I recently bought 2 phal's and they came in the mossy kind of media....and i really dont like it..... i'm afraid that the roots will mold easily. also when i bought it, it was pretty moist because it came in a plastic container inside of a terra cotta pot. should i remove the plant from the plastic pot? it does have holes on the bottom to drain. also since i don't really like the moss, can i use other potting mediums? they both are in bloom at the moment, so should i wait to re pot them?
definitely get pots made specifically for orchids - they have holes cut out in the sides. you can use a prepared orchid potting mix - has bits of bark in it and that's good for them.
The pots and media that your plant was grown in were fine for the greenhouse that produced them. Depending on your growing conditions (windowsill or greenhouse?) you have a variety of options. For pots I grow in plastics pots with more drain holes (burned with a red hot nail) because plastic retains more moisture and my household conditions tend to be dry. I also put LECA or styrofoam pellets on the bottom of the pot to maintain drainage. If you can maintain a more humid growing enviroment terra cotta type pots work well (I do find it harder to remove roots from clay pots when repotting). Remember that orchids should only be potted for the size of the root system - same size pot or only the next biggest size up. For display or stability I put orchids with plastics pots inside more stable or attractive clay or ceramic containers. As for repotting I generally try to repot new orchids ASAP (after flowering) but I grow mostly under lights so my conditions are very stable. The best time to repot is when the roots are growing and conditions are warm and bright (many Phalaenopsis orchids are grown underlit -therefore cool and damp during winter months leading to root loss). There are many types of orchid potting media available but for starters a premixed medium sized bark, perlite, charcoal and sphagnum mix is fine. Bark mixes should be changed every 1-2 years. Other media include coconut husk chips, pumice stone and LECA (something expanded clay aggregate) either mixed or even alone in the case of S/H (semi hydroponic or passive hydroponic growing). Once you've decided what to use, your conditions (light, temps, humidity and air movement) will determine the correct watering schedule for optimum growth. Good luck. Shuan
