Did I repot my phal correctly?

[melinda_az]

I re potted my phal several days ago & was wondering if I did it correctly. I wasn't sure how much potting medium to use. I repotted because I wanted to take it out of the plastic container it originally came in. It looked very cramped. This orchid was purchased at Ikea. I used Miracle Grow Orchid Potting Mix. Also, about 2 weeks ago I had to cut brown patches off the leaves due to what I believe to be sun exposure. I wasn't sure if repotting so soon after doing this would cause too much stress to the plant. It seems pretty healthy otherwise.

[mayres]

Many of us repot phals right after purchase regardless of whether or not they are blooming - in order to use our own media of choice and to check the root system (which more often than not is in need of maintenance). Hopefully you removed any mushy, rotten, dry, etc. root material before repotting. In general phals like to be somewhat tight in their pots - so be careful not to place in a pot that leaves lots of media room without roots - you pot for the root mass - not the leaf/plant structure above. Bark mixes are generally used after soaking for at least 24 hours to prep the wood for absorbing moisture. Looks good from what I can tell....

[Orchid126]

It looks like you repotted into a ceramic pot. Does it have good drainage? Orchids need lots of air at their roots, and insufficient drainage means death. Orchid pots have extra holes for air circulation to the roots.

[Sandy4453]

Originally Posted by Orchid126

It looks like you repotted into a ceramic pot. Does it have good drainage? Orchids need lots of air at their roots, and insufficient drainage means death. Orchid pots have extra holes for air circulation to the roots.

I had the same observation. If you plant Phals in pots, they really do need the ones designed with numerous holes or slits. If you potted this directly into the ceramic container, your Phal will suffer. Best to remove it now, you can use the same medium (if it's been prepared already) and leave it alone, until it needs watering. The roots can and will love being crowed in their pot, that's what you want, just enough room to fit comfortably without breaking them. Best of luck.

[Singingirl96]

I have found that miracle gro orchid mix is inadequate for orchids. It is not chuncky enough and it might as well be soil. Orchids need chunky mix because the roots need to be aerated.
I hate to tell you that, but if you keep this medium and a pot with inadequate drainage.... you're bound to get root rot.

[melinda_az]

Oh, wow, it looks like the only thing I did right was to check the roots & remove any bad parts. I will definitely repot into a more appropriate container & with better potting medium. Looks like I still have much to learn! Thank you all so much

[Becky15349]

i would agree with the folks above - miracle grow potting mix is generally too fine for most orchids like phals. I grow cattleyas, and I would NEVER use that for them - and phals are much the same. they like to dry out. if you have an orchid vendor anywhere near you, I would go there and ask them for a bag of strictly bark - no moss or any additives, that helps the roots to dry out. Don't be discourages by what we've said - its great that you asked the question! You've saved your plant Just look for something with bigger bark...they call it more "coarse mix"...does that make sense? Imagine landscaping mulch! its something like that, but more solid pieces. This will take time for you to learn, so don't worry! We are here to help

[flowerpower]

There is a similar Orchid mix in the UK that I was using called B&Q Orchid compost. It was just stringy bits of peat, sparse bark and looked just like soil. My orchids were OK in it for a while and some actually spiked. However when I removed them after a month in favour of bark, I found that a few of the roots had began to rot.

I now use a mixture of plain fir bark, medium grade. Even though they had spiked they really didn't seem to mind the re-pot. I keep my orchids in the smallest pot I can get them in like the others have said.

[Hatteras]

While I agree with changing the mixture, I've seen the MG and agree it contains too much dirt, I wonder why a ceramic pot can't be used, as long as it has drain holes. Many people use plastic pots, same difference.
I'm fairly new at this myself.

[camille1585]

It's not the ceramic pot itself which is the problem, it's the drainage holes! Plastic pots usually have a lot of holes at the bottom, while many ceramic pots just have one. One hole might not be enough to drain the water quicklt and to get enough air flow around the roots.