FlyTrapCare Forums

I need help ID this orchid. Can I keep it in a net pot for better root ventilation?

a Phalaenopsis no

I would like to recommend this article, I hope it can help you identify what type of orchid it is.

https://www.thespruce.com/orchid-identification-1315976

It's a Phalaenopsis hybrid. And, yes, you can move it to a net pot once it's stopped blooming. (Don't cut the spikes until they're completely brown - many of the hybrids will re-bloom on old spikes.)

Thanks! I did more research and I realized this might be a mini Phal which is its own species and don’t get as big as a regular phal. Is this true?

Kenneth wrote:Thanks! I did more research and I realized this might be a mini Phal which is its own species and don’t get as big as a regular phal. Is this true?

These days, almost all the Phals you see in the big box stores and local nurseries are the result of two competing ideas. You have the large (usually white petaled) Phal hybrids with big leaves and large "round" flowers displayed on one or two long, unbranched, arching spikes. And then there's the mini-Phal hybrids, which will stay small and produce smaller, brightly colored, less "round" (ie. more "open"), flowers on multiple, branched spikes. The minis will frequently re-bloom on old spikes. Both kinds have been mass produced after having been hybridized for all the qualities that a beginner orchid should have - consistency of bloom and growth, long lasting flowers, general hardiness for those beginner mistakes, etc.

There all sorts of variations on these two themes, of course. Your orchid appears to be a slightly-larger-than-average mini. How large are the leaves? The flowers?

I would say the flowers are a little over an inch and the leaves are probably 4 1/2 inches long.

Kenneth wrote:I would say the flowers are a little over an inch and the leaves are probably 4 1/2 inches long.

That's a typical mini-Phal, then. (The full sized ones have flowers in the 3"-5" range and leaves up to a foot long.) And as I said, don't cut the spikes until they're completely brown - it's possible that they'll re-bloom.