Repotting orchids and light exposure

[wickidgrrl]

Hey everyone. I am about to repot my phals. Should i take them out of the light for a couple days? I read this in a couple of articles. Thanks

[clarita]

Never read that. Don't follow the logic. Light will help them continue to grow and re-establish more quickly. It is somewhat stressful to repot. To also ask a plant to adjust to a new set of conditions only adds additional stress, even if only for a few days

[kmarch]

I'm with Clara, the logic of this is odd. The orchid (like any plant) needs light to produce energy and the stress of repotting requires energy so witholding light before repotting is a bit like siphoning off half your gas before starting a long road trip. I suppose "take them out of the light" could mean different things. It could mean take them out of bright light. But then again you wouldn't have phals in bright light to begin with so.....

To add to what Clara said, when I repot I put the plants right back where they were before repotting. I don't change anything else at that time thus reducing the number of different stressors I put on the orchid.

[PhalPal]

I have never heard of this either. I do as Kevin above does; I change as few things as possible before and after re-potting.

[articuno75]

Originally Posted by wickidgrrl

Hey everyone. I am about to repot my phals. Should i take them out of the light for a couple days? I read this in a couple of articles. Thanks

By chance do you have the article?

[wickidgrrl]

i 'll try to find it and get the website to you

[Andrew]

Phals are grown under such shady conditions that the usual practice of keeping repotted garden plants in a shady, humid position for a week to avoid transplant shock is not really applicable. Most cultivated orchids are grown under sufficiently low light that you can repot and stick them back on the bench with the rest of your collection immediately.