FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hey everyone. I bought my lady friend a orchid at Lowe's for her birthday present. It was on clearance for 5 dollars. I believe it was so cheap because all the flowers had already bloomed and the store actually had a new shipment of orchids and wanted to get the older ones sold first. I have no experience with growing orchids. I have been trying to decipher if I am taking correct care of it. It honestly does not look like it has grown any since I have purchased it on 04/11. There were about 8 flowers on it and now two remain. I put it in a place where it gets bright ambient light and very small amounts of direct sunlight. It is next to a west facing window. I water it once a week and fertilize it with 1/4 tablespoon per gallon of Miracle grow orchid food every other watering. I water it until I see the first sight of water leaking into the saucer. It is always between 65-75 degrees in my house. Once the last two flowers come off I plan on cutting the spikes and repotting the entire plant into orchid bark and into a more airy pot. It is currently potted in LFS. I am posting some pictures to help with the scenario. I pretty much just want to know if it is growing at the right pace, if its getting the correct amount of light and water, and anything I can do to make it healther.

These photos were taken just after I watered it. It is also cold and rainy today with no breaks in the clouds.

Well, the orchid living in such a dark place with the heavy sphagnum is not doing any good, either give it more heat and sunlight, or change the sphagnum for pieces of cocunut shell, charcoal, pumice, and other volcanic rocs so it has more aireation or it will rot. Orchids need a lot of light.

Dang the tags on it said it needed low to indirect light for its growing conditions.

I have just moved it to a bright east facing window.
Here is what I plan on doing

1.) Once it is done flowering, I plan on cutting the spikes and then repotting the plant.
2.) I plan on planting it in a larger, deeper pot with air vents on the side.
3.) I will use Miracle Gro orchid bark as a media. Is miracle grow OK with orchids?

Thank you for your help!

This is a Phalaenopsis orchid, they prefer bright, indirect light. Direct sunlight can severely burn them, tho some morning and/or evening Sun can be okay. Don't let any water get in the crown (the central growing point) of these orchids, because it can quickly lead to rot. However, if you do, I simply fluff up the end of a Q-Tip and use it to soak up any water. I use a 50/50 mix of New Zealand sphagnum moss and Fir bark. I would highly recommend using the Better-Gro® Special Orchid Mix, (which is a blend of Fir bark, charcoal, and perlite) to mix 50/50 with the sphagnum moss. It's available at Lowes as well for around $4-5 dollars. That's what I use, and my Phals love it. Use room temperature water when you water them, these orchids are tropical and don't like cold water. Tap water is perfectly fine, they're not too picky about that aspect. The vast majority of orchids grow up in the canopies of the rain forests, clinging to the sides of the tree trunks, and shielded from most direct sunlight. So when you water them, flush the water thoroughly throughout the pot, but never let it sit in any water for too long. That will quickly rot the roots. The roots need to breathe. Phals love the same temperatures that we humans generally love, they don't need to be kept too warm. They'll do perfectly fine just so long as the temperature doesn't drop below 55°F. Tho, I place mine outside under my shaded back porch all Summer long. They love the high humidity here and the fresh breezes that flow through at night.

Well, I hope I covered all of the basics. These plants are very easy to care for once you understand their needs. Just like with my carnivorous plants, I'm always finding room for at least one more, HaHa! I bought me yet another one just a couple of days ago. Well, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I am most definitely obsessed with these plants as well, if you haven't already noticed that...

Phals generally love to be root bound. So you don't really need a bigger pot. I would highly recommend planting it into a 5" clear pot. Those clear pots let light thru, and the Phals green roots also provide photosynthesis for the plants. Plus, in this case, bigger isn't necessarily better. And as for the Miracle Gro brand of orchid "bark," I wouldn't recommend using it. It's more like a soil than an actual bark mix. I've tried it before and my Phals didn't seem to like it. I do use it for my Anthuriums, which also grow up in the canopies of the rainforest, but they're more tolerant of this soil-like mix.

I was just taking a closer look at your Phals, and it looks like you've got two separate plants in that pot growing side by side. Which is fine, you can leave them that way when you repot, or you can gently separate their tangled roots and pot them up separately. Phals aren't too finicky about being repotted, just try not to snap their roots. They don't really bend much at all. Also, you can use some lemon juice to wipe the leaves off, to remove the traces of fertilizer and get them nice and shiny.

Congrats! I just bought my first orchid (a phal) last night because the pattern on the flowers was too cool to resist. However, my wife has about 40 of them of different varieties and has been rescuing and growing them for a couple years.

Here's what I know from watching her: they seem super sensitive to fungus and rot. One of her keys has been to never water after 2 pm to make sure by the time it's cooler and dark, there is no water left on the leaves or in the cracks around their bases. Always dry up any water from the center and try not to get any in there to begin with. My impression is they like their roots frequently wetted, but not left wet all the time (like in sphagnum). They are almost always overwatered at the stores and have some rotten roots. When they do, my wife will take them out of their media, cut off the rotten roots and put them in fresh, airy media like the others have suggested. They have been doing great under grow lights, so I can attest to them liking the bright, indirect light. The instructions you get from stores usually seem to assume you're buying them as decoration and will kill them and throw them away after they're done.

Other than that, I'm in the same boat as you, so thanks for asking! Follow up question for you guys: How do you get large flowers? I think I've heard of only letting them bloom every other year? Do you cut your spikes after they flower or allow the plant to decide if it wants to re-use it?

Also, you can use some lemon juice to wipe the leaves off, to remove the traces of fertilizer and get them nice and shiny.

Great tip, thanks!

xr280xr wrote:...cut off the rotten roots and put them in fresh, airy media like the others have suggested.

I knew I'd forget to mention something, HaHa... Yes, cut off any "hollow" or mushy roots.

xr280xr wrote:How do you get large flowers? I think I've heard of only letting them bloom every other year? Do you cut your spikes after they flower or allow the plant to decide if it wants to re-use it?

I've heard about people only letting them bloom every other year, so that the next year's floral display will be even bigger. Tho, letting them bloom every year is perfectly fine too. And as for once the flower spike is spent, I prefer to just cut the whole spike off and let it focus on growing more leaves and roots, and focusing its energy on the next year's blooming season.

They can grow fine in low light situations, but I prefer to give them the brightest indirect light possible. Because more (indirect) light means more energy, and more energy means better blooms.

tom_e_boi wrote: And as for once the flower spike is spent, I prefer to just cut the whole spike off

I hope I'm not hijacking this post. By "spent", do you mean once it drops the flowers, or once the spike actually dies. I've seen the spike die after dropping the flowers and in other cases stick around for a while and produce more branches and buds.

P.S. Oh, I just remembered, the bamboo sticks that are sometimes used to support the flower spike have been problematic with fungus in our house too.

xr280xr wrote:I hope I'm not hijacking this post. By "spent", do you mean once it drops the flowers, or once the spike actually dies. I've seen the spike die after dropping the flowers and in other cases stick around for a while and produce more branches and buds.

Yes, tho I've had some that have continued growing out from the end of the same branch, and others that have branched out from the lower nodes (joints) on the flower spike. Sometimes, if you're lucky, they'll even grow a keiki (Hawaiian for "baby" [plant]) from one of the lower nodes on the spike. Tho, that's never happened for me before. It all depends on a variety of factors, like genetics and environment. Some of the species of Phalaenopsis will even bloom continuously from the end of the spike over and over for quite a long time. But that's the species, not the hybrids that are mass produced and sold in stores. If your Phal is healthy and the spike remains green, then feel free to leave it be. Maybe it'll want to send out more blooms. Or you can cut it back and let it focus of storing up energy for the next year's floral display.
Orchids are most definitely another strange and intriguing plant family.

Thanks for your help everyone. I think I may have started off on the wrong foot with this orchid. I will look for the recommended media now. To be honest, those roots on the plant look very sad. And I have been watering it the wrong way as well. When I repot it, I will take a picture of the roots and post it to ask if you guys think the plant can still make it.

I have to say that I LOVE using sphagnum and HATE using bark, at least for most things. You just have to know how to use sphagnum and bark correctly. The flower size you see now is how big the flowers will get, as the plant grows the blooms don't get bigger, they just get more blooms. Do you have nepenthes? If so, give the orchid simlar care, just a few different things: Let it dry out a little more. Give it a little less light. This kind of orchid is not too particular about water quality.

Here's a link to THE ULTIMATE phal thread: http://www.orchidboard.com/community/be ... -here.html There are around 61 pages packed full of all sorts of info.