2 phals in 1 pot

[karrolhk]

I know the recommendation is to pot orchids separately, but my mom really likes having multiple (2 or even 3) phalaenopsis in the same pot so when it flowers it looks like a lot of flowers in the same pot (pic of her orchids in attachment). Also, we don-t have much space at home. We only have space for 1 pot..

My question is, is it possible and good to have 2 phals in the same pot? or it's a big NO?

What pot size should I go for?

PS. How much LECA would 2 orchid pots with orchids need?

[Ray]

It is possible, but isn't a great idea, primarily due to the risk of one becoming diseased and immediately sharing it with the other.

Instead, it's a much better idea to pot them individually, then place both pots in a larger container, surrounded by a decorative moss or something.

[karrolhk]

in 2 plastic pots and put in the same decorative pot? that's a great idea! Thank you Ray! btw, how much LECA do you think I would need?

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Originally Posted by karrolhk

in 2 plastic pots and put in the same decorative pot? that's a great idea! Thank you Ray! btw, how much LECA do you think I would need?

You will need the volume of both pots less the space the roots take up. Always buy more than you need.

[Shadeflower]

I grow all my seedlings together.

They start off as 15 together in a pot, down to 7, down to 2 and then a few years later they are are big enough to be potted individually so in fact pretty much every single orchid was potted together with lots of other orchids in flasks at some point in their life already.

Will it have any negative effect? Maybe as plants do like to be the only plants around. There are tree species that are known to release chemicals into the soil telling other plants the space is taken already. Eventually if too many plants become rootbound one will start to suffer but repotting the plants before they get rootbound should prevent any problems.

If I had a space issue I think it makes sense to do it. Of course in an ideal world one shouldn't but lack of space is an issue which is why we are trying to expand to Mars.

[Roberta]

There is a big difference between seedlings in a compot and random plants placed in the same pot. In the case of seedlings, they are siblings, having shared the same microbiome from infancy. Like a family of children. Taking random mature plants (each of which has their own microbiome) and putting them together in close quarters is more like sharing eating utensils and underwear with total strangers. As long as both are healthy,you can get away with it. But if one of them isn't, cooties will get shared.

[Shadeflower]

I agree with you Roberta but like I said the world is not ideal.
We can't always have an answer for a hypothetical situation. In this situation there is space for one plant. If one has indeed got cooties, well then it has and nobody would ever know unless they did a virus test on it. And if it did pass it on to the other plant nobody would know either.
If the option is throwing one in the compost or potting them together in one pot, fine lets go with never to pot up a plant together.

But while we are on the subject I accidentally spilt some water from a sick plant onto another plant. I've never tested the sick plant, it just grows too slow so have I doomed the plant I spilt some water on now and should I throw it out as if they had been potted together?

What about orchids mounted on a slab or cork? Is that a taboo then? The plants above drip water down on the plants below. Should that not be done then? I see it done all the time. Why can one person do something and another person not do something identical but slightly different. Sometimes the orchid growing rules make no sense to me. Yes in an ideal world water should never be shared. Not debating that but what about the mount growers or the clumsy waterers? What about run off collection trays? Are we all saying not to do something that everyone is secretly doing or am I missing something here?

[WaterWitchin]

In an ideal world, most folks say don't put two orchids together, don't let water drip from one mount down onto another, etc, etc.

Some "orchid rules" don't make much sense to me either. However, I'll address this elsewhere, because I don't want to hijack in Beginner forum with a loaded or controversial topic that isn't answering the OP's question.

For me, with two cheap hybrid big box style Phals, I'd pot them together in a heartbeat. I've done so. The worse thing that would happen is they would share cooties, and might not survive. It's not like one has lost much money if it happens. To me, it's no different than getting a bouquet of cut flowers and sticking them in a vase, except the potential to last a lot longer. Or getting a congratulations or funeral flowers with Phals and other plants all potted up in the same cache pot.

But, that's just me. You have to weigh the pros and cons of the desired outcome.

[Ray]

I guess another reason I use separate pots in a larger, decorative container, is that if one goes out of bloom while the other is still in-bloom, I can swap it out to make the decorative presentation better.

[WaterWitchin]

Agreed as well, Bill. That’s how most florists do it. I have a big cache pot on a side table. Whatever goes in it is what’s in bloom at the moment. Couple three small ones or sometimes one biggun.