Now I know I can go read 1 billion and 1 different instructions on orchid care and maybe I have read 50 but what I have came to find is so so many people are in disagreement with how to water Orchids and some even disagree on soil mixes.
I decided what soil mix I wanted to use. Im going to use a simple mix I got for orchid its mixed with some mulch looking wood chips and I added a little vermiculite and just very little soil is in this mix..
What I cant decide is watering the plant.
Iv heard ICE!!!! Burrr is all I can think on that note.. and just water it once every. blah blah blah... or you water it by how it feels...
As much as I love orchids I cant seem to ( feel) out this soil very well.....
So question remains.....
How do I water these Orchids??.
I would love your opinions or your experiences with watering Orchids.
I bought a new one last week. Its pretty dry atm so I need to determine what I want to do ASAP.
I appreciate all answers, opinions ect.
Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who partake and have great Thrusday off work for everyone!!!!!!

Peace love and chicken grease 😋




Update..
Few Orchid questions.
1.) Do orchid roots care for light on the roots? Or does this matters none??
2 .) Someone said do not repot, others said to repot.
I have taken into consideration the soil comments also and looked little futher into it . I will not add any soil to this Media. Thanks everyone for all the help!!!!
So Honestly with all I can take in here I need to water my orchids somewhere between 5 to ten days and when its completely dry but its not to remain dry for too many days..
Wish me luck.
I will be following up with my orchid daily especially until I determine about how many days it takes to dry completely..

About changing the soil .. something is telling me to wait..... LOL its what someone said the roots look happy!!! I always feel
" why fix something that isnt broken " at least until I want it to rebloom and warmer weather hopefully.
Everyone agree with this thinking?
I want to reconsidering potting because also becaus I watched video of man who researched orchids. He even went to see where alot grew ect ect and his pots were thicker plastics than what I have here in pics. Not clear but not solid white. The plants didnt even set in pots as our flowers normally do.. it wasnt filled to brim with anything, the media kinda laid all around inside pot but nothing was weighed down. Of course as he pointed out it Is or isn't an air plant? IDR. Anyways .... much like the air plant and it grew in trees ect.. you all probably knew all of this but Im learning. It was cool so ... Im Thinking more like large hanging baskets with media laid loose ontop maybe bulap on bottom..... place plant then media??? Umm idk later goal either way...
Any more thoughts ladies and Gents???
Oh ;) I wanted to share this basic cool web site. Figured if I like it atleast 1 other person may find it useful..
I tend to forget alot so I shall keep it as a reminder.
http://everything-orchids.com/...

Never, never, never, ever use ice or ice cubes to water an orchid especially a Phalaenopsis that you show images of. The ice cube method of watering is wrong on so many levels.
Most orchids like to be watered thoroughly and then dry out to some level based upon what type of orchid they are. Water should be lukewarm, NOT ice cold.
An ice cube would not only water with ice cold water, it would never water deeply in the pot reaching all of the roots.
Orchids generally do not grow in "soil" of any type. We orchid growers refer to it as "media".
Your images show the orchids in Sphagnum moss. This is quite honestly not the best media for beginners growing orchids BUT it is the easiest media for orchid vendors to use as they sell their plants. Your Phalaenopsis, depending upon environment in the home should be watered once every 5-7 days, never drying out completely for too long.
The Orchid Family is the largest plant family on the planet with over 30,000 species and a few hundred thousand hybrids. It is crazy to think one watering method could possibly suffice for all!
The reason you see references to ice cubes is that in today's society people rushing here there and everywhere, they don't want to be patient and learn the proper watering method for orchids, instead this ice cube method was devised in order to make it sound so darn easy that even a moron could do it! So the person looks at the orchid and sees ice cubes, and thinks "oh I can do that!!" AND buys the plant. The seller could care less if it lives or dies because they have their money.

I would leave your orchids in the moss because the roots look very happy and healthy and its easy to check how wet/dry the medium is through those clear liners. That medium looks wet so don't water. When it looks dry, water. I have some tiny Phalaenopsis in tiny pots of moss that do very well.

There's no reason to re-pot if you are a careful waterer and especially when the plant is in full bloom.

Hello Pamela, we all have our preferred growing media for our Phal orchids. It just varies depending on our ambient growing areas. If that were mine, I would immediately remove the moss, I just cannot gauge it properly if it is dry enough. Especially in winter time when conditions are much cooler, dry out time is much longer.

Vendors love to wrap moss around them, to prolong moisture retention while in transport and in stores.

But if you are not confident yet to remove the moss, then be vigilant and disciplined in watering, especially during winter time. As you can see those roots are so fat, they really hate staying way too damp. It likes lots of airflow around those roots. Any change in its growing environement, change in location, is bound to affect the orchids, so give it time to acclimate to your place.

When you water, do not make it sit in water, so remove the outer ceramic container and allow water to drain out. Observe the moss, if it still looks wet, do not water. Moss holds moisture much longer than needed at times especially if it is too tightly packed from the vendors.

Usually, if I did a repot, I try to tilt the plant a bit, so water drains away as well from the crown, to avoid crown rot, and not plant it too deep, to avoid collar rot. So many ways for rotting to occur, and mostly brought about by excessive moisture retention. Remember that in their natural habitat, Phals are hanging on tree limbs, always getting good airflow around it, drying them fast even if it rains. Though what you have now are hybrids, they still follow similar growing needs.

[quote="PamelaLynn77"]<snip>
I decided what soil mix I wanted to use. Im going to use a simple mix I got for orchid its mixed with some mulch looking wood chips and I added a little vermiculite and just very little soil is in this mix..

Being Very new to orchids myself, the one thing I ask you is please do not use regular soil with orchids even a small about. Potting soil contains Peat moss. Peat moss is sphagnum moss that has basically rotted and compacted over time. While they both retain moisture, they are different. Its like the difference between a sand shovel and a snow shovel. They're both are shovels and useful but not interchangeable

All plants need air to get at their roots because they do a certain amount of gas exchange through their root system besides anchoring the plant and/or gathering water/nutrition. Orchids have evolved to need more those air spaces for their roots to "breath" than a typical tropical house plant. If you put potting soil in the media it first fills in those air spaces so less air get to the roots and it holds more moisture which everyone has explained causes your roots to rot.