New at orchid growing

[gourdologist]

Hello there. I live in south Texas and I have just purchased my first orchid. It is a Moth Orchid, very beautiful. It is in a glass container with no drainage. Please advise if it would be best to go ahead and repot in a drainable container and what type of planting medium would be best. I certainly am concerned about the roots rotting in this glass container.

Gourdologist

[loreley]

Hi gourdologist,
From what I have learned thanks to the help of this amazing group, the container absolutely needs to have drainage. Not only one hole, but several. and if possible, slits on the sides for proper aeration. Plastic transparent pots are good because you can easily see how the roots are doing, but they're not very pretty. As for the medium, many people prefer bark because it drains better. I tend to like sphagnum moss; the trick is not to pack it too tight so as not to stifle the roots, because that is a sure recipe for rot. Anyway, get it out of the drainless container as soon as possible. I wish you the best in this fascinating journey of caring for an orchid.

[Daethen]

We were all new to orchids once. Welcome to a very friendly and informative forum. You have a phalaenopsis (moth) orchid. Look here or on AOS website for culture information. You should deffinately get it out of the pot it is in. Loreley is right that clear plastic is great for growing. Many of us put the plastic pot inside another that is better looking so that we have the best of both worlds. Bark or sphagnum would work. Sphag takes a little caution so that you don't overwater.

[ysanabria]

[Bolero]

Hey welcome to the forum!!!

[orchids4me]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
Rule of thumb in re potting is use the root ball as the guide to pot size never the leaves. If you can stick in a couple fingers between the root ball and pots edge that's a good fit for about a year or two's growth. Any larger can stay to wet and cause root rot also like over watering.
Good luck
Emmaye