best fertilizer ratios for phals growing in S/H setup

[brazilianfernie]

Hi!
I've been lurking for a while and decided to make my first post!

Just got my second Phal, a mini! Was at my local grocery store and saw that they had a sale on mini orchids for $9.99 and wanted a new one. The selection was terrible but the price had me. I picked out a plant that had the most spikes and branches. The plant has 8 green leaves, 2 flower spikes with many branches and had many flowers but they were all droopy and wilted. It was potted in a tiny little pot, in pure sphagnum moss. I pulled some of the moss out to get a good look at the roots and they were all black mush towards the middle of the plant. It had some nice green roots around the outer edge of it so I decided to just repot it.
So I repotted it in hydroton (leca) in a S/H setup. I put some root accellerating gel on the base where I cut away most of the dead roots, put some fluffed up fine rock wool around the base so any new roots had something to grab on to, and repotted it with the leca pebbles. Also put some pebbles on the bottom of the pot to help wick up the water to the roots. After all was said and done, I put the whole pot on a heating pad to hopefully promote some new root growth.

It's been 2 days and there haven't been any changes. I have a few questions as I am semi-new to orchids but not new to houseplants.

Was I wrong in repotting this plant while in it's blooming stage? It looked like it needed help with the severe root rot and tiny pot.

Will the wilted flowers ever return to normal or should I consider them done?
There are about 7 nice, tight green buds growing at the tips of the branches, I'm hopeful they will survive.

I am curious about what the best ratio of fertilizer is for this type of growing media? Do you use a grow fertilizer during vegetative growth, and bloom fertilizer during bloom? can I get exact numbers?

Here are some pics of my new baby for reference: see the new setup, and closeup of wilted flowers

[brazilianfernie]

the plant in question is the lighter colored one in the foreground, cotton candy. the other is my other baby, flashy zebra

[Elanora]

I can't help you on S/H systems & fertilizer, but I can assure you that I repot in-bloom Phals all the time and they've always done fine for me.

[Ray]

Brazilianfernie - check your private messages.

[brazilianfernie]

thanks Ray! Seems like I did everything right with the S/H setup. I still can't find any fertilizer info. Can you PM me some numbers and how often to fertilize for a mini Phal?

[edgy]

Oi Fernie, tudo bom? Bem-vindo!

[Joe Geoffroy]

brazilianfernie

I have been using MSU fert. and seems to be doing quite well
Oh by the way where in R.I. do you live?, we lived in Seekonk Ma. before retiring in FL.

[brazilianfernie]

Hi Joe, I live in Lincoln,RI. its finally starting to warm up, we are getting 60-70 degree days now! glad to beat those winter blues! Thanks for your suggestion, I will be doing some more research into fertilizers.

does anyone think that the wilted flowers will come back or are they pretty much done? I think this poor plant was exposed to hell before I got it. just moved it out of the sun today so it can recouperate!

[Ray]

Fertilizers are not crucial. There is no such thing as a bloom booster. I vote with Joe on the MSU formulas. Blossoms are probably gone.