Is this plant OK from the start?

[PyroRob]

Hi all,

I just purchased a phal after thinking about it for a couple of months (well, since winter hit and my garden finished up, and electricity has gotten so expensive, I mothballed my hydro system for the winter).

Yes, I read about trying to rescue orchids, and was determined not to get started out on the wrong foot I looked at a local greenhouse, and they had about a dozen different kinds (none grown by them though, and none looked very healthy), and then I looked at the grocery store. They had 2 Phal. Anthura Siena, both blooming, but this one looked the best. It was below freezing outdoors so I had it bagged and I parked very close to the store entrance to bring it home.

I took a bunch of pictures of it, and tried to get pictures of the roots, the leaves, the bloom, and the spike, as well as the potting materials (spahnum and styrofoam peanuts) to try to get everyone's opinion.

From what I can tell, the leaves appear to have a bit of yellow in them, which I understand to be from growing it 'hard' with bright light, in order to get it to bloom.

I know you aren't supposed to mess with them while they are blooming but I would like to get this out of the pots (the inner is an almost opaque plastic pot, inside a clay pot) and mounted on a piece of bark or wood as soon as I can as it seems like it would be easier to keep the roots from being too wet.

Also, I currently have it in our bedroom where it can get plenty of humidity from the shower (master bedroom/bathroom) every morning. The temperature varies between 64F at night to about 72F-75F during the day. The normal winter humidity in the house is ~20%, but I am planning to buy a humidifier to help with that. The light comes from a south window, but the plant is about 15 feet away from the window so it doesn't get direct sunlight.

You can see the pictures at http://www.spudmonkey.org/gallery/album06

Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. I can deal with constructive criticism as well

Thanks all,

--->Rob

[Diane]

Looks like you've got a healthy plant there. Very nice thick green roots. I wouldn't be in a hurry to repot, I've have some that have been that crowded and in those kinds of pots and done quite well. But I would look at doing something about the humidity. Until you get the humidifyer, place a small pan of water, with a saucer overturned in it, under the plant. (Plant goes on saucer to keep it out of the water). This will help provide humidity.

Good Luck!

[PyroRob]

I have read that the gravel filled tray under the pot doesn't do much good (but I did it anyway). Does the pan of water help that much more?

Thanks,

--->Rob

[SaMRoza]

What you have there is a normal, healthy phal. The color is good, the roots appear pretty good, it looks to be potted pretty well. The way it is potted right now should be good without going to the trouble of mounting it. THere's a little bit of sphagnum moss and some styro peanuts.

Mounting your first phal sounds disastrous to me, especially with your humidity so low indoors. You'd have to water it 3 times a day...

Phals will tolerate being removed from their pots while in bloom, so feel free to take a peek. Be careful to not damage any of the roots, however.

I should also note that the humidity from the shower does literally nothing to the overall humidity of your room. For brief minutes, the humidity is raised, after that it's back to 20% humidity again. So choose your spot based on light instead of humidity. In my opinion, it's more important than humidity.

Sam

[PyroRob]

Has anyone used one of the ultrasonic foggers rather than a humidifier? Which produces better results and is more carefree?

Thanks,

--->Rob

[SaMRoza]

P.S.- no, a "humidity tray" does very little to raise RH%. I use them more for catch pans than I do for humidity.

[PyroRob]

Thanks for the advice on the humidity. I kind of figured the shower didn't do much. The major issue with the humidity in that rooms is that there is a lot od solid wood furniture in it that sucks the moisture right out of the air.

We have a furnace-based humidifier but it isn't really able to keep up with the rest of the house, let alone add more

Do the ultrasonic foggers or standard, run-of-the-mill humidifiers help much? The room is about 15' x 15' and the attached bathroom is about 10' x 15'.

Thanks,

--->Rob

[Lore]

Nice phal!
About the humidifier, I use the regular household variety. I fill it in the morning and in the evening every day and my orchids love it, especially my vandas and dends. I wouldn't worry too much about your phal not getting enough humidity because phals are perfect for indoor growing and can do with minimal humidity.

[PyroRob]

Arrrg, I got home tonight and I noticed the bloom was wilting. I also noticed that the spaghnum moss was dry, almost all the way through, and so I drenched the roots, and then let them drain out.

I hope it does ok over night...

--->Rob

[Gin]

The ultra sonic humidifiers work very well , I have 2 of them in the greenhouse with a fan behind them to scatter the fog , if the floor is not wet and the humidity drops they are turned on . Just be sure it is not so close that the fog keeps the plant wet . Gin