Gravel Medium?
 

Hi there,

I recently bought a Phalaenopsis for my partner as a gift. That also means I have to take care of it though, lol, but I don't mind.

I have read through the forums and frequently see that one of the best mediums is bark. My (our) plant comes from a hardware store so no doubt they just want it sold, and don't really care about proper care.

My question is whether the fine-ish gravel it is planted in is fine or whether I should repot it asap. It is currently in bloom and since I am a beginner and it looks so good, I don't want to do something stupid and kill the plant.

Should I wait for the blooms to drop and then repot or shout I just do it anyway and hope for the best? No doubt they used the gravel to keep the base heavy.

Also one of the leaves were yellow when I bought it, but it doesn't seem to be getting worse.

Oh and lastly, it had no id, but it has a plain pink flower, no stripes or dots.

Thanks!!! ;)

I know a lot of growers disagree with me on this point but I buy orchids for the flowers so I don't repot the plant until the flowers have faded and fallen off. Just be careful not to overwater the plant while it's in that fine mix.

Hi Tucker85,

thanks for the swift reply. The gravel stones are about the size of jelly beans to half jelly beans. I've only watered once, and the water runs through freely. I've also put the container in a bigger vase with water and stones in (the pot doesn't touch the water so no 'wet feet') to help with humidity.

I live in Cape Town, SA and the average temperature is about 19 degrees C, with low humidity. So my watering schedule is currently once a week.

But you would say the gravel is fine as a medium? I don't have to worry about repotting?

Interesting. I normally only get phals in either bark or moss here in Namibia.

The gravel can be a good growth medium. What is nice about it, is that it's free draining and that it does not break down. This would be great for cattleya alliance plants, for instance, but for phals I prefer something that holds a bit more moisture and that's where bark is so great! It is moist, but not soggy as moss has a tendency to become.

I would keep it in the gravel until it's done flowering and then I would consider re-potting it. Phals are easy and forgiving plants that don't seem to mind re-potting too much and it can basically be done at any time of the year, but after the flowering, when it's growing new roots and leaves is a good time.

Thanks for the info Silje. I shall relax now and leave the repotting for another day.

I was thinking of taking a hammer to Central Park and trying to gather some Manhattan schist granite from one of the many outcroppings! It's been hard to find lava rock around here lately. If I could knock off a big enough piece I could use it as a mount.

Amazon.com

That is not gravel...it is either sponge rock or lava rock....you may buy online some medium charcoal, bark and clay pellets and add that to what you have as mix.
Pictures would be nice to help us be of help to you even more....

---------- Post added at 06:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:04 PM ----------

Be very careful that you don't get caught by the police on horseback....I was reprimanded and almost got a ticket just collecting moss on the fallen tree logs.
They are conserving the place and some of the plants in there are protected because they are endangered indigenous since the time even before the Lenape native Americans.

It could be gravel, actually. I've got several orchids from nurseries in South Africa that has pea gravel in it, or rather on top covering the moss, for instance. It's protecting a bit against algae and holding things in place, but it's not the same as the perlite I'm using to add to my growth mediums. Sponge rock is the same as perlite, isn't it? And I know lava rock when I see it, but that's very rare here in Southern Africa.

Yes, pictures would be good! :)