Just purchased my first orchids.

[Emmaleigh]

Hello everyone! My name is Emmaleigh and I have been thinking about owning an orchid for a very long time. I purchased my first orchid at a local grocery store today. I attached some pictures because I was hoping someone could tell me what type of orchid it is. The tag just says "orchid". I am also curious if that is my orchid's true color of has it been dyed? I am currently in the process of researching what to repot it in. All that it in there now is moss which I from what I've seen so far is wrong. I would appreciate any advice and opinion anyone might have as I am a total beginner. I would also appreciate any advice you have on routine care and the supplies I need. I have included a picture of the instructions that came with the orchid and I am not sure if they are correct. Thank you in advance for your help!

[jkofferdahl]

Welcome to the Orchid Board! I was about your age when I first became interested in orchids, though I didn't become brave enough to grow one until I'd graduated college; for me it's a hobby/interest that's lasted close to 40 years now. I'm quite excited that you've both followed this interest and also joined here.

Your plant is a Phalaenopsis orchid. Yours is a hybrid so I can't say more about a name for it, but it's a Phal; there are a large number of species in the Phalaenopsis family as well as somewhere approaching 8 zillion hybrids, so saying what yours is more specifically is hard to impossible. They're very hardy plants, usually quite easy to grow, and produce beautiful flowers. They like relatively shady light conditions so if you have an East or West window for yours it can sit right on the sill, though in a South window you'll want to make sure it's got some slight shade, or keep it 6 or 7 inches from the window. As long as the temperature where it sits never gets under about 57-60 or over 90-95 (for short periods) it'll be happy. Let the media it's in get completely dry, but don't let it stay dry for too long, between waterings.

Your instructions include the words "Water with 3 ice cubes or 1/4 cup water weekly." For the sake of all that is good, decent, and living in this world, please destroy that tag with fire or acid. I don't know who came up with the idea of putting ice cubes on tropical plants, but in the orchid world that person is a serial killer, likely responsible for the deaths of more orchids than a crazed bulldozer in a rainforest. When the potting medium is COMPLETELY dry, flush the pot with water and then wait for it to dry again.

You are absolutely right in wanting to repot your plant. Sphagnum has a great place in orchid growing but not in a pot like that. Being old, I'm pretty set in my ways of using basic orchid bark for most Phals. I'd suggest using a very large chunk bark, which will allow for more air movement to the roots. Phalaenopsis roots really like air movement. Before potting, soak the new bark overnight, then soak the plant's roots for about 20 minutes. This allows them to become saturated and considerably more pliable. I think the plastic pot the plant came in should be fine to reuse, but one with a slightly larger diameter and less depth would be good, too.

Finally, I think something happened to the two flowers which are open. They both appear to be missing their upper sepals. Please show us a flower of one of the as-yet unopened buds once it opens. The color is, I think, quite natural.

[Emmaleigh]

Thank you so much, jkofferdahl! I really appreciate your help! I will definitely disregard the tag. I thought something about watering with ice cubes was odd. Should I use any fertilizers? I was also wondering if the twist ties securing the stem are sufficient? They are not very aesthetically pleasing and I am concerned that they will cut into the stem as it grows.

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by Emmaleigh

Thank you so much, jkofferdahl! I really appreciate your help! I will definitely disregard the tag. I thought something about watering with ice cubes was odd. Should I use any fertilizers? I was also wondering if the twist ties securing the stem are sufficient? They are not very aesthetically pleasing and I am concerned that they will cut into the stem as it grows.

My pleasure. And don't disregard the tag, destroy it. Yes, orchids like fertilizer, but not a lot. There are a lot of different fertilizers available, and if Ray finds and posts in here he can tell you everything known to man - he's a fertilizer guru. But for basics, just get a basic fertilizer (Peter's, MiracleGro, etc.) with either a balance (20-20-20, 5-5-5, etc.) or extra nitrogen (30-10-10, etc.) and you'll be fine. What matters is making sure you don't use too much. There's an orchid adage, "fertilize weekly, weakly". If the directions on the fertilizer say to use one scoop per gallon of water, cut it to 1/4 scoop per gallon, or even slightly less (plastic milk jugs are awesome for mixing and storing it), and just use the mix each time the plant needs to be watered.

A lot of people use twist ties to train their stems, and you can usually loosen them if they're too tight. You're right, though, they're ugly. Sadly, I've even resorted to using pipe cleaners when nothing else was handy. Now I use little clips that look like miniatures of the hair clips my daughters used while growing up. You can buy a bag of about 100 of them on eBay for a few dollars, or fancier, colored ones for a bit more. I have some shaped like butterflies, some like dragonflies, and even some shaped like houseflies (which were the most expensive), and a friend had one that looked like a cockroach.

[Emmaleigh]

Thanks again! This has been very educational! I will absolutely destroy the tag.

[jkofferdahl]

[No-Pro-mwa]

Welcome to the board.

[charlesf6]

Welcome EmmaLeigh, and good luck with your new orchid!

[rbarata]

Welcome EmmaLeigh.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

There are two really good threads here on Orchid Board for beginners learning to grow Phalaenopsis orchids:

The Phal abuse ends here.

Using skewers to determine when to water

People can grow Phals successfully in sphagnum moss, but you have to let it get dry or almost dry between waterings. This can be really hard to gauge. During cooler periods it may take 2-3 weeks for the moss at the center to dry. Many people who do well in sphagnum don't soak the sphagnum, but just wet the top of the moss. The water wicks down and moistens the rest.

And yes, ditch the ice cubes. Have you ever been in the tropics and seen ice cubes falling out of the sky to water the vegetation?