Whether to re-pot.............

[J'adorchid]

I am a beginner with orchids but have recently acquired (among others!) two Phals, one as a Christmas present & the other rescued in a sad looking state from a local nursery because it looked in need of some TLC. It has actually recovered very well already!! However, they are both in clear plastic pots & both sets of roots have hit the bottom of the containers, with one starting to grow round the inside at the base. The other has already grown completely round the inside at least once, with a couple of roots having come through the drainage holes; one of these roots is showing signs of water damage. Is it time to re-pot them or not, please?

NB: I also have this question in the General Chat page as I am still finding my way round (sorry!!) & have a very helpful answer from Prisana (thanks again to you!) but welcome any thoughts on the subject.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Please don't make multiple duplicate posts.

[jerrymeola]

It is common for 4 inch plastic pot Phals to look like this and they will benefit from re-potting. They can actually live an additional year or two but will start to push the plant out of the pot.

Usually these plants are re-potted before sale to increase the price of the plant. Commercial growers remove the plant place in a 6 inch pot and add more medium usually sphagnum.

They adapt to this type of re-potting but you can do a better job with a little more time invested (unfortunately growers can not afford the expensive of employees time).

Remove the plant from the pot by soaking for about 20 minutes (longer will not hurt). The roots on a Phal are fat and stiff, you do not want to crack them by over-bending.

Remove the medium. It is either bark or sphagnum. Bark is wood and sphag is a dead mossy thing you will not recognize the first time you see it. I usually wash off bark under running water and pull out sphag with a thin stick.

They both work. Bark dries faster and sphag retains moisture longer. Phals like to be slightly moist all the time. Plastic pots hold moisture longer than clay. All work so use the ones that match your watering habits best. Hydroponics (AliFlor, HydroTherm etc) also work very well with Phals.

Pot size is not critical for Phals so a 5 or 6 inch pot is OK. (Other types of Orchids would only go up one inch a re-potting)

Cut off any soft or black roots.

Carefully replace the new medium in and around the roots without cracking them (I crack a few it will not generally kill the plant). A bad crack should be cut off.

I always use a pot clip at the end to stabilize the plant in the pot. If you put it in a place wher4e it is not bumped or moved the clip can be ignored.

[J'adorchid]

Jerry,

Thankyou very much for this detailed & extremely helpful information! I will hunt my local nurseries to find the correct potting mediums & follow your instructions to the letter.
As a beginner with these lovely plants I am grateful for any advice, I would hate to harm them by my inexperience.

Many thanks again