First Two Phals Picked-up today!!! Questions!

[nbd13]

Hey guys,

Well, I was originally only going to get 1, but could help myself and ended up getting 2! They look great, I picked them up from Lowes believe it or not, haha! The colors are amazing, I will have to get some pictures when I have some time. Anyway here are my questions:

1. Should I re-pot them? Then Are in clear containers right now inside of ceramic pots. The larger one seems to be in a bark mixture and the 2nd one is in a sphagum moss mixture. The are both flowering right now. So, not sure if this is the time to re-pot them. I picked up some extra sphagum moss and a special Phalaenopsis mixture made by Better-Gro it has raw fir bark, hardwood charcoal, chunky peat moss and coarse perlite in the mixture, is this stuff any good? Should I use it?

2. Did I get ripped off here? One was $15 and the other lager one was $23. The smaller one is about 12" tall with 8 or so flowers and the larger one is about 16" tall and with about 6 flowers. What is a fair price for these guys anyways?

3. Watering, in terms of watering they were both pretty dry when I got them home, so I watered them with some a mixture of distilled water (2/3) and tap water (1/3), my tap water here is very hard. I am going to get some bamboo skewers tomorrow and use that trick that i read in a sticky, but any other tips?

4. Lighting, I have a t5 fixture coming, just ordered it today (48" 4 bulb high output fixture), it should be here monday! So, until then, what should I do for lighting? I live in south east Michigan so it's about 65-75 during the day outside, should I leave them outside during the day and bring them in at night? Or will they be fine until monday when the lights come?

5. Any other tips for the 2 new Phals I have would be great!

Thanks again,

Nick

[patticake]

Nick,
Congratulations on the new arrivals! I haven't had experience with T-5's Just T-12's. I know that Phals do well under T-12's so be careful not to get them too close to the bulbs! I would wait to re-pot until they're done blooming. just be careful not to over water them. (Or under-water!) Moist, but not wet.
Great to have you with us! Let us know how the lighting goes!

[mayres]

Hi Nick -
1) Most people who are not yet "into" orchids would not repot them for some time. Many of us who are "into" them in a major way would repot a phal ASAP regardless of whether or not they are blooming - because of two reasons. One we want to examine the entire plant including the roots and clean up if necessary. Two we often want to use the media we are most confortable and find works best for us - which is rarely the media that comes with the plant we want. Lots and lots of choices of media - you will need to experiment and find what works for you - read about what we are all using and try a few and see what you think. My personal favorite for phals is a coir mix I make up myself - there is a thread here talking about it - others like media totally different.
2) The prices you paid sound reasonable for big box store plants - many people like to try and find plants with name tags - others are not as concerned. I have found good phals at places like Trader Joes for as little as $8-16 and other places in the $25-30 range. One of the main issues to buying plants at places like Lowes is that they usually don't care for them properly, so if you don't get them soon after delivery they are already headed downhill - from over or under watering and/or other poor culture. The most common issue is overwatering.
3) Good idea - skewer method - once you are a pro you won't need them, but they are good for starters. If in doubt of whether to water or not - wait a few days. With two different media to start with you will probably not water them at the same time until you get them planted in the same (repot). Even then, if one is a significant different size they may need watering at different times.
4) I would leave my phals indoors in bright indirect lighting - back a few feet from east windows is a good choice. West or even south with filtering or back far enough will also work. As noted, be careful not to get phals too close to T5 lights - probably will want the several feet away from the tubes. Yes, your plants will be fine in just about any subdued light indoors for a number of days.
5) Enjoy!

[kmarch]

The only other bit of advice I'd recommend is to get a good culture sheet form AOS | Home or this forum.

I think your prices were fair. If the orchids have name tags then the prices seem better than fair. Good even!

[PhalPal]

Congratulations on your Phals and lights!! How exciting for you!

Everything Mike and Kevin said above - Ditto.

I always, always repot new Phals even if they are blooming because I have lost too many that had root rot starting before I got them. This goes double if you bought them from Lowe's because they are not orchid growers. Being a beginner and having them in two different mediums will be confusing to you and at least one of them will suffer.

I love the skewer method and still use it. It is invaluable when trying out a new medium, drying lights or moving plants around. Just pick one (as you have) and try it. You can grow an orchid in most anything if you adjust your watering habits to it.

I have my blooming Phals downstairs away from their lights for months at a time so I can enjoy the blooms. You will be fine until you get your lights set up, in fact most people start out by growing them on a windowsill.

Enjoy them! You have started a wonderful new hobby!