FlyTrapCare Forums

So I picked up a mini phal today and i am looking for advice. I do well with the window friendly Nepenthes and i have most types potting media. I will put up some photos of the plant and its location. the windows in the back ground are south facing and in the winter direct light come in to the room 7-8 feet but never hits where the plant is.

#1 should i replace media, if so whats should i use.
#2 should i go to a larger pot?
#3 will the light be ok, I am replacing nerve plants that just grow out of control in that area and block view.

In my experience, mini Phals like to be rootbound so if that pot has drainage, it's ok - if not pretty. Also, most orchids like light on their roots so transparent is good. (For Phals, green roots are wet, silver roots are dry - let them go dry for a couple of days before you water.) If you are going to repot, either loosely compacted LFS or bark chips with maybe some perlite mixed in would be fine. Phals are considered low light orchids. You might just want to leave it where it is for a while and take note of the leaf color. If the leaves get darker, it needs more light. If they get lighter, decrease the light.

No plant "likes" being rootbound. If they did, there would be a lot of unhappy plants in the wild. There are two culture reasons orchids and other plants are often grown underpotted:
1) You are far less likely to overwater the plant as smaller pots typically dry out faster than larger ones.
2) Being rootbound is a stressful condition for a plant. In response to this stress, many plants will send up blooms more readily. It is a survival characteristic. (In the wild, running out of root room places restrictions on obtainable nutrients which could affect a plant's health/survival. Under such circumstances, many plants will make an extra effort to reproduce before it's "too late.")

Phals are typically good with bright, indirect light. Depending upon where you live and the season, direct early morning or late evening sun would be fine too. Avoid direct hot afternoon sun.

If you are not experienced with growing non-cps in sphag, I would recommend a repot. The most common cause of orchid death in homes is overwatering/letting the media stay too wet too long. I've grown a number of different orchids in pure sphag without a problem ... but I've been growing orchds for over 2 decades now. For the average joe -- especially newbies -- sphag is too problematic. Lowe's and HD usually carry bags of orchid mix. While often not the greatest quality, it is affordable and bags aren't obnoxiously huge. (Although, for you, they will seem that way being that you only have the one lil guy there.) I would go up a pot size.

The Repot:
Step 1: Fill the new pot approx 2/3 full of the bark mix. No reason to prep more media than you need.
Step 2: Soak the mix for about 15min or so.
Step 3: Soak the potted portion of the orchid for about 15min.
Step 4: Take the orchid out of the pot and remove ALL of the sphag and untangle the roots. Remove any dead or rotting roots.

---- Optional step: If the old sphag appears to be in good condition, you can (but do not need to) incorporate some of it into the bark mix if the bark mix doesn't have any. Aim for the amount of sphag to be 1/4 or less of the total mix volume.

Step 5: Put some mix in the bottom of the pot.
Step 6: Put the orchid in the pot spreading out the roots as well as you can.
Step 7: Add the rest of the media, working it down amongst the roots as best you can. While holding onto the plant and pot, you can "bounce"/tap the bottm of the pot against the tabletop to help get the media to settle. Some folks advocate packing the media tightly enough so that you can pick up the plant by its leaves/stem and the pot will come up with it. Personally, that doesn't work well for me with my growing conditions. I never pack mine that tightly.

I have had this plant for over 2 years now i forget the name.

I got it from the death rack at lowes it looked very bad at the time but has recovered well. I filled the pot 3/4 with chunky bark and perlite mix and top 1/4 is LFSM, I wet the spag weekly and try to flood it in the sink monthly. would this work for the mini phal?

weekly stuff is good for me, take the trash to the street, back wash the pool, water the thing.

That's an anthurium.

Crazy, I bought one practically identical this week myself. I've never really done this type of orchid either. Something must be in the air

optique wrote: ↑Fri Jun 25, 2021 5:30 pm I filled the pot 3/4 with chunky bark and perlite mix and top 1/4 is LFSM, I wet the spag weekly and try to flood it in the sink monthly. would this work for the mini phal?

That should do fine.

Panman wrote: ↑Fri Jun 25, 2021 6:00 pm That's an anthurium.

Also know in some circles as "a penis on a platter."

Doh!