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| Hello! My husband bought me a beautiful pair of phalaenopsis for Mother's Day. They were potted side-by-side in a long wooden pot with some moss on top. They kept their flowers for more than 6 weeks, and are just now beginning to drop. I took the opportunity to take the orchids and their individual interior pots out of the long wooden planter and into orchid pots. When I did this, I discovered that the wooden planter was lined in plastic and the moss was much more densely packed into the spaces between the pots than I thought. They were soggy and full of moisture. I thought they had been getting good drainage this whole time. Some of the roots look almost translucent, and some are blackish. The orchids are slightly rootbound in their smaller plastic pots, and the small pots have holes in the bottom, but not the sides.
How can I fix this? I have only tried to repot an orchid one other time, and it promptly died. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| The usual reason for failure is overwatering. You need to water according to the requirements of the mix. Some notes in the link written for Canada may assist. Mine are in Bark and its mid winter and i am watering twice a week. Those thick leaves store a lot water. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Canadian orchid congress notes
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| I'd stay with spaghnum moss as far as a mix, for me it seems easier to go from bark to spagh than vice versa for some reason. Maybe pot up to a pot an inch or so bigger, holes in bottom only isn't a problem. Pre-soak the spagh in warm water to moisten completely. Cut off all the black/mushy roots, pre-pack the root ball a bit with new moss/spagh and then put it in the new pot. Stuff more new moss around the roots until the pot is full. Packing tightly or loosely is your call, just water accordingly. Watch the moss, water when the moss is dry/crunchy and/or the pot is light. If you use bark instead of spagh/moss, the routine is basically the same. Let the media tell you when to water, if you wait for the plant to show signs of stress, it's usually too late. Good luck, Bob |
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| Thanks, the plants are currently in bark. The moss was packed around the plants' individual containers and layered on top, so it's not there anymore. I had been watering once a week. |
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| I had hoped to not have to repot. Do you think I will have to? |
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| Depends on how tight the rooball is... If you feel it is OK as is, let it go and just water when needed. Usually, too small of a pot is better than too big. Good luck, Bob |
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| Six weeks is a very short time for Phal flowers. Did the plants come from a florist? |
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