To Downsize pot or not to downsize the pot...

[Irielicious]

I have one orchid I have been able to keep alive after moving it from sphagnum moss into bark. She lost all but two roots which were aerial roots. Since then she has put out 8 new roots and one flower spike. Her leaves are much smaller as you can see. I need to repot her as she isn't really in the pot securely. The issue is should I downsize her pot to fit how big she will be with her new tiny leaves?

Her last few leaves from her old growth are paper thin and very dry but they are holding on. Even after all the trauma she still flowered for me. I need her to put out new leaves too as even her newer leaves are limp. My other questions are should I just cut off her flower spike so she can use the energy to put out new leaves? Should I wait to pot her until she's done blooming?

[estación seca]

Great save! Your plant is recovering well!

The pot should be proportional to the root system, and I can't see all the roots. If you water carefully that pot will be fine.

The old leaves have survived and their wrinkling will not go away, but they are still functioning well and feeding the plant. Don't cut them off.

Your newer leaves and roots are healthy enough to support the flowers. Enjoy the flowers on the plant. I suspect the small leaf size is partly due to not getting much water before the new roots grew, and not getting enough fertilizer.

[Irielicious]

Thank you estación seca! The roots you can see is about the extent of her roots. There aren't really any "IN" the pot other than the three new roots you can see in the up close pic of the crown which is why she isn't really all that stable. The other roots will end up being aerial roots so they won't really help her with her stability.

My main concern was about the flower spike taking too much energy to stay in bloom and thus not being able to sustain or create new leaves. Your advise has put me at ease, since you think shes got enough energy in the leaves to sustain both! Thanks for your great advice I really appreciate it!!!

[estación seca]

If all the roots are on the surface, you could get them wet multiple times per day and they will dry out fast. The plant will appreciate generous watering.

The reason most people should water Phals in pots only once or twice a week is because the roots can't be wet for too long. In your situation this is not the issue, so go ahead and water and fertilize frequently.

[Irielicious]

Yeah I mist them several times per day since she really doesn't have much of a root or leaf system to keep her nurtured otherwise! Thanks for the help!

[Irielicious]

Originally Posted by estación seca

If all the roots are on the surface, you could get them wet multiple times per day and they will dry out fast. The plant will appreciate generous watering.

The reason most people should water Phals in pots only once or twice a week is because the roots can't be wet for too long. In your situation this is not the issue, so go ahead and water and fertilize frequently.

estación seca I noticed today that her media is starting to break down and I see these tiny little white bugs that seem to jump. I can imagine this is due to the misting I do to the aerial roots. I was thinking about unpotting her and putting her in all gravel since most of her roots are all aerial. I assume this would help me with issue like the bugs growing on and feeding on the broken-down media...right? I read on another post about people using all types of gravel, I have pea gravel I use for my succulents do you think this would work? I of course would wash the gravel well etc...Any input would be appreciated!!!

	Mistking Looking for a misting system? Look no further. Automated misting systems from MistKing are used by multitude of plant enthusiasts and are perfect for Orchids. Systems feature run dry pumps, ZipDrip valve, adjustable black nozzles, per second control! Automatically mist one growing shelf or a greenhouse full of Orchids. See MistKing testimonials

[Subrosa]

The bugs are springtails and are harmless. Their presence does indicate that the media is deteriorating.

[Irielicious]

Originally Posted by Subrosa

The bugs are springtails and are harmless. Their presence does indicate that the media is deteriorating.

Well my concern is that the bottom half of the media stays wet at all times...which doesn't affect the orchid per se since all of its roots are out of the media. The problem is the new roots will eventually make their way toward the media as they aren't growing upward. I want to repot her because the soaked media will cause root rot I think...She's fought so hard to stay alive last thing I want is for her to have issues again. I hope she'll like the pea gravel . Thanks for your help BTW

[No-Pro-mwa]

You could give it a go, but I wouldn't do it if the pea gravel is very small. Remember they need air to the roots. Have the roots grown longer? Hopefully they will grown down into the media. I myself have never used gravel or lava rock but others have.

[Irielicious]

Originally Posted by No-Pro-mwa

You could give it a go, but I wouldn't do it if the pea gravel is very small. Remember they need air to the roots. Have the roots grown longer? Hopefully they will grown down into the media. I myself have never used gravel or lava rock but others have.

Hi No-Pro-mwa! Thanks for your response! The roots are about the same size and haven't grown much since that picture. My reason for wanting to use pea gravel is that I have to water the roots a lot and the media is sooooooooooooo wet down at the bottom I did include a pic of the gravel maybe that can help with your thoughts on it...