I have a phal that finished blooming several months ago. I've had it under
a year now.
Its still in the small plastic pot it came in.
I didn't cut the spike off after blooming, and low and behold, it has a
node(?)growing off the spike. Its also already putting on another spike!!

The plant has big ol' leaves and needs to go to another pot. The leaves are
so big, the plant falls over easily now.

SHOULD I REPOT IT NOW OR WAIT until those spikes bloom? I'm just learning t
care for orchids and haven't a clue what is best.

Thanks for reading,

KB
St. Charles County, MO

K.B.,

The answer to this depends completely on the condition of the medium in the
pot. What is it planted in? Is the medium decomposing or compacting? If so,
then go ahead and repot now while the new spike is small.

As far as the old spike, if in fact the plant is growing a new one how does
the plant look overall? Flowering takes a lot of energy. It might not be
worth it to allow the old spike to continue.

Diana

"K. B." wrote in message
om...
I have a phal that finished blooming several months ago. I've had it
under
a year now.
Its still in the small plastic pot it came in.
I didn't cut the spike off after blooming, and low and behold, it has a
node(?)growing off the spike. Its also already putting on another spike!!

The plant has big ol' leaves and needs to go to another pot. The leaves
are
so big, the plant falls over easily now.

SHOULD I REPOT IT NOW OR WAIT until those spikes bloom? I'm just learning
t
care for orchids and haven't a clue what is best.

Thanks for reading,

KB
St. Charles County, MO

On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 22:30:39 GMT, "Diana Kulaga"
wrote:

K.B.,

The answer to this depends completely on the condition of the medium in the
pot. What is it planted in? Is the medium decomposing or compacting? If so,
then go ahead and repot now while the new spike is small.

As far as the old spike, if in fact the plant is growing a new one how does
the plant look overall? Flowering takes a lot of energy. It might not be
worth it to allow the old spike to continue.

Diana

"K. B." wrote in message
. com...
The plant has big ol' leaves and needs to go to another pot. The leaves
are so big, the plant falls over easily now.
KB
St. Charles County, MO

KB if your only reason for repotting is that the pot is small and
tips. Don't disturb the plant. Instead get some stones and a
Larger clay pot. Put a layer of stone in the bottom to keep the
pot up and free of the bottom of the clay pot. Then center the
little pot and fill the big one with rock. The rock will weight
the larger pot and make the entire thing more stable. It will
also keep the smaller pot from drying so fast. SO be careful
when you water to let the combination drain well and make sure
the plant really needs the water before you water it.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

Thanks for your reply Diana. The medium is not compacted and not
decomposing. A lot of it has fallen out because the plant is growing out of
the pot! Its health is awesome and its growing like I cant believe. Two of
the leaves have grown to over a foot long. Its putting on new leaves as
well. I fertilized every other watering over the summer but no fertilizer
the last 30 days.

One new spike is only a nub at the base of the plant. The other is about
10" up the old spike about 1" below the dead end. It had another spike
growing at the tip of the old spike but the tip died back and that nub
finally died.
What do you think? Cut off the old spike or let it grow and compete with
the new one? I'm greedy for blooms of course...


Thanks to Ms. Erickson for her suggestion to "over pot" the small pot into a
larger one- after reading both posts it seems wise to leave it alone if its
doing so good? This is only my second orchid. The first one, though
still living, is not nearly so health looking and has never bloomed after
its first bloom of over a year ago.

Thanks for the prompt replies!

Karl B.

"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
link.net...
K.B.,

The answer to this depends completely on the condition of the medium in
the
pot. What is it planted in? Is the medium decomposing or compacting? If
so,
then go ahead and repot now while the new spike is small.

As far as the old spike, if in fact the plant is growing a new one how
does
the plant look overall? Flowering takes a lot of energy. It might not be
worth it to allow the old spike to continue.

Diana

"K. B." wrote in message
om...
I have a phal that finished blooming several months ago. I've had it
under
a year now.
Its still in the small plastic pot it came in.
I didn't cut the spike off after blooming, and low and behold, it has a
node(?)growing off the spike. Its also already putting on another
spike!!

The plant has big ol' leaves and needs to go to another pot. The leaves
are
so big, the plant falls over easily now.

SHOULD I REPOT IT NOW OR WAIT until those spikes bloom? I'm just
learning
t
care for orchids and haven't a clue what is best.

Thanks for reading,

KB
St. Charles County, MO

Thanks for your reply Diana. The medium is not compacted and not
decomposing. A lot of it has fallen out because the plant is growing out of
the pot! Its health is awesome and its growing like I cant believe. Two of
the leaves have grown to over a foot long. Its putting on new leaves as
well. I fertilized every other watering over the summer but no fertilizer
the last 30 days.

One new spike is only a nub at the base of the plant. The other is about
10" up the old spike about 1" below the dead end. It had another spike
growing at the tip of the old spike but the tip died back and that nub
finally died.
What do you think? Cut off the old spike or let it grow and compete with
the new one? I'm greedy for blooms of course...


Thanks to Ms. Erickson for her suggestion to "over pot" the small pot into a
larger one- after reading both posts it seems wise to leave it alone if its
doing so good? This is only my second orchid. The first one, though
still living, is not nearly so health looking and has never bloomed after
its first bloom of over a year ago.

Thanks for the prompt replies!

Karl B.

"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
link.net...
K.B.,

The answer to this depends completely on the condition of the medium in
the
pot. What is it planted in? Is the medium decomposing or compacting? If
so,
then go ahead and repot now while the new spike is small.

As far as the old spike, if in fact the plant is growing a new one how
does
the plant look overall? Flowering takes a lot of energy. It might not be
worth it to allow the old spike to continue.

Diana

"K. B." wrote in message
om...
I have a phal that finished blooming several months ago. I've had it
under
a year now.
Its still in the small plastic pot it came in.
I didn't cut the spike off after blooming, and low and behold, it has a
node(?)growing off the spike. Its also already putting on another
spike!!

The plant has big ol' leaves and needs to go to another pot. The leaves
are
so big, the plant falls over easily now.

SHOULD I REPOT IT NOW OR WAIT until those spikes bloom? I'm just
learning
t
care for orchids and haven't a clue what is best.

Thanks for reading,

KB
St. Charles County, MO

If the medium is cool then follow Sue's suggestion. As far as the old spike
is concerned, you will probably have more luxurious blooms on the new spike
if you ditch the old one.

Diana