Time to repot?
Is it time? Julie lost all her blooms a while back and hasn’t really done much since. Or does she need some 10-10-10? It’s been a bit but don’t want to burn her with it.
6
@FleurishVA to cancel repot it but I would make sure it has drainage. @MotherOfOrchids could be some help with this. She loves her Orchids.
Here is an Orchid soil mix off of Amazon. Miracle-Gro Orchid Potting Mix Coarse Blend, 8 qt. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GTDI73O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_13KPCRE7TBG4BX3V05AG
Here is an Orchid soil mix off of Amazon. Miracle-Gro Orchid Potting Mix Coarse Blend, 8 qt. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GTDI73O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_13KPCRE7TBG4BX3V05AG
She looks healthy! How do you find the sphagnum it’s planted in and when was your last repot? I’ve learnt this the hard way recently, phal roots adapt to the media they are potted in so if you go from sphagnum say to a bark/sphagnum mix, the roots won’t know what to do. Instead of adapting to the new media, phals tend to kill their roots off and you could end up with a nearly rootless orchid (they can recover from this so it’s usually not fatal). So if you do repot, I’d try and keep the media as similar to the one it’s in as you can - unless there are health reasons for you not to (say, the sphagnum retains too much moisture and the roots are rotting). Phals don’t have dormant periods as such, but I find with all of mine that when they’ve finished blooming, everything is happening internally and we can’t see it. How long ago did she finish flowering? If it wasn’t too long, it could be that she’s starting to put energy into preparing to make new roots and new leaves. It’s also entirely normal for phal roots to grow through the air holes at the bottom!
@FleurishVA after blooming is an ideal time for the repot. Good quality sphagnum should be perfect and repots can rejuvenate phals because acid from dying roots and chemicals from fertiliser can build up in the old medium and orchids don’t like this, though don’t be alarmed if she doesn’t do anything for a few weeks after the repot - it can take them a few weeks to settle into the new media. Also adding some orchid fertiliser to your water, if you’re not using it already, should help give her energy to start growing new roots and leaves. When you repot, cut away dead roots with sterilised scissors or pruners as this will help the media stay fresh for longer, but don’t cut into live tissue. Miss Orchid Girl on YouTube has some great step-by-step videos of repotting phals. Then just give her time and before too long she should spring back into life 😊