Help please! :-)

[hillarykat]

I was recently given this awesome orchid plant as a gift.
It is about 2 and 1/2 feet tall and looks very healthy.
I would really like to know the following: do I need to re pot it, and if so what is the best way for me to do that. Basic care instructions. ( I have many other house plants, but have never attempted an orchid before). And basically anything else I should know.
In the picture the leaves look a little yellowed, it's just the lighting, the leaves are a very rich green. :-)

[berniep]

G'Day Hillarykat

Welcome to the forum and thats a great looking phal, here's a site for some reading until someone that grows phals comes along.
AOS | Phalaenopsis

cheers
Bernie

[Janti]

It's very pretty! Looks healty to me! Those roots are funny but they look awesome to me. I am not an expert so I won't say what you should do, instead I will come back to read what the experts say!

[fred]

welcome to the forum
your chid does look pretty good

what you can do if the roots like that bother you
you can go to the next size pot up and gently place the roots into the pot if the roots are still to long hold the chid and turn the pot gently in one direction say clock wise and slowly lower the plant being careful not to break any roots then ad the new medium a small amount each time gently tapping the pot to get the mix to settle then ad more mix tap again till the mix settles again

that has worked well for me but lets get a few more opinions as well

[syndywindy]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Looks like a nice healthy plant. I'm in agreement with Fred. I would repot to the next size pot able to fit the roots. You might want to soak the plant so the roots become somewhat pliable enough to get them into the pot because you don't want to break them.. But whether to pot or leave alone those aerial roots has always been a matter for debate. Some do pot them, others don't. When you pull the plant out of the pot, be sure to check the roots underneath. You want nice plump greenish white roots. If you see any that are soft, black, mushy etc. you want to cut those off. Seeing that you are in Vegas(we are there usually 3 times a year so I know), you might also need some humidity as orchids need this. You can get a humidity tray and set the plant on the tray. You could also create one by taking a small pan or tray, placing pebbles in it, adding water just barely to the top of the pebbles and placing the pot on the pebbles. If you have more questions, we are here for you.

[mehitabel]

Good advice from Fred and Syndy. And an url to really good cultural advice from Bernie.

Gorgeous phal, and just starting to bloom, so you should have blooms for several months.

When a big phal in bloom gets tippy, you don't necessarily have to repot. You can just put it into a bigger, heavy clay pot and that holds it steady, and repot later.

As to repot-- 98% of the time I repot new phals, but yours is one where I might wait, since it's obviously so tight in the pot that there's probably very little medium left. If you do repot, it would be worth soaking those aerial (outside the pot) roots for a half hour or so to hydrate them. That way they're more pliable and go more easily into the pot.

Check out the culture notes at the Canadian Orchid Congress. They discuss the importance of roots to orchids, and also talk about repotting.

Phalaenopsis Orchid Culture

[maiseymoo]

All good advice already given, the only thing I would say is don't be tempted to over water!(like I did with my first one!) If it is in a clear pot check to see if there is any condensation in the pot, if there is you don't need to water. There are some really helpfull threads on here about watering if you are unsure, another method is to go off the weight of the pot and water only when it feels really light.
Great gift!!

[hillarykat]

Thank you everyone for the very helpful information!

[orchidlover55]

You have got some wonderful advice so I am not going to comment on that. But I do have to say , What a beautiful orchid!! I would love to have all them roots :-) And too, to the forum nice to have you here..

[hillarykat]

Mehitabel:
As to repot-- 98% of the time I repot new phals, but yours is one where I might wait, since it's obviously so tight in the pot that there's probably very little medium left.

I'm not sure what you mean here, wouldn't the lack of medium in the pot mean that it is definitely time to repot?

[Tarad]

WOW what a root system you got goin there Nice, no need for me to comment it has been taken care of above

[lmartiny]

Aerial roots are OK with me but I grow outside most of the year. I tend to let them do their thing. It is a personal preference really. If you prefer neater looking plants, then you would want to try to pot them. (Definately soak so they are pliable and be gentle)
I think some Phals just tend to send out roots like that.

[hillarykat]

Thank you everyone who posted. From the information that you guys gave me and from other threads on this site I did decide to repot my phal. Here is the link to how I did it.
Repotting my phal- newbie style
Criticism is greatly appreciated so I can know how to do better next time.