New phal hasn't needed water for a month

[Dewie7]

Hello,

I purchased a phal online. It arrived looking beautiful. The pot is transparent plastic. I can see that the roots are nice, plump and green. It seems to be potted in spaghnum. It arrived a month ago and the roots have yet to look thirsty, still plump and very green. It's in a sheltered east window. Humidity is currently on the low side.

DOes this seem OK? Maybe I'm looking for problems where they don't exist. But I worry about such moisture that roots could be rotting.

It has 2 spikes so I've been reluctant to repot. I want to try it in s/h. Maybe if it's used to such high moisture, it will adjust quickly to s/h...?

[rbarata]

I am somewhat used to that 'cause I have a phal potted in an oversized pot and I water it only once every 2 weeks with temps around 28ºC and HR of 20 to 25%. My medium is bark and leka.

Even if your phal is used to it, and not knowing where you live, remember the cooler/colder temps are comming and probably it won't like to be that wet.
I sugest you to repot it since the repotting won't do any damage to the spikes (unless you break them by accident). Change the medium to bark and inspect the roots.

Note: I never tried S/H so I can't comment/sugest you anything in that field. I'm sure others will.

[Dewie7]

Thank you. I'm near Chicago, so weather is getting colder here. I may take it out and repot either s/h or in bark, just to reassure myself that roots are OK.

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by rbarata

I am somewhat used to that 'cause I have a phal potted in an oversized pot and I water it only once every 2 weeks with temps around 28ºC and HR of 20 to 25%. My medium is bark and leka.

Even if your phal is used to it, and not knowing where you live, remember the cooler/colder temps are comming and probably it won't like to be that wet.
I sugest you to repot it since the repotting won't do any damage to the spikes (unless you break them by accident). Change the medium to bark and inspect the roots.

Note: I never tried S/H so I can't comment/sugest you anything in that field. I'm sure others will.

I'm in complete agreement, as usual, with rbarata here. In fact, Phals don't "get used to" being in a wet pot. These are plants which, in nature, simply wrap their exposed roots onto and around their host trees, where while they may receive rain daily the roots still breathe and dry out. If the plant has been in moist media for a full month since the last watering then the roots, which may appear healthy now, are far from happy. Phal root health depends on water, certainly, but also on plenty of air circulation, impossible through water, and on drying.

The reason Phals are potted is because it's not always easy to duplicate proper growing conditions. Temperature, humidity, and watering frequency all come into play at home. In many cases, the conditions must be created through artificial means. I use T5 grow lights for many of my plants so that I can adjust the light. Where I live, in Georgia, humidity isn't an issue except during winter; 9 months of the year I can open my windows to the 75-80% humidity which is normal here, while in the winter, windows closed and furnace running, I use cool air humidifiers which keep my growing areas at about 65%. For that reason, I grow a lot of my plants on mounts, which is my preference. It's about impossible to overwater a mounted orchid - mine are usually watered twice each day and prolifically grow roots. If I pot a Phal I use one of two methods. When I use bark I use large chunk and typical pots. Those clear, floppy plastic pots many are sold in, stuffed with sphagnum, are used with the intention that the plant will travel a long way from the original grower and to your home; the idea is to make sure the plant doesn't dry out in shipping and storage. You can use them to grow, but only if you take a very light-handed approach to watering. The most frequent way a Phal is killed is by overwatering, and these pots almost guarantee they will be. When I use typical pots, I find that Phals are quite happy to be slightly overpotted, and the large chunks virtually assure good drainage and aeration. I've found, though, that sphagnum can be used quite successfully. I've been using a lot of it, but I use very open basket pots so that the medium is completely dry in about 2 days. These pots allow constant airflow through the medium, and especially if there is a bit of air space, or a gap, between the bottom of the media and the bottom of the pot. I've potted many of my Phals this way, and they grow new roots prolifically as well as showing great vigor and excellent blooming. At this point I'm more likely to use this method than bark.

I've never tried s/h, and don't expect I ever will.

[Dewie7]

Thanks! Well that gives me ideas. More open, airy pots would be healthier. I'll definitely repot!

I was worried. Glad I asked!

[camille1585]

The problem isn't so much that the roots are staying wet, but that they likely aren't getting much oxygen if the sphag hold water for so long. Nurseries will grow in pure sphag because it works well in their optimized conditions and it will dry quickly. But in your region, it's going to be an issue this winter.

However, be cautious when repotting from a very wet environment to a very dry one (like going from sphag to bark). This recent thread explains why:

Loss of roots of phalaenopsis when there is change of substrate

One suggestion would be to use a bark substrate with some sphag mixed in, that way it holds more water, but is still more airy than what it is in now.

S/H could be an option, though it's good to time the transfer with new root growth. The other thing is that Phals don't do as well in S/H in cooler climates/winters. The evaporative cooling is quite high, and cools the roots more than Phals like. If you want to go that way you need to use a heat mat for the winter.

[Dewie7]

Thank you, Camille.

You suggest bark/spagh and rbarata uses bark/leca. Interesting. I think I'll mix bark with one of those! I'm just concerned about it's current state.

I do have heat mats and am using for new African violets, Christmas cactus and a couple orchids all in S/H. When I decided to convert AVs is when I decided to try orchids. So all s/h newbies are sitting on heat mats and looking good.

Funny, I received 3 phals from 3 sellers. One arrived in bark, one in spagh, and one bare root. A little of everything! All look healthy now. But that spagh is so wet, which surprises me after a month in my arid house. It sits on a grate on a humidity tray. Maybe the spagh is wicking water....?

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Dewie7

Thank you, Camille.


Funny, I received 3 phals from 3 sellers. One arrived in bark, one in spagh, and one bare root. A little of everything! All look healthy now. But that spagh is so wet, which surprises me after a month in my arid house. It sits on a grate on a humidity tray. Maybe the spagh is wicking water....?

This mix of media just points to the fact that Phals will grow in just about anything (or nothing) if their basic needs are met - lots of air around the roots, a wet-dry cycle of water, humidity rather than "wet" in the root zone. The one that has been staying wet in sphag, definitely repot - it's not getting the "air around roots" part. With a more open medium it'll need watering more often, but that's good - fresh water has air in it, and when it flows through the pot it pulls air behind it.

[Dewie7]

Definitely! Currently, phals are my favorite. I have a couple cattleyas, dendrobiums, oncidiums. But these guys -- I like!