Repotting phal?

[nagal1]

I am a bit confused about repotting. For example: I have a very happy phal which has bloomed well and continues to grow bigger in a small pot. It has two long spikes at present which continue to grow longer and longer while flowering only at the tips as it grows.(It did initially have nice sprays of flowers when it first put out the spikes several months ago.) It has lots of aerial roots which I love the appearance of hanging over the side of the pot. It is now putting out another spike. The question is; Do I have to repot because of all the roots even though the plant looks attractive to me the way it is? It looks so healthy. It is potted in sphagnum moss. Also, I have read that it is better to put phals in sphagnum moss rather than woodbark. Is this true? Also, I keep reading about a method to establish roots on a plant without them i.e. wrapping in sphagnum moss and putting in a bag. Can someone please elaborate on this as I have a phal I am trying to save. Sorry about the long question!!!!

[orchid-man]

repotting in normally done when the potting medium has broken done

[nagal1]

I know when bark is broken down but what does sphagnum moss look like when it is time to repot?

[Diane]

The medium you use depends on how you grow. All my phals live happily in bark. I grow very few items in sphag, only items that come to me in it.

[Mehera]

Diane, does this mean you don't repot new plants or that you repot in what they are used to?

[Diane]

I repot new plants, but I often put them into what they are used to until they get acclimated to my environment. Then I move them into the media I prefer.

[Piper]

I usually repot into my preferred media when I get a new plant, Mehera. I can better judge when to water it that way. I've only had trouble once, and that was in Sept. Two Cattleyas I'd purchased were just in the country from Brazil. They developed a nasty fungus within a couple of weeks and croaked pretty quickly. The reseller thought that the bare root shipping so soon after he'd received them from Brazil, and then the move to my conditions was more than they could take.

He's replaced them with acclimated potted plants, which are thus far doing fine. I won't even think to repot them until I've had them for several months.

Nagal, your original question was about repotting your Phal. If it's in moss, the moss will break down faster than bark. Usually you want to repot it yearly. The air spaces compact and the roots don't get enough aeration. Post a picture if you're not sure. We can better judge, if we can see it.

McJulie

[nagal1]

I am just experimenting to see if I can figure out how to send pics.!!!!

[gerneveyn]

For the phal you want to save with a sphag and bag method follow Ray Barkalow's technique. It has worked for me.

[Diane]

Nice pic, nagal1. What's the name?