Re-potting

[orchid lady]

Hi Everyone,

Can you guys please help me if need to re-pot these babies. The flowers belong to the first photo and I'm not sure what kind of orchid it is. The dendrobium still has flowers also.

Thanks

[wetfeet101b]

Hi there,

The first plant is a howeara, possibly a Lava Burst.
It looks like it has fallen in love with that plastic basket. I'm not sure if it is time to repot though. Its hard to tell whats going on inside the pot.

The phal looks like it will need to be repotted soon. It is getting quite crowded inside the pot.

The dendrobium still looks ok and has a lot of room left on the pot. The potting mix still looks like it is in good shape.

[orchid lady]

Thanks for the advise, I'm totally new and know little to nothing about growing orchids and with endless questions at this point. I actually just purchased medium grade bark and charcoal for the Phal.

Anyway, do you know any good place where I can go and find orchids and orchid supplies? I live in the Long Beach area.

You are also right about the Lava Burst.

[padams2359]

They are nice looking plants. Others may not agree, but I do not like unnatural pots or growing materials. I either us one of several growing mixes, from compound types to orchid bark, depending on which type of medium works best. I do not like plastic pots or Styrofoam in my medium. I use either orchid clay pots with the large slits down the sides, or baskets. Your howera appears to like a lot of air based in its growing pattern, that one may like a basket with just orchid bark. Phals also like baskets and bark. My dens seem happier in pots with more of a compound mixture. If using a basket, I suggest cutting a piece of window screen to fit only the bottom of the basket. This keeps the bark from falling out when there is wind, or when watering. I got tired of picking up the bark and putting it back in the basket. I have found the orchids in this medium require watering at least every other day.