My first 3 orchids (Phalenonopises) from HD.

[JTLaw]

Hello everyone. This is my first post and I'm super excited about my orchids.

I got them a few days ago and have been reading all I can the past two days.

My only question is the container home depo has their orchids in. It's basically just a soft clear plastic container that the roots are crammed into with one hole in the bottom the size of a dime (see pics). The potting medium looks new, green, and healthy (some kind of moss). And I'm leaning towards leaving them alone til the blooms fall off and then cutting the plastic off around the roots and putting them in those pots.
For the larger one I cut the clear plastic down two of the sides to help with air flow and evaporation but didn't want to disturb it more than that for now.
The larger pot may be too big as well, not sure, what say you guys?

Other than that I picked 3 healthy blooming plants that had at least one un- opened bud. So my plants seem healthy and have no problems and are holding their blooms. They're in a window that faces northwest and don't get hit by the sun until about 4-5 pm til about 7:30pm and there is a curtain there I can use to add shade.

I haven't watered them yet because of how they came potted and that they're in moss which is still a bit damp and you can monitor it pretty easily through the clear plastic. But I imagine it will take some time between waterings in their situation.

One of the leaves is just slightly yellowing which I'll keep an eye on. But please check out the pictures and let me know what you guys think. Suggestions would be awesome! Thanks!

[bearded orchid]

Welcome to the forums! Glad to have you

Those are three lovely-looking Phals you picked out
I've seen several orchids at Kroger and the like potted in those types of soft containers but haven't really had much firsthand experience with their merits or lack-there-of.

I would definitely look at re-potting them once their blooms are finished or even sooner if they start showing signs of distress. The moss they are planted in is called Sphagum Moss and a lot of commercial orchid vendors supplying retail stores tend to over-pack it into their containers causing it to not drain water properly and potentially rot the orchid's roots.

Otherwise just sit back and enjoy the blooms

[iluvorchids]

I've seen those single-holed plastic pots. Do you have any other small orchid pots you could move it into? I've been known to drill holes into yogurt cups.

[ArtGeekMark]

Welcome to the forum and nice phals. I agree with what bearded said about orchids form big boxes packed too tightly, rotting roots, etc. Also careful not to get water in the crown, phals can easily get crown rot. Happy growing & good luck!

[syndywindy]

hi, welcome to the forum! nIce looking phals you got! You could keep them in those flimsy plastic pots until the blooms are spent, but be cautious about watering. I would wager a bet saying the moss they are in is a very tightly packed and probably very wet sphag. Becuase it may be packed so tight, the top layer may feel dry to you, but the inner mass of sphag is probably quite wet. Now everyone has their own way of doing things and that is fine. I repot almost all my new orchids when I get them home, blooming or not and I've never had any problems with the buds or blooms blasting. You may want to wait and thats perfectly ok. Just be sure you don't overwater based on what the top sphag feels like. There is the skewer method to monitor moisture inside the pot. Here is the link for you to check out.
Skewer use for watering of orchids

[BGGraham1]

Hello and

This is the best forum I have found for orchid info, and I know you will get all of the information you need to successfully grow your new Phals, plus the dozens of 'chids you will surely purchase after seeing all of the beautiful pics that everyone like to tease us with!

Synda gave you very good advice. I, too, will pull orchids out of the plastic sleeves as soon as I get home. I am not very good with the sphagnum moss, having a tendency to overwater. And with those sleeves, its really hard to tell exactly how moist the sphag is in the center by the roots.

Good luck and happy growing!

[JTLaw]

Thank you guys for the warm welcome and suggestions!!! I'm going to consider potting them in the next couple of days. I gotta get some better mix (bark) for them first. Do I need to sterlize new pots?

I'm thinking I'll just pull them out. Inpsect them. Pull almost all the moss off. Cut any bad looking roots and touch them with cinnamon. Repot with a good orchid bark material.

Also, I guess I should soak (water) them real good first before doing all that??? Just to make the work easier. And also soak the bark overnight before using it. And then once they're all in the new pots while they're good and wet might splash them with a dilute of food. Sound good? Rock n roll!

[Ron]

Hi Welcome to the Geeks forum.
Enjoy the Phalaenopsis orchids, wonderful easy to grow species providing you remember they are tropical growers. Keep them warm and only re-pot in the warm growing season.
Best of luck

[plantloverlisa]

Hi and welcome!

[orchids4me]

Hello and welcome to the forum
Nice pick ups!
The mistake I made with Phals in thos pots was waiting for the blooms to fade and not knowing how tightly packed the moss was. I ended up with root rot and lost them all. Next batch I re potted immediatly in bloom and they did fine. They usually already have root damage by the time you purchase them due to the moss bing so tight and the store over watering them.

At HD In the out side garden center they have clay pots in ours they have 4" and 6" clay orchid pots they have 4 holes near the bottom but on the sides of te pot as well as a bottom hole. They are also squatty like the azaleia pots so they work great for Phals. You can get some packing peanuts and place in the root ball area but make sure when yoiu un pot the the plant and remove the moss that you trim the dead roots and put some cinnamon powder on the cuts. The pot size is measured by the size of the root ball after trimmin dead stuFf. Andif you can fit 2 fingers between the rim of the pot and the root ball that's plenty big enough. Never go by leaf size it will be over potted and stay wet to long in the center again causing the dreaded root rot. Depending on your watering rgimine....they should almost dry in center of pot before re watering. In the siummer months watering will be more frequent. In the fall and winter less cooler weather and temps cause the media to dry much slower and again if watering isn't decreased ohdreded root rot again.
The skeewer method link given by synda is one of the great ways to learn to adjust your watering regimine with which ever mediayou choose to use. But for beginners I recommend a good bark mix media. Medium grade size is good its airy enough for the roots to breath. When using cly pots they will dry quicker also vs plastic pots will hold moisture longer so again needed to adjust watering regimine accordingly
Good luck
Emmaye

[Daethen]

Hello and welcome!! I personally like sphag moss, but I only pack it tight enough to hold the plant upright and in place. You have some beauties there. And I love the pots you chose for them. Start clearing off any shelves you own, you will be spending every dime on new flowers now. This is a wonderful addiction but there are no cures.

[edgy]

[Puddy1]

Hi and welcome I also repot mine as soon as I bring them home. I like to check out their roots and to put them in the medium I'm used to. I like to water so I don't use moss. Good luck with your new phals, they look awfully happy!

[JTLaw]

Thanks again everyone.

Ordering some stuff from repotme.com right now.

A multi-set of clear slotted plastic containers.

And for mix, a mini-bag of -
Cattleya-Multi-Purpose-Orchid-Mix. Seems like a great all around mix with good drainage but hopefully won't have to water too often (once a week at most).
Consists of:
Medium Coconut Husk Chips
Medium Sponge Rock
Medium Charcoal
Granite Chips

Other than that I just have to find a hand full of packing peanuts somewhere???


I think if I have left over mix I might need some more orchids!

Also, trying to get my posts of to 5 so I can post links.