I picked up six mini Phals at WM for 1/2 price. I've got them in 3" plastic nursery pots at the moment. Is that size sufficient or should I move them up to 4"?

I like to give my Phals lots of space at the root zone, so I go next size higher at initial repot. I really feel bad seeing the roots so tightly packed at times and suffocated by sphagnum moss, so I always remove that too. So it allows more air below media level.

Thanks Tarev, yes, the mini's I got were just packed with the moss. Took forever it seemed to get it all our of between the roots after I got them out of the tiny, looked like 2" plastic pot inside a clay pot without any holes. I think then that I'm going to order some 4" clear plastic orchid pots. The full sized Phals I got for 1/2 price were only packed in some nasty looking bark as they always are.

Oh glad you were able to remove the moss. So are your mini Phals currently in bloom or done with it?

They're still in bloom. I hope you can see them in the photos in between the full sized ones. I allowed my wife to bring one into the house as long as it goes back outside when it's finished blooming.

They are pretty :hearts:
I love Phals in bloom, they stay around for a long while.

I just made a clumsy booboo on my mini-phal, got knocked out of its holder, down it came like humpty dumpty! grrrrrrrr! damaged the leaves..Hope it will recover and makes keikis instead, after this.

Thanks, all the ones in bloom are what I got for 1/2 price at WM. The others I've had since July of '15 and some spiked and bloomed last fall and winter and should be setting spikes again soon I hope. I've got several with basal keiki's and one with two large keikis that grew out of a spike but still haven't produced roots even though they're about 6 months old.

Oh! Would love to know later when you see roots on your Phal keikis. Have not seen keikis on my Phals, only on some of my Dens.

It was back on June 21st when I noticed the first keiki on this spike. Since then another has formed and caught up to the other one.



You can't see the basal keikis too well on these but they are growing off of the main stem and putting out roots.

Nice! Like freebies!

Wow, looks like you're doing everything right, Chris. They all look wonderful. Nice color and shiny plump leaves.

I think those pots are plenty big enough for the mini-Phals for now. Best not to disturb them any more while they are blooming.

Thanks Elaine, I ordered some 4" clear pots to put them in when they're finished blooming. I don't want to leave them in 3" opaque pots all the time. I'm still using the ultraclean and misting them twice a day and I'm down to 1/4tsp of MSU about every 7 or so days with RO water.

Fantastic. I'm going to be learning from you from now on. Your Phals look better than mine do. It's been a tough summer here.

Thanks Elaine, that's why I moved all of mine from the greenhouse where it could get up to 120+ to the one where it never got hotter than 90 this past summer.

Good job Chris!
In the past, I've daubed a bit of rooting hormones at the keikei base and wired a small bit of sphagnum to it.. to help jump start the process.

Thanks Lindsey. Do you just take the powder and add a little bit of water to make a paste? What about the basal ones? Do you just leave those where they are on the mother plant?

Chris, you get an A++ for how well you have rehabbed those Phals. What a difference from the pictures you showed at first. They look great and those new mini's are darling.

Thank you Alice. Just yesterday I was asking about how to get keikis on a spike to root and look what I found this morning when I was feeding/watering

Chris, I've used a damp Qtip dipped in the hormone powder and daubed on the base of the keikei on the spike. I have never messed with the ones growing at the base of the plant. That only happened to me when the main plants crown had rotted out, so I left it alone to eventually take over. Congratulations on the new roots..when they are a couple inches long you can cut the spike off and plant up the keikei in a pot.

Thanks Lindsey, I'll give that a try with the keiki on the other side of the one that's putting out roots. I'm going to have to get another table or something as I've got 30 now and with four full sized and one mini on each humidity tray all the space is taken up.