Bare root phal misting

[whalloper]

Hello,

I have a few phals I took out of moss last week and havent repotted them yet. I would actually love to just leave them that way if I can. They are just bareroot sitting upright in a pot, and I love being able to see the healthy roots. How many times a day will I have to mist them if I want to keep them that way. Can I keep them that way? My humidity averages 50%.

[englandfx]

No, you cannot keep phals this way. (Only vandas can be kept this way)

Phals require medium in their pot.

[brookn]

I don't see why you can't leave them, but they need dunking as well as misting, because they are basically mounted.

[whalloper]

Originally Posted by brookn

I don't see why you can't leave them, but they need dunking as well as misting, because they are basically mounted.

Thats what I assumed...basically treat it as a mount. How often should I dunk, for how long, and how often should I mist?

[brookn]

You can dunk it down in water basically until you see the roots have absorbed the water. Misting is up to you, maybe a couple times a day?

[whalloper]

Originally Posted by brookn

You can dunk it down in water basically until you see the roots have absorbed the water. Misting is up to you, maybe a couple times a day?

Thanks! and how often should I dunk?

[Stelios]

at least once a day depending on your conditions. As long as the roots are green and swollen i think they'll be ok. They want to be slightly wet all the time but not heavily drenched as there is danger of rot if they soaking wet all the time.

[englandfx]

Ok, I need to see a pic to understand what is going on here...

[delphiguy]

phals are epiphytes same with vandas, so yes you can leave them bareroot. personally
i'd rather have them mounted rather than barerooted. dunk them in water at least 1x a
day until roots turns green and mist them regularly. As you can see its a lot of work
doing it this way, maybe if you really love to see them roots grow, you can pot them in a clear plastic pot.

[whalloper]

Originally Posted by delphiguy

phals are epiphytes same with vandas, so yes you can leave them bareroot. personally
i'd rather have them mounted rather than barerooted. dunk them in water at least 1x a
day until roots turns green and mist them regularly. As you can see its a lot of work
doing it this way, maybe if you really love to see them roots grow, you can pot them in a clear plastic pot.

Most of the roots are green now, so with that in mind, how often should I dunk and how often should I mist? EnglandFX, Ill post a pic in a few.

[delphiguy]

again i haven't tried growing phals barerooted so im guessing here, maybe once a day
morning dunk would do just make sure the roots turns green when you've dunk them
that would mean that the roots have absorb enough water. and then mist them the rest
of the day as you see fit.

[mayres]

Someone in my orchid society ONLY grows phals mounted - but he does so in a greenhouse with excellent humidity. It will be trial and error to some degree to see if you can give your plant enough water/attention to keep it happy with only 50% humidity. Watch the roots daily and see if they are staying nice and plump or if they are shrinking/drying. You might want to consider actually mounting on a piece of wood and then you can include a little sphag with the roots?

[delphiguy]

yes, in a tropical climate humidity wont be much of an issue. that would be a problem if
humidity will not be enough for the plant. Otherwise, mounting would be a better option
or at least wrap something to the roots, spanish moss perhaps. It would be really
interesting to see the outcome.

[lmartiny]

Hi. I have Phals in bark mix in baskets and terra cotta orchid pots. I also have a few mounted. I really would not recommend bare root. They are labor intensive enough. The mounted ones are the hardest to keep properly hydrated but I've found that once the roots take hold to the mount they do a bit better. I have many that have crazy roots to look at and enjoy. I'll pull together a few picts so you can see.

[tansyflower]

I agree with Lmartiny

I had one that got knocked out of it's pot a few weeks ago.

I didn't notice it for a couple of days, and then left it another couple of days just sitting in the empty pots (roots were still ok, and the leaves were nice and rigid).

However when I did repot, about a week later it developed a yellow tinge, and when I picked it up, all the leaves fell off (the leaves were still relatively healthy-looking except for the yellow tinge, and the roots were still ok), and in another week it was completely dead.

Maybe if do you want to try it out, try one and see how it goes.

[lmartiny]

Here are some pictures for you to consider your options. I hope they help.






I called this my "spider plant." This is an older photo and since then I have hung it outside and the roots have grown more.

I do grow outside.