Is it wise to rotate the pot such that leaves don't "lean" too much?

[cythaenopsis]

I've been having some orchids in my plant collection for a good 8 years now, but I've never been quite certain about this one particular aspect: ORIENTATION to the light.

More specifically, where large leaf growth is concerned. For a potted phal orchid, I don't want the leaves to be notably tilted to one side. So my thought is, that it's a good idea to periodically rotate the pot 180 degrees to help "balance out" the leaves. Then once they're established and there's an active spike, keep the pot in one position through blooming.

Is that a good idea? Or does 180 degree rotation "stress" the plant?

And maybe an even more relevant question, is the fact that I'm experiencing leaf tilt meaning that the orchid is getting too much sunlight? Should I keep it out of direct sunlight altogether?

[JScott]

Plants will always grow toward the light, so leaning plants doesn't mean that they are getting too much light. They will grow toward the light source regardless of how strong the source of light is.

That being said, I rotate my plants periodically when they are in active growth to keep them from leaning too much and to encourage the growths to grow as upright as possible, and it doesn't seem to cause a problem. Unless somebody else chimes in with a potential problem of which I am unaware, I'd say there's no harm in rotating your plants.

[aliceinwl]

I don't have time to rotate all my Phals, but my mom has a pot of Phals that she rotates regularly; hers look much better in terms of nice upright growth than mine.

[Ray]

DO NOT rotate the plants once flowering has been initiated. The result will be a twisted spike with the blossoms oriented in all directions; having them face one way is far more desirable.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by Ray

DO NOT rotate the plants once flowering has been initiated. The result will be a twisted spike with the blossoms oriented in all directions; having them face one way is far more desirable.

Yes, cythaenopsis, that is certainly important, but I think you already understand that, as you mentioned in the original post that you don not intend to rotate plants which are in spike. But it's worth saying again. Crooked spikes don't present the blooms very well, so leave the plants in one place so the spikes grow in one direction.

[Mountaineer370]

I have a couple of larger Phals that I have rotated regularly (1/4 turn every time I water), but still they lean heavily to one side. I think it is just the nature of Phals to do so, and for me, rotating them hasn't stopped that tendency.

As mentioned by others, though, once I see a spike starting to appear, I do not move their orientation to the light. I made that mistake with my first Phal several years ago and got a stunted, pretzel-shaped spike.

When I repot, which is seldom because I'm using Orchiata bark and it does not degrade as fast as other media, I will straighten the plant in its new container/media as best I can, without trying to force it or bend the root ball too much. When mine start to lean too much, I will place their clear plastic pots into a larger, heavier clay pot just to minimize the risk of having them tip over.

[plantzzzzz]

Originally Posted by Ray

DO NOT rotate the plants once flowering has been initiated. The result will be a twisted spike with the blossoms oriented in all directions; having them face one way is far more desirable.

But what if the spike is hitting the window?

[cythaenopsis]

Thanks for all the support, folks! Glad to know that rotation doesn't create any problems or stress for the orchid while in growth phase, but to avoid doing it once the spike is producing blooms.

Store bought orchids almost always have flat lying leaves, which I imagine is due to greenhouses providing diffused ambient light from above, so leaves won't be encouraged to tilt in any particular direction.

[Ben_in_North_FLA]

am going to buck the tide here. Growing phals is all about flower presentation and as already stated above that once spike begins you should not rotate plant to avoid inflorescence detour from best path towards ideal display. My concern with rotating orchids and phals in particular is that every time you adjust the plant's position, you force the plant to re-orient itself towards the light source as now the direction of sunlight has changed. This change does take away from the continued uninterrupted growth pattern and at least it slows the growth rate down. It may not be noticeable to our eyes but if you put two plants of same clones next to each other and rotate only one and note growth pattern over a year you will see substantial difference in growth. I have had this discussion with commercial growers and they have all confirmed the same facts. Ideally you should have full sunlight overhead rotation and then there are no issues and no need to rotate. The one case for rotation is by specimen plant growers who need to spread sunlight even all around plant as they will be showing those plants for judging and thus require full spread of flowers around plant. In phals case all the flowers would facing in on direction only anyway.

[Keithj]

That's all very well, Ben, but not all of us have overhead lighting. If, like me, you have your orchids on a windowsill then they will inevitably be drawn more one way than another. I generally don't worry too much about Phals because they will eventually lean whatever you do but I do rotate my nobile Dendrobiums to help keep the growing canes as straight and upright as possible. I turn Cattleyas for the same reason but less often. Otherwise I just keep any new growths towards the window.

Keith