When to water phals in moss when moss dries up unevenly

[KC Kam]

Greetings!

I am in a delimma I have a phal potted in moss and the pot was hanged horizontally. The moss on the upper part was dried with white roots while the lower part of the moss was still moist with green roots. I was hesitating whether i should wait for all the moss to dried up before watering..i am also afraid that the upper part roots will shrivel and dried up because it is not receiving water.

What should i do?

Please advise.

[Bulbopedilum]

A picture would help. By white roots I assume those are the arial roots that grow into the air? I would wait until the water goes out. They tolerate some dryness well. Some orchids even requeire a dry period.

[KC Kam]

Hi Bulbopedilum

Attached is the photos. The 1st photos showing upper roots in the ports are white and 2nd photo shows that the upper part are white and lower part are green. Should i water it or wait for it to dry out?

[Optimist]

I grow phals "dry." They are in semi hydroponics, which means most of the pot is filled with clay pellets. I don't water until the water is mostly gone from the reservoir at the bottom of the container. Other wise, I spritz the top and the exposed roots with water from a spray bottle every day or two.

Keeping them in moss, I would wait until the top part is crunchy. Since you have such a big hole in the bottom of the pot, it is probably nearly as crunchy there too. My dockrilla is in moss and so are my bulbophyllums. They are sprayed every day.

So I guess what I am saying is let it go "mostly dry." This will be different lengths of time for all areas, and times of year. The cooler it is, the drier you keep it. In growing times give them as much water as they want. Growing time is when they are getting new leaves.

[MattWoelfsen]

KC Kam, you live in Malaysia? Many Phalenopsis come from your part of the world. It is usually warm and humid, right? If you are comfortable of growing your plant in moss, I would recommend you take it out of this pot, and grow it in a comparable sized net pot. That way, the root ball will have better access to air.

[KC Kam]

Hi Optimist,

Noted & Thanks

Hi Mattwoelfsen,

Yes, I'm from Malaysia. Good idea. I will try one phal in that method.

[estación seca]

Yes, wait until all the moss is dry. Your humidity is very high and the roots in the air will be fine without watering for a while.