New Phal

[aurelia]

I bought my first orchid(a phal) a few weeks ago from Home Depot and followed the instructions on the card with no problem. My bloom was going strong up until week ago when she started to wither. It is gone now and so I transplanted into an "orchid pot" with holes. I am using moss as a liner and got some orchid soil and am using that and the original wood chips. Since the bloom started to wither, the top of the stalk has yellowed. I am not really sure what I should do about that, if anything.
Also, since I live in Phoenix, the air conditioning is always on. My husband would melt if I turned it up, so that is not an option. I have kept my phal in the office since it is the warmest room in the house but I worried about sunlight so for the moment it is in the living room. I figure I will take her outside tonight for some fresh air but I don't want to leave her out all night.
If anybody has some advice for me, I would greatly appreciate it.
thanks,
Aurelia

[Ellen]

You don't know how long the plant had been blooming whan you got it, so the dropping of the flowers was probably not due to anything you did wrong - the plant was probably just finished blooming. Phals don't need direct sun, so no need to put it outside. Just find a place where the AC doesn't blow directly on it and see how it does. If you have problems, you know you can post on this forum and get answers from lots of knowledgable people. By the way, what do you mean by "orchid soil"? Is that bark chips? Using moss as a pot liner probably isn't the best idea, since it will stay wet a lot longer than the wood chips at the center. Ideally, you want the medium to dry out uniformly.

[aurelia]

Thanks Ellen. The soil is Orchid Potting Soil I got at Home Depot. Do you think if the moss layer is thin it would be all right? The pot I got has cutouts all over for better aeration. The holes are fairly large so wood chips could easily fall through. Thanks again.
Aurelia

[mayres]

At least in our area a more common use of the pots with cutouts would be to use them as a outer finished pot and place a solid plastic pot inside. Did you soak the bark for a good 24-48 hours before you used it? Sometimes it can take some effort to get new bark to start absorbing water for your phal's roots. mike

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by aurelia

I bought my first orchid(a phal) a few weeks ago...so I transplanted into an "orchid pot" with holes. I am using moss as a liner and got some orchid soil...

"Orchid soil"? Can you tell us what you mean by "orchid soil"? I ask because most of the kinds of orchids we grow in our homes (like Phals) are epiphytes (meaning they grow on tree branches) or lithophytes (menaing they grow on rocks) and do not grow in soil.

[jerrymeola]

aurelia

you are probably OK with your potting.

The sphag will help water remain in the pot so if necessary water less. Since this is your first orchid you will learn how to water with this mixture. In a clay pot, it will react very similar to a plastic pot without sphag. Clay will draw moisture from the pot and dry the sphag about the same rate as the bark.

One of the girls, that pots for me grows her Phals this way. I add sphag to my Commercial Phals when selling them in clay pots.

Most commercial growers in Florida grow exclusively in sphag for Phals.

Fortunately orchids will grow in just about anything. The care varies but when confronted with choices orchids do funny things.

A customer placed a pot on top of a rock (not a Phal) next to her garden and the roots of the orchid grew out the bottom into the soil. The orchid did not seem to care that it was not supposed to be terrestrial.

Another customer had their Vanda over a garden pond and the roots grew right into the pond for years.

Welcome to the hobby, enjoy the plant.