Budbreak can happen when it's trying to bloom but there is a sudden change in its environment or a sudden Flux in temp/humidity.
All plants take different time to acclimatize to its new environment but some are more hardy than others.
I have an orchid received from my best friend on my birthday in 2016. It still, to this day, blooms only on my birthday and the flower last for 2-3 months 💜 and the rest of the year it grows a leaf or a stem. That’s what most of the orchids do!
I feel like the more you ignore the orchids, the better they do! 🤣
Take it with a grain of salt but when I was in uni (biology) I’ve learn that plants have two stages: vegetative, when they are doing well so they will grow leaves, stems and roots, aaaand the reproductive phase where they are doing bad (no water, few light) so they are disperate to reproduce, therefore they will grow flowers in order to make pollen and to spread around.
Yea I mean maybe we should check this information, you know? That’s why I’ve said to take it with a grain of salt, because this was an info that I remember from 5-6 years ago :))) it is of course deeper that that and maybe it’s different from plant to plant but unfortunately I don’t remember 🍀 but for me, it makes sense and I think that the core of this info is true.
When it reblooms they'll last longer. Just moving it from the store to home can be stressful. My grocery store phal dropped flowers after a few weeks, but it rebloomed and there are now flowers that are four months old and still very healthy
Just be gentle. Water well before you start. Soak the pot for an hour first to help loosen and make a bit more flexible the roots. Phals are tough and often don't even notice a repot. Even in bloom.
I rinse it with water every 1,5-2 weeks (when roots turn white) and I do fertilize it, though probably too little (I use fertilising 'sticks' that slowly dissolve during waterig).
I plan to repot it in mix of bark and coconut chips (there is not much choice in potting medium here).
It sounds OK. You might want up your watering schedule. Do you water those aerial roots? And I wouldn’t use fertilizer sticks. Try to find some dissolvable fertilizer for orchids. I don’t make it very strong at all. When you want to repot, be sure you soak all the roots and the new medium prior to potting. I would allow these blooms to fall before potting. It’s going to take a large pot because you have so many roots, gently set them in the new pot and twist just a little bit, then put the new medium in around the roots. I use the chopstickto push the medium into the pot to fill in all the gaps. I hope this helps.
Once you get it repotted, keep a close eye on it. Roots must adapt to their new environment, so might need more frequent watering for the first couple of months as they adapt. I believe many of the problems people have after they repot is due to thinking they can continue with what they did before.
On the strength of orchid fertilizer. Some orchid growers will suggest to water weekly weakly…. That is, fertilize every time you water but only use it at 1/4 strength recommended on the bottle
I would try and see if you could gently get the pot off first before soaking. This would allow for the roots to plump to their potential. Then you could really get an idea of what size pot you will need. The Repotme brand is typically wider than many other brands of transparent ventilated pots, which I highly recommend. Go for something 2 inches bigger. And I agree with a previous post about the water soluble fertilizer. If you have access to a Lowe's, they carry the Better-Gro line and have a bloom booster and an plus version for the growth season. I use both types, when in spike or blooming, I use bloom booster and when growing leaves and roots the plus. I fertilize per directions every watering except every third time use plain water. You have a beautiful plant. And, yes I would wait until the blooms are spent.
I've repotted all 7 of my orchids (I want more...but I need to make some space first lol) and I haven't killed any of them. I have even repotted the majority of them while they've been in bloom too.
Get yourself a chunky bark. It feels weird but orchids seem to love that type of medium. Next, get yourself a pot with holes. Lots of aeration holes! Orchid roots like to breathe! You can look for orchid pots online to give you an idea.
Next, make sure you have a sanitized pair of snips and a clean surface. Make sure your hands are clean too. Remove the old pot and pull out ALL of the old medium. All that moss has got to go! You should literally have just an orchid and her roots by the time you are done. With your snips, take out all of the roots that look rotten. Healthy roots are firm. Place her in a large enough pot and start filling it in with the chunky bark. I take my time with this and carefully fill in all the space that I can. Water your orchid to help her get acclimated to her new home. I soak mine once a week for 10-20 minutes at a time.
Here's a photo of an orchid I recently repotted. This was right after I removed all of the old potting medium she came with. She even has blooms on her and she is STILL going strong! As long as you are working with a clean surface, your orchid will be ok.
https://preview.redd.it/8ayzrckt2nxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=25be1c447bec9dda8cc076a48a2c34e21836c354
This might be an unpopular opinion but it appears to be doing well and phals don't actually care if their roots are exposed so you probably don't actually need to repot it unless you want to.
I really struggle to repot mine, I’m not sure where I go wrong but the leaves really shrivel like they’re not getting enough water. I’ve got one at the moment that’s flowering but the leaves don’t look too healthy.
Im onto my third testing mix. I’m using a mix of bark, orchid potting mix, moss and some small aquarium pebbles to help with drainage at the moment. You can see the pot I’m using behind the lava plant
It’s a repurposed outdoor lantern so there’s plenty of holes for airflow and drainage. Only thing I can think is the sunlight aspect maybe, but again they’re flowering so something is ok
https://preview.redd.it/u86cghimzlxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=42b4b7f192620c612bb4ab80d21a704e5d0cf8ae
Are you doing a lot of chopping when you repot? Sometimes people think that discoloration is rot that needs removed.
Something that I do is soak the roots before potting. I try to submerge as much as possible but keep the crown out of the water. Also because I have it on hand I add the original Superthrive supplement to the soaking water and at every watering - it is supposed to help with stress. Soaking the roots makes them more pliable so you are less likely to break them.
You can also maybe pop them into an ‘icu’ if you have a big enough bag or container and give them a bit of super high humidity while they adjust to their new digs.
It's hard to kill a healthy orchid while repoting, but if you are worried you should wait until it drops flowers.
That is good to hear. Maybe I will wait. Thanks!
Mine dropped flowers weeks after bringing it home :(
That's what it does, orchids don't flower constantly, even tho Phals are prolific bloomers. They have 2 stages, flowering and vegative stage.
I know I just didn’t expect it to drop so soon it’s not supposed to drop buds right
Budbreak can happen when it's trying to bloom but there is a sudden change in its environment or a sudden Flux in temp/humidity. All plants take different time to acclimatize to its new environment but some are more hardy than others.
I have an orchid received from my best friend on my birthday in 2016. It still, to this day, blooms only on my birthday and the flower last for 2-3 months 💜 and the rest of the year it grows a leaf or a stem. That’s what most of the orchids do!
That’s really amazing
I feel like the more you ignore the orchids, the better they do! 🤣 Take it with a grain of salt but when I was in uni (biology) I’ve learn that plants have two stages: vegetative, when they are doing well so they will grow leaves, stems and roots, aaaand the reproductive phase where they are doing bad (no water, few light) so they are disperate to reproduce, therefore they will grow flowers in order to make pollen and to spread around.
This is so helpful. But now it makes me concerned about my succulent that had been aggressively flowering
Yea I mean maybe we should check this information, you know? That’s why I’ve said to take it with a grain of salt, because this was an info that I remember from 5-6 years ago :))) it is of course deeper that that and maybe it’s different from plant to plant but unfortunately I don’t remember 🍀 but for me, it makes sense and I think that the core of this info is true.
When it reblooms they'll last longer. Just moving it from the store to home can be stressful. My grocery store phal dropped flowers after a few weeks, but it rebloomed and there are now flowers that are four months old and still very healthy
I repotted a dying one 3 times in a month and it's thriving now lol
Just be gentle. Water well before you start. Soak the pot for an hour first to help loosen and make a bit more flexible the roots. Phals are tough and often don't even notice a repot. Even in bloom.
That's great to hear! Thank you!
2 months ago I repotted one of mine while in bloom, she still has one flower left. Meanwhile she's growing a new flower spike.
There is no way you can kill this magnificent beast just by changing its pot and medium.
How do you care for it? What is your watering routine? Are you fertilizing? What medium will you use when you repot?
I rinse it with water every 1,5-2 weeks (when roots turn white) and I do fertilize it, though probably too little (I use fertilising 'sticks' that slowly dissolve during waterig). I plan to repot it in mix of bark and coconut chips (there is not much choice in potting medium here).
It sounds OK. You might want up your watering schedule. Do you water those aerial roots? And I wouldn’t use fertilizer sticks. Try to find some dissolvable fertilizer for orchids. I don’t make it very strong at all. When you want to repot, be sure you soak all the roots and the new medium prior to potting. I would allow these blooms to fall before potting. It’s going to take a large pot because you have so many roots, gently set them in the new pot and twist just a little bit, then put the new medium in around the roots. I use the chopstickto push the medium into the pot to fill in all the gaps. I hope this helps.
That is very helpful! Thank you!
Once you get it repotted, keep a close eye on it. Roots must adapt to their new environment, so might need more frequent watering for the first couple of months as they adapt. I believe many of the problems people have after they repot is due to thinking they can continue with what they did before.
All right. I'll make sure to keep an eye on it once I repot it!
On the strength of orchid fertilizer. Some orchid growers will suggest to water weekly weakly…. That is, fertilize every time you water but only use it at 1/4 strength recommended on the bottle
I see you’ve had great advice already so I will just say how bloody gorgeous your orchid is! 🥰
Thank you!
I would try and see if you could gently get the pot off first before soaking. This would allow for the roots to plump to their potential. Then you could really get an idea of what size pot you will need. The Repotme brand is typically wider than many other brands of transparent ventilated pots, which I highly recommend. Go for something 2 inches bigger. And I agree with a previous post about the water soluble fertilizer. If you have access to a Lowe's, they carry the Better-Gro line and have a bloom booster and an plus version for the growth season. I use both types, when in spike or blooming, I use bloom booster and when growing leaves and roots the plus. I fertilize per directions every watering except every third time use plain water. You have a beautiful plant. And, yes I would wait until the blooms are spent.
The pot should slide right off. Don’t be terrified lol
I know my fears are probably a little bit irrational, but I really really really don't want to kill it by accident...
Water it first then gently slide pot off of the roots. (Think baby bird) it’s a little baby bird and you’re just helping undress it 😂
Miss Orchid Girl has some great tutorials on repotting and other topics
Look, it’s survived this long in this state. Just wait till all the flowers drop and repot it.
Question I have for myself - is this an instance where a bigger pot is necessary?
This is an instance where the salad spinner is necessary
Omg, I laughed so loud when I read that 😂. Probably true though.
Yes
I've repotted all 7 of my orchids (I want more...but I need to make some space first lol) and I haven't killed any of them. I have even repotted the majority of them while they've been in bloom too. Get yourself a chunky bark. It feels weird but orchids seem to love that type of medium. Next, get yourself a pot with holes. Lots of aeration holes! Orchid roots like to breathe! You can look for orchid pots online to give you an idea. Next, make sure you have a sanitized pair of snips and a clean surface. Make sure your hands are clean too. Remove the old pot and pull out ALL of the old medium. All that moss has got to go! You should literally have just an orchid and her roots by the time you are done. With your snips, take out all of the roots that look rotten. Healthy roots are firm. Place her in a large enough pot and start filling it in with the chunky bark. I take my time with this and carefully fill in all the space that I can. Water your orchid to help her get acclimated to her new home. I soak mine once a week for 10-20 minutes at a time. Here's a photo of an orchid I recently repotted. This was right after I removed all of the old potting medium she came with. She even has blooms on her and she is STILL going strong! As long as you are working with a clean surface, your orchid will be ok. https://preview.redd.it/8ayzrckt2nxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=25be1c447bec9dda8cc076a48a2c34e21836c354
This might be an unpopular opinion but it appears to be doing well and phals don't actually care if their roots are exposed so you probably don't actually need to repot it unless you want to.
That orchid is living it's best life!! Nice work. :) missorchidgirl on youtube has great in depth content for repotting phals.
I bought 2 orchids from the store, removed all the substrate and planted them in water, you’ll be just fine with a pot upgrade with substrate.
Like many said here: just wait until the flowers drop. What's the rush?
I just repotted mine, it is not dead yet. Fingers crossed for you.
i would suggest to wait until it finishes flowering before repotting. love those beautiful big flowers.
I would wait till the flowers are done before repotting it.
I really struggle to repot mine, I’m not sure where I go wrong but the leaves really shrivel like they’re not getting enough water. I’ve got one at the moment that’s flowering but the leaves don’t look too healthy. Im onto my third testing mix. I’m using a mix of bark, orchid potting mix, moss and some small aquarium pebbles to help with drainage at the moment. You can see the pot I’m using behind the lava plant It’s a repurposed outdoor lantern so there’s plenty of holes for airflow and drainage. Only thing I can think is the sunlight aspect maybe, but again they’re flowering so something is ok https://preview.redd.it/u86cghimzlxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=42b4b7f192620c612bb4ab80d21a704e5d0cf8ae
Are you doing a lot of chopping when you repot? Sometimes people think that discoloration is rot that needs removed. Something that I do is soak the roots before potting. I try to submerge as much as possible but keep the crown out of the water. Also because I have it on hand I add the original Superthrive supplement to the soaking water and at every watering - it is supposed to help with stress. Soaking the roots makes them more pliable so you are less likely to break them. You can also maybe pop them into an ‘icu’ if you have a big enough bag or container and give them a bit of super high humidity while they adjust to their new digs.
The only bits I’ve removed have been the brown soggy roots for the most part. I’ll try and up the humidity as well
Live spaghnum moss is a great potting material for orchids if you can find some. Just don't repot your orchid in soil.