Hello from Korea!!
I'm a total beginner with plants but orchids were so pretty and cat safe I couldn't stop myself from getting one!!
It's been a week since it came (got it through courier) and I was just going to repot it with some help from Gemini.
Turns out, it said to just leave it in its current plastic pot until the flowers wilt or fall off… and then repot. Just wanna make sure it's alright to do that?
I poked my finger through the bottom of the pot and the moss (?) still felt moist.
When I do repot it, is it okay to use any type of bark?
I saw there were orchid specific liquid fertilizer, is it okay to just pluck it in like an IV to the plant?
Any info would be really helpful!! Thanks!!
by Subject_Jaguar_4180
5 Comments
There’s a small risk of losing flowers in a repot, but I always do it right away and have never had issues. Compacted moss like this is likely to cause root rot if it gets too wet. A loose bark/moss mix works for most environments (I do 65/20/15 bark chips/leca/long fiber sphagnum), but the ratio depends on your environment. Aim for something that fully dries 5-7 days after soaking the roots. Orchid bark is usually fir or pine bark.
Not sure what you mean about using the fertilizer like an IV? They do better with a little regularly rather than a lot all at once. Mixing in a bit of weak fertilizer with every watering works fine.
The American orchid society has a phalaenopsis care page, and missorchidgirl on youtube has some good beginner videos.
Don’t forget that if it’s in a moss plug (dense) it will be a bit dry in a bark mix. Let the bark soak first before you pot, since bark is water repelling when dry.
Or use a 50/50 bark and moss mix.
And don’t water all the time! Once a week or when the roots are silvery. They actually need to dry slightly between watering.
Don’t use ai it’s often wrong and very harmful. There’s lot of ressource if you are uncertain and even Reddit ☺️. For me it depend if I change it or no. Moss is not ideal for phal. But it can work you just have to wait until it’s mostly dry to water. Bark and perlite is ideal and medium bark is good. Do you see any root pressed on the pot? If not I would repot it to see how the roots are. Orchid fertilizer you have to dilute it with the instructions on the package and a 20-20-20 is recommended. I wouldn’t use it for every watering to be sure to not burn the roots. To water no ice cube and warm water until it come out the bottom or soak it in a water bowl until the top is moist. Good luck ! Also usually no fertilizer when the orchid is in flower.
DONT use AI for care instructions!!! Go look at the American Orchid Society’s care sheet for Phalaenopsis.
Why are you asking AI? Don’t repot in flower, but after it’s done flowering you still need a Reason to repot. It is unhappy in the moss? Is the moss old and rotting? Have the roots filled up the pot?