Just be as gentle as possible and the plant will be fine. As far as cinnamon
is concerned, do not dust the root ball. You can make a paste of cinnamon
and Elmer's glue and just apply it where needed, if needed. If you are just
cutting off dead roots, I wouldn't bother with the paste. If you need to cut
out some rot, that's where you'd use it.

It's not uncommon, when repotting a Phal that's overdue, to find that the
*stem* in the pot has some rot on it. It that's so, cut it off.

Diana

"Maggie's Mom" wrote in message
. ..
I don't think I can actually force myself to cut the flower spikes - cut
flowers are not "my thing". You wrote that you repotted your plant without
cutting the spike - did it lose the flowers after repotting?

The roots, from what I can see, look reasonably good. There are some brand
new roots, and yes, couple of them are most certainly dead. I guess the
commercially available orchid growing medium will have to do, as I don't
have access to any special orchid things. All the orchids I have do fine
in the orchid medium available at either Home Depot or Lowe's. They carry
at least two kinds: coarse and fine. Sometimes they have the medium mix.

Dust cuts with cinnamon? (I guess I have just shown my level of
ignorance....) rinse in tap water, or distilled? Or distilled with few
drops of Superthrive?

Thanks for words of advice; peace, - Maggie's Mom.


"Wendy7" wrote in message
...
Hi Maggie's Mom,
The rule of thumb is to repot when new growth appears, (new
roots with green tips)
Now, if that were my plant, I would cut the flower spikes & put them in a
vase. They last a long time.
I would repot using some chopped up sphagnum moss & large bark with
some charcoal. I would pot it up in a
plastic pot with lots of drainage holes then insert it into your
designers pot.
First trim off all old mushy roots & rinse plant, dust any cut roots with
a little cinnamon & pot up.
I have just done this with a phal that was left on my doorstep (the
words out) except I didn't cut the flower spike because
all roots were good to go, umm grow! *g* Also it is a young plant to
boot.
Anyway I would be curious to find out the condition of your plants
roots if you do decide to repot, also what
others have to say.
Cheers Wendy