One of these days, Mike!! 🤔 You owe us a ton of pretty pictures!

RickM said:I put all of my phals outside for the summer. The other day, I noticed that something had chewed one of them to the point where there were literally no leaves left.
Anyway, I removed it from the pot, cleaned up what was left and repotted with the crown sitting high. Any chance that it will come back?

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Update: 26-Sep-2016... Y E S ! ! !

We Have New Growth! It's not much, but I'll take it!

Isn't that something!

Well done, Rick. That one sure did 'arise from the dead'.

Yep, it's coming along nicely. I figure I'll leave them outside for another month or so. Hopefully the cool nights will trigger some spike production.

Ok, I think I have come to this thread completely legitimately. Just got my second orchid (my first is a zygo) -- a Phal (what kind? no tag, no label, no nothing!) from WM left-over section for a so so deal ($5). I thought I would come just right here to ask questions and advice without laboring through other related threads to save some time... the Phal is in a 4" cray pot and some flowers already gone with some still remain but fading.


So far I only did this: give it a drink and place it neighboring my zygo over the same humidity tray. I see moss on the surface but kind of dry...
I'll state what I tend to do and seek your advice: Repot in a 6" cray pot (or keep the 4" pot) with BetterGro orchid mix (bark, charcoal, perlite) and keep the spike or remove it? Thanks

Fiat, that is a very pretty flower and the Phalenopsis plant looks very healthy. I think you got a great deal for $5.! Every question you have will probably already be here in this thread, we are on page 5..if you start on page 1 and scroll down..you'll find links ( I think they are usually highlighted in blue) but also you will find all the other questions with the answers there...take a few minutes when you can and read through the other posts. I'm sure you will find it interesting and informative . As to the specific name on your plant..there are literally bazillions of Phals. and very few of them ever get sold with a tag..very few of them actually get names or registered ...it's just the way it is...If it were mine, I would put a tag on it that says something like 'NOID #1' ( you know you are going to buy more...we always do! ) Start some kind of electronic journal with each plant getting it's own page with it's name and photo. When it has a major life event like flowering or repotting , you can keep track of each plant this way.

@Fiat Congrats on your 'rescue' plant! Yes, $5.00 is actually a great price.

Regarding cutting off the spike, do it only if it's brown. Otherwise, leave it alone. When the orchid is ready, it may well start producing additional spikes from the main one.

Do you know how to use the 'Plant List' feature of the site? It would be a great place to keep track of you growing collection. If you don't know what the plant list is, we can help!

Thanks, Lindsey & Rick for responses. How about repotting question? I don't want to bother it (check roots by removing from pot...) before I do decide to repot, but it seems to give me no reason to repot if I don't check... So is it safe to remove it out from the pot and check if repotting is due or just putting it back in is fine? If repotting is due, do it in the same pot (4") or up-size pot (6" I have)? Thanks again.

@Fiat, check this out http://plantgasm.com/archives/... I think it will tell you what you need to know at this point.

Thank you Rick, nice link!
I added it here
http://garden.org/thread/view_...

Fiat, all the links provided are very informative and interesting to read and learn from. Good job finding a $5 one!

For me as a rule of thumb for any newly acquired Phals that is done with its blooms or flower spike is brown, cut off the spike, and repot. It will help me see the condition of the roots below and oftentimes got to remove the old sphagnum moss circling down there, which is often too tightly packed and might be choking the roots already. Come cold season indoors, it takes so much longer time to dry out sphagnum moss, that is why I hate using them.

Thanks, Rick. The blog's article provides very clear, easy-to-understand, practical and hands-on info on repotting Phal.

Thanks, Ursula for all the informative links. I need some time to digest...

Tarev, you always give your advice based on your own experience in the matter. Very helpful. Tks

Hi all! I've been away from this forum for awhile for one reason or another. Since this thread deals with just the type of orchids I like, rescued ones' thought I'd post a photo of the three I got today at WM for $3.98/ea. I guess they got tired of me asking every other day or so when they would go on sale. This takes be back up to 21, I've lost a few over the past year or so. I could up that to 23 if the two large Keiki's I have would just grow roots. I've got quite a few Basal Keiki's also but really don't want to separate them. Enough jabbering, here's the photo.

well how lucky are you , Chris???
Those plants still have flowers on them!
Nice bargains!

Thanks Lindsey, like I said, they probably got tired of me hounding them for the discount.

Some more Phal related stuff and updates from @Chris1948
The thread "Removing Basal Keikis" in Orchids forum
and
The thread "My Phals are looking better I believe" in Orchids forum

Keep up the good work, Chris!