On Sat, 25 Jan 2003 20:16:03 -0500, Gene Schurg wrote:

Greg,

First of all congratulations on reblooming your phal. You must be caring
for it correctly.

The optimal time to repot a phal is in the spring when you see new roots
beginning to form. In an emergency you repot whenever but if you can
wait until spring after the bloom fades and new growth start you will be
happier with the outcome.

It does seem harsh but you remove the plant from the pot and gently shake
loose any medium. You must clean as much of the old medium away because
this will continue to rot and cause wet spots in make watering more
difficult. After the mix is taken away examine the roots and clean them
up cutting away dead roots first and any roots that were broken when you
were removing the medium. Use a new clean single edged razor blade for
this and throw the blade away when done so you don't spread any viruses
to other plants.

For someone with a single plant or two I would recommend that you go to
the local orchid store (Nursery, Home Depot, Lowes, etc.) and pick up a
small bag of standard orchid mix. It will contain bark, chunks of
perlite, charcoal, and maybe some compressed moss. The night before you
plan to repot soak the bark mix to give it a chance to absorb water and
not dry out the plant when you plant it.

Since you've been growing the plant for a couple of years in the same pot
you may want to take it up a pot size...remember they like to have the
roots tight so don't over do it. Suspend the plant over the pot with the
roots down inside and work as much media as possible around the roots
without damaging the live roots. I usually bump the pot on the table to
settle the mix a bit around the roots. Do not water the plant at this
time.

Sit the newly potted plant in a warm bright area for a couple of days to
let it recover from the shock of repotting then move it back to the place
where you have had the great success in the past.

After a few weeks look to see if you get any medium settling and top off
the pot if necessary.

If your plant has roots growing out of the top of the pot do not try to
bury them and let them dangle into the air.

Good Growing,
Gene


Hi Gene, I'm a 3 month orchid newbie myself and have a question. I have 2
Phals that just finished blooming and are pushing out a few new roots.
Should I wait til spring anyway or can you repot when you notice new root
growth? I love watching pahl roots! Thanks