider using peanuts for drainage in the bottom and a mixture of the bark mix and the sphagnum moss for the medium. That's what I do. This mixture allows me to water every seven to ten days in the winter.

[mayres]

1. Yes, cut the spike/stem completely off at the base.
2. You can repot a phal pretty much anytime.
3. There are MANY medias that can be used for phals successfully. Your particular growing conditions will dictate what is best for you. They grow on trees in the wild with NO media, so in some areas they can be mounted directly to wood. Pots provide a convenience for us to keep them contained and able to move around to enjoy. Whichever media you use good drainage is a must (as noted). If the media is not allowed to nearly dry out in between waterings the roots will rot and your phal will be unhappy. Peanuts in the bottom of your container help assure that the pot drains well and there is not a soggy ball/core in the pot even after the other portion dries out. You could probably get at least (if not more) a dozen ideas of what people think works great to grow these in - both as single medias and combinations thereof. My current favorite is ground up coconut husk (coir), though I have had good luck with bark as well.
4. I would tend to stick with fertilizer specifically labeled for orchids as a beginner. Phals can be fertilized a bit more than some other orchids in that they do not have pseudobulbs for storing water and nutrients. Many find that weakly weekly (1/4 strength or slightly more) is a good route to go. I tend to fertilize my phals every other watering period while they are actively growing at normal strength - just have to remember did I do it last week or not? :-) Using coir though they dont need to be watered but about every other week. Good luck - mike

[Aniko]

1.Since the stem is dead, can be cut short.
2.Re pot only:
- when the roots fill completely the pot and come out everywhere. Choose a size just a little bit larger, big pot causes further problems in watering.
- or, when the medium is old, decaying. The potting mix (probably contains bark) I think is the better medium because is longer lasting and less risky in over watering. It's preferred by professionals. The sphagnum moss is also popular for phals, keeps a lot of moisture so, you have to be very careful in watering.
Using a skewer it's very easy to avoid over watering. (Look at the Cynthia's detailed post on this topic !)
3.The Orchid plant food(Schultz) (19-31 17) is good, I use it myself with great results.
Aniko.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Mike, I think pure coconut coir is too heavy and water retaining. I started getting good results with coir when I had reduced it to 2 parts coir to 3 parts small perlite. If you are successful with pure coir, let me know what you are doing.

f8ted, bark, sphag, or a bark sphag mix will probably work, BUT, don't layer it, as you may wind up with wet spots and dry spots. Your best chance of success with orchids is if the poting medium stays as uniform in dampness as possible. You would really prefer to have the whole pot get to the 'dry enough to water' stage at the same time. Don't use the bloom plus, it is too high in phospherous (middle number). Orchid food is fine, or any balance fertilizer (like 20,20,20) used at half or quarter strength. Orchid fertilizer just has the lable changed to reflect the lesser amount.

Cynthia

[mayres]

Cynthia - probably should have been more specific. Not STRAIGHT coir - as you have noted - I have it mixed with perlite and a little charcoal. Long term I may want to think about upping the percent perlite as currently it is only about 20% or so? Since I planted all my phals in this July 4 they are looking better than they EVER have been before - but I guess the jury is still out until I go through a full season. My reason for switching was visiting a local hobby orchid grower and viewing his phals that were growing in a greenhouse environment in this mixture and they were HUGE and healthy, so I thought - why not? I'll see how that works in my home as well. Thanks for the comments.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Well, Phals can take a little more moisture than some, and in the end it will be up to you to control the watering schedule and make it work. Small pots and clay pots probably make it work much better, as I use plastic pots, tho very small. I really like the wicking qualiities of a mix like this, as a healthy plant can suck the pot dry in no time. Cynthia

[lara5170]

I just read you original question & in it you mentioned putting potting soil in with your potting mix....I'm surprised nobody else mentioned it but from what I know and I have only been doing this a few years & I joined my local AOS . we meet once a month. never joined anything before.

what I was going to say is that orchids are epiphytes and don't use 'potting soil' at all , you could check with someone else before you do it but I believe that could be 'not good' for your orchid .

[f8ted_2b_me]

Thank you for all of your help.

V

[jerrymeola]

A couple of observations about mediums for Phals.

Charcoal seems to help in any mix and it is easy to add and fairly inert.

"Potting soil" while no one recommends using potting soil for orchids I have an employee who uses it on all her Phals (with large bark, charcoal and paper over the drain hole). She has been doing it for years and has huge beautiful Phals. I still do not recommend it, but only wanted to point out that all rules can be broken depending on conditions and when something works do not change it.

In Florida, Phals are grown commercially almost exclusively in sphagnum moss. They are then moved to bark for retail sale. When I buy them they are always in sphag. Sphag holds water better in our hot dry months. Commercial nurseries can control the watering cycles with automatic waterer's much easier than a hobbyist at home.