Hey all! I received my first flask (Phal violacea) about a month ago. I was in a bad place health-wise and wasn't able to do the deflasking then, so I let them go, hoping that they would "hang in there" in their flask. So far, they seem to be doing just fine.

The seller had told me to deflask "immediately upon receipt" of the orchids, because the gel can get all shaken up in shipping and often the babies will end up in distress if you don't get them out of the flask immediately after receiving them.

Here's what they look like right now:

Name: flask 1.jpg Views: 12906 Size: 262.2 KB

As you can see, they're clearly NOT dead a month after having received them, so they must not have been shaken up too badly in shipment, although there is some gel stuck in various places to the inner walls of the flask.

What I want to know is... do I deflask them now, or should I let them go a bit longer? I'm not sure when it really gets urgent to deflask the babies... from what I had read, it seems that the longer you can leave them in their flask, the better. So since they're stable as they are, can I just wait a while and let them grow, or do I need to get them out of there?

To me it seems like they have plenty of room, but as this is my first flask, I really have nothing to compare it to. Here's another shot of the flask.

Name: flask2.jpg Views: 835 Size: 333.1 KB

To my beginner eye, the babies appear to have lots of growing room, but I don't know if they'll run out of food before they fill the container. So, any input would be appreciated. I'd like to leave them in their flask as long as possible so they'll be as hardy as they can be when they get out and have to adjust... but the last thing I want is to leave them in there TOO long and have them start to rot/die.

So... looking for opinions... should I deflask now or do I have more time?

Thanks, friends!