My first orchid!

[DianesOrchids]

Hello all! I'm new here, I got my first orchid on friday at a funeral of a close freind. She had an extensive orchid collection. She was even a member of an orchid society here in Michigan!

Anyways here is my first orchid. Any idea on species? I was also kind of curious on all the ugly dried up/ semi dried up roots. Can they be removed? Also, can the spike with flowers be cut off to give more energy to the rest of the plant? The flowers aren't my 1st concern right now, and I wouldnt mind if they weren't there. I just wanna keep the rest of the plant happy and healthy.

I was looking at the roots inside the pot and I'm guessing it needs to be repotted?

Hahah well here's some pictures!

[Brooke]

There is no need to cut the spike, enjoy the blooms of your very healthy Phalaenopsis.

The exposed roots are your newest roots and hopefully they are still alive. When you water, let the water pour through the pot and the roots on top and inside the pot will turn green. When you have see no condensation on the inside of the pot, water again.

Brooke

[DianesOrchids]

Will the the totally withered, crunchy roots come back?

[englandfx]

Withered crunchy roots won't come back. They grow new roots.

[Brooke]

Maybe - if the velamin is dry but turns green when wet the string inside the velamin may still function particularly if the root goes into the media. If the root goes into the pot it may be a "normal" fat looking root while still dry looking on top.

Brooke.

[DianesOrchids]

Ok thanks!

[orchids4me]

I'm sorry for the loss of your friend....
I'm happy to see you have at least one from the collection and its a beauty!!
It looks very healthy. The media appears to be a coir mix or something similar. This type of media does retain the moisture for a while so like Brooke said in clear pots this works to watch for the condensation. When you don't see that water again. You will find watering less in the cooler months because it will dry slower and mor frequently in the hotter summer months because it will dry quickwer so adjust watering accordingly . These don't like to high of light so no direct sun. If you have an east facing window side of morning sun it will be happy with the indirect bright morning sun coming from a window
Enjoy your phal!! And welcome to geeks !!

[DianesOrchids]

Haha thank you! This orchid actually wasn't one of hers, just one at her funeral. But thank you for the advice!

[Cmk]

So sorry for the loss of your friend. Your orchid looks healthy. I wouldn't repot it yet. The bloom is beautiful.