Most of the phals are packed that way. They ship well and will hold their blooms. But it will eventually kill them. So it is not bad to buy them that way, especially because most come that way. Just be prepared to do exactly what you just did. Good work! But you will need to repot the bark every 2 years or so because it breaks down and becomes dirt and the roots need air.

Thanks! Yes, this one bloomed for several months. Kind of a double edge sword because I waited longer then, to do the re-pot.

Every 2 years- that makes me think of Jane! 300 orchids.....every two years. So if you have several hundred orchids, can you get a load of bark delivered by dump truck? Lol

Lily, good job!

You don't mention where you live, whether you grow inside or out.

When I grew Phals in NY, I used a lot of sphag mixed with some fine bark. It held some moisture to get them over the long, dry winters. I also put a 'winter coat' of sphag over the surface to protect the surface roots from drying out.

Sphag can be your friend depending on where you are growing them.

Since I moved to Florida, I still mix a little sphag into my bark for the Phals. Florida has six months of dry weather and I'm not great at watering.

I would have liked to see a picture of the roots after you cleaned them off. Also, I would say that, depending on where you live, this is not the best time to repot as the days are getting shorter and night temps will drop. I always wait until Spring.

Since it's done, give it good bright light and watch your watering.

Jane

I've been buying up some of these mass produced Phals, here they seem to have them potted up in only sphagnum. Haven't seen any with anything else in the mix. The only problem I've seen is the flowers withering early. But the plants grow good healthy new leaves.

Jane- I like the idea of sphagnum over the roots instead. I'm in NE Ohio, and have two orchids, indoors only. It's not dry here, so I'm not worried about the roots drying out, like when we lived in AZ.

Yes, I would've waited normally until spring but I had the feeling I had to do it soon or I would have rot. 99% sure I was correct. There were two roots that were black on the tips, and I cut those tips off. The rest were green with a couple that were light yellow on the inner portion.

Sadly I did not take any right after washing the roots. At the very least I gave it my best shot. My guess is it will be a while before it thinks of flowering again. That's ok, I'd rather have a healthy plant.

Funny- I thought sphagnum was the enemy of orchids. Tropicbreezent- yes, I keep getting new leaves and they look healthy so far. Orchids are addicting. My husband says, good thing you ran out of space (Pfft....like that would really ever happen......lol).

Great job, Lily.

You'll find you never run out of space.

Jane