Question
QUESTION: Now, on to my Phals.  When I bought my lovely phalenopsis orchids they were in plastic pots inside clay, and potted with what looks like sphagnum moss.  I was told to submerge each plant in a light fertilized solution for no more than 5 minutes each week.  They are all doing well, one has been blooming since November and right now has 10 flowers and four more buds, all have new leaves, one has a not very promising, but still-green stem, one's stem browned off and I removed it, and one has a keiki!  Here are my questions:  should I repot them in bark, even now while they are blooming?  I'm a little worried about how moist the moss stays, and I definitely have fungus gnats.  One has what was probably going to be a new stem, but it came out under the little clip and even though I moved the clip, it has stayed stunted.  Another stem developed above it.  I can move the orchids to my screened porch for the summer, should I?  Would you revisit the epsom salts treatment that you recommended?  Thanks so much.
ANSWER: Hi again Susanne!

I would recommend waiting to repot the phalaenopsis until after the blooms all fall off.  Until then, keep a watchful eye on the sphagnum moss and the leaves.  Moss breaks down fairly quickly and when it does it compacts around the roots, keeping the roots wet too long which can lead to the roots rotting.  If the leaves begin to wilt and/or shrivel, that would indicate you need to repot as soon as possible because the roots are rotting.  Remove the flower stem, place it in a bud vase then repot.  Personally, I will repot any orchid in moss as soon as I get it home but doing this is not easy and may result in damage to the flowers.  Normally it takes me less than 5 minutes to repot a phal. but upwards of 10 to 15 minutes for one in bloom.  

Are those really new stems or are they roots?  Most new stems will be all green or reddish green while roots will be grey or whitish-grey with a green tip.  If it was a new root under the clip and you damaged the green growth tip, that could be why it is not growing longer.  Leave it alone for now, it may sprout new roots growing off the side of it.  

Phals. are best grown indoors but if the temperatures are above 55F you can place them in your screened porch in bright but indirect sunlight.  Keep in mind that the potting media may dry out sooner there.  

As for the keiki, leave it on the stem until it has two or more roots over 2 inches long, remove it and put it in its own little pot.  Try to use the smallest size pot that will just barely contain the roots.  It is better to have to repot into the next size larger pot next year than to take the chance of too large a pot and ending up with rotten roots.  

I talked about epsom salts on your cymbidium question, basically the same applies to phals.  

Hope this helped.  

Jim


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

QUESTION: Jim, thank you so much for your reply.  I AM concerned about the moss in the pots, but will try to watch and wait on the phals that are in bloom.  Can I repot the phal with the keiki safely?  What about one with a new shoot on the flower spike that has immature flower buds, small less than 1/2 inch buds?  Any hints on the fungus gnats?  I assume they will disappear with the old moss?  
And a follow up on the cymbs:  when I repot them I should NOT cut off those dried out back bulbs?  I have 4 pots now, the first pot, which is flowering, has about 6 bulbs with leaves coming out and about 8 dried bulbs all in a big clump (the dried ones are around the clump), the second pot is much the same but with fewer bulbs and fewer back bulbs.  The third and fourth pots each have two smaller clumps.  Is there a "rule" about how many bulbs or back bulbs one must have to flower?  If I repot them, I'm sure that they should go back into the same pots because they are not bursting out of the pots they are in.  They are in large plastic pots that have saucers, but when water sits in the saucers, the medium is above the water.  Do these sound acceptable to you?  The pots are flexible enough to deform when the orchid wants more room.  What is the best pot for a cymb?  These are BIG plants: leaves about 30" high.  How do you feel about adding some charcoal to the mix?  Do I need to repot them at the same level, with the back bulbs above the mix?  Last question< this year the flowers are exuding much more dripping liquid than in previous years.  Is this okay?  It's so sticky, does it have a purpose?  How do I remove it from wood furniture?  

Answer
Hi again Susanne,

If the moss really concerns you, you have two choices: repot now or lift the moss up and try removing a little from around the edges then loosen the moss and put it back into the pot.  Probably the safest thing to do would be removing a little moss, just be careful to not jostle the phal too much or the flowers may be damaged.  Take it out of the pot, lay it down on a table with newspaper on it then work around the moss.  The one with a keiki on it can be repotted after the flowers are gone with the same precautions as the ones still with flowers or buds.

I totally forgot about the fungus gnats!  Sorry!!  Their presence tells me that the moss may already be breaking down.  I'd go ahead and try the moss removal, it may not get rid of the gnats but hopefully it will.  

Leafless backbulbs left on a division do no harm other than they don't look as nice as bulbs with leaves.  What I do with them while repotting is to remove the dried leaf husks, exposing the bulb.  To remove the dried leafs, split it in the middle and pull them outward away from the leaf center.  When dividing cyms, I try for a minimum of four green-leaved bulbs and maybe one backbulb.  Backbulbs left on a division can help the recovery process by providing support of moisture and nutrients stored within it.  As for how many bulbs are needed for the cym to produce flowers the following year, four green-leaved bulbs will give you a better than 75% chance for flowers, fewer than that and the chances are 50% or less.  

Having a tray of water underneath the pot can help provide some additional humidity, the main thing is to not have the pot sitting in the water.  

As for pot size, what you want is a pot that will allow for two years growth of new bulbs.  If there is a backbulb attached to the division, place it against the inside of the pot with the leaved bulbs facing inwards.  In most cases, new bulbs will grow from the leaved bulbs.  Almost every cymbidium grower I know uses black plastic pots of varying sizes.  Keep in mind that cyms love to have their roots confined, given too much room in the pot and they may sulk for a year or two.  

Adding charcoal to the mix might help, some growers use it.  What the popular thinking about charcoal is that it "sweetens" the mix.  What is meant by sweetening is charcoal tends to absorb salts and thus minimizes or slows the breaking down of the mix.  If they seem to be top heavy, you can try stabilizing them by placing an inch or more of pebbles in the bottom of the pot prior to repotting it.  

For most cyms, it is best to position the bottom of the bulbs about an inch below the pot rim while repotting and filling the pot to the top with mix.  

If the clear liquid is at the base of the flowers or its stem where it attaches to the spike, that is an indication that the cym is growing happily.  The problem with it is that it can attract ants because it is somewhat sweet.  I've used mild soap and warm water to remove it from furniture.  

Hope I didn't leave anything out.  

Jim