Question
QUESTION: Hello,
I live in Vancouver, BC, Canada.  I have purchased my first White Phal. about 1-1/2 month ago.  It is kept indoors with 2x 23w 4100k florecent lighting.  Temp is around 70 degrees plus minus 5 degrees.
I have couple of concerns.

1.) 3 of 6 flowers have started to wilt and I have trimmed 1 of them without much thought, just before the main stem.  Should I let the flower drop instead?

2.) I have the Phal. in original pot from the store, in plastic pot and then deeper pottery designed to fit the plastic pot with some space on the bottom.  Water will fall right thru the plastic pot and remains in the deeper pottery.  Now, when I lift the plastic pot, I see tiny tiny insects moving around, shoud I be concerned?

Thank you for your help!

ANSWER: Hello Alex,

The place you are growing the phal appears to be okay up to a point.  With the pot being placed in a ceramic pot, this restricts the amount of air exchange that phals need to grow healthily.  Also, with no where for the water to go, the bottom of the pot may be sitting in water for quite some time which can lead to loss of live roots due to rot.  As for those tiny insects, any insect is not good and should be taken care of soon.  Go to your local garden center and ask for an insecticide recommended for orchids and use it according to the instructions on the container.  

There is nothing wrong with removing a wilting flower before it falls on its own accord but most people allow it to fall on its own.  

You can kill two birds with one stone, as the saying goes, by repotting it into fresh potting media.  You can get rid of the tiny insects at the same time as you repot using fresh potting media.  Phals enjoy being repotted annually, producing new growth soon afterwards.  

Hope this helped.  By the way, Vacouver is a beautiful city, I've been there 3 or 4 times and thoroughly enjoyed your city each time.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you very much for your recommendations!

I had no idea about the air-exchange with regards to ceramic pot.  There are plenty of space between the water and the bottom of the plastic pot, so I think it is fine in the regards.  Thank you for pointing it out though.  However, we like to keep it in ceramic pot for decorative reasons...  Do you have any suggestions?

Vancouver is still great but with Olympics coming up at 2010, we are going thru lots of changes, some nice and some not so.  I think the city is going to be in chaotic state for couple of more years, so if are planning to visit again, I would recommend to wait few more years!

Answer
Hi again Alex,

Yes, air exchange for the roots is very important just as it is for humans - no air guess what happens.  (grin)  If there is space between the pot and ceramic pot, that helps as long as there is some air movement around it along with the pot not sitting directly in water.  Better still, there are some decorative ceramic pots that have holes or slots all around them, that is even better.  I've seen them at some garden centers and nurseries.    

Yes, with the 2010 Olympics coming to Vancouver, I do not plan on being anywhere near there.  I was there 3 years ago and the highway to Whistler was a MESS!!! due to all the work going on  They stopped traffic several times for heavy equipment and dynamiting to widen the highway.  What normally would have been a 90 minute drive took almost 3 hours!  But I really do enjoy your city with its very mild weather, never gets really cold or hot, just nice and pleasant.  The view from Grouse (or is it Gross) Mountain is really not to be missed.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.