Hi,

I think your plant is okay....just go with the rule: if it ain't broken,
don't fix it. Check the plant every once in a while, and if after a few
months everything is kosher, then just continue like you always have.
As for the name, it is Phalaenopsis Golden Peoker. I'm not sure about
the cultivar, as I'm not aware of any clonal names that have 'el' in it.
There is a 'BL' which is a famous, and I think awarded, cultivar.
Perhaps the B looks like an E now if the tag has faded?

Cheers,
Xi

da wrote:
I'm a newbie at this orchid thing, but so far things are going O.K. At
least I think they are.

Yes my phal is from Home Depot (not the place to buy orchids -- I
know) but it bloomed for most of the summer. After the blooms dropped
off, I waited a bit and cut the orchid down a few inches. I debated as
to whether to cut it right down, but I decided I could always take
that step later if I needed to take additional action.

At this point I have new growth -- about 1 1/4" inches long starting
at the node where I cut the spike/stem (forgive me, I still learning
the language) and it looks healthy. The new growth has one node about
a half inch up and a cluster of three nodes at the end.

My plant also is starting to grow a new leaf, so pretty soon it will
have five.

Now my question is a pretty simple one. The plant was repotted shortly
after bringing it home (as per the instructions of the sales girl who
said she grew them at home). It was moved from its slightly smaller
plastic pot into a clay one with decent drainage. The clay pot came
with the plant. I didn't change the growing medium, as everything
still looked to be in good shape. While I'm happy with the pot, since
it seems to be exactly what the plant needs at the moment, it's not
the prettiest thing to look at, and this orchid sits right in my
living room in plain view.

Right now I've got the clay pot and plant (the tag reads something
like P.Golden Pe_ker__EL__ -- I can't read the missing letters -- and
I have no idea if the tag is accurate or not, knowing how hardware
stores treat their plants) sitting in a decorative container. When I
water it I take it out of the container and I make sure the plant has
stopped dripping before I return it to the container, so I'm not
worried about standing water. Instead what I'm worried about is am I
depriving the roots of precious air? Right now, as I said, it seems
happy and healthy, and I'm loathe to change my routine, but I also
don't want to be harming the plant just for the sake of appearance.

So can I leave the plant in its decorative shell?
Thanks.
Vic