Phalaenopsis

General Care for the Phalaenopsis Genus

Phal. Sogo Jessica 'Pink'

There are currently 75 distinct species of phalaenopsis orchids accepted by the World Plant Monocot, maintained by The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and 9 naturally occurring hybrids in the wild. All species are native to tropical & subtropical Asia to NE. Australia.

The info below is general information that can be used as a guide for most phalaenopsis orchids, though primarily aimed at complex hybrids, arguably the most commonly grown orchids found in flower shops and garden centres and supermarkets in New Zealand.

All cultural information provided should be taken as a guide only & should be tailored to your own environment, lifestyle & the amount of time you have to spend caring for your plants. For example, being typically lazy myself (read; complete lush more often out sipping chablis in the sun or at various restaurants around Auckland rather than sitting around at home) as well as likely to forget when it was that I last fertilised each of my 200+ plants, slow-release fertiliser works best for me. I am also a hobby grower & in no way profess to be an expert. I welcome any additional tips in the comments below.

 POTS

I try to use clear pots as often as possible, and whenever I receive new orchids in opaque pots, the first thing that I do is unpot them, check the roots, and remove any dead or decaying root material. And repot them into a clear pot. Why?

• Most importantly, this allows you to keep an eye on what is going on with the root system.

• Watering. In a clear nursery pot, you’ll be able to tell when the medium is dry & your orchid needs water much easier than with an opaque pot.

• While epiphytic orchids predominantly photosynthesise through their leaves, they can also photosynthesise through their roots! So, if you choose not to sit the orchid pot into another decorative pot, the plant will allocate chlorophyll to the roots, providing a little more energy to the plant & facilitate a little more growth. That said, the leaves of plants are the main structures designed for photosynthesis & not exposing roots to light will not hinder your orchid in the slightest.

POTTING MEDIA

Being epiphytes, phals require airy potting media so as not to suffocate the roots which can lead to root rot, which in turn, leads to the orchid becoming dehydrated no matter how much you water as it has little or no way to absorb moisture.

Bark

I find typical, stock standard orchid bark to work best in my environment. It allows excess water to drain freely & air to penetrate to the roots. I’m yet to experience any form of root rot when using bark mixes as it doesn’t retain as much moisture as sphagnum moss.

Sphagnum moss

New Zealand is said to produce some of the highest quality sphagnum moss on the market which is exported all over the world.

While some growers have a lot of success with sphagnum moss, I have only ever had success growing seedlings in community pots with very airy, uncompacted sphag. moss. I have received several mature phals from one particular commercial nursery, which I won’t name, grown in sphagnum moss. Upon receiving these & repotting them into my preferred orchid bark, I discovered that all three had nearly lost their entire root systems. However, this may have been due to overwatering as they also seemed excessively soggy.

WATERING

Like most orchids, phals don’t like sitting in water or staying wet for too long. This tends to lead to root rot, which will lead to a dehydrated orchid as it can no longer absorb water, no matter how much you give it. If anything, always best to under rather than over water. Some people say to water orchids once per week - I water when the media is dry & usually only water with a spray bottle with the odd soak.

FERTILISING

As mentioned above, this lazy lush opts for slow release.

While many orchids have a dormant period, in my opinion, phals do not go into a fully dormant period. However, I do observe slower growth at lower temperatures. Phalaenopsis orchids tend to alternate between growing flower spikes & leaves. I believe that this is why phalaenopsis orchids are such hungry girls & most can be fertilised year-round. When not using slow-release, I recommend the ‘weakly, weekly’ (1/4-1/2 strength) method during active growth and reducing or eliminating fertilisation in winter for those phals which clearly experience reduced growth during cooler months.

If you use commercial fertiliser when watering, make sure to pour plain water through the pot once every so often to flush through any residual salts which haven’t been absorbed & accumulate in the media, as this can eventually lead to the roots getting burnt.

FLOWER SPIKES

Firstly, to cut the spike at the base after flowering or try to promote a secondary spike? 

Phal. Floriclone Ballroom

For those of you who aren’t sure what I mean by a secondary spike or how to try to promote one
forming: You will notice that the flower spike has several nodes. These are dormant eyes (sometimes called buds) protected by a wee sheath. After the flowers have finished, by cutting the spike a centimetre or two above one of the upper nodes, you can induce the production of a secondary branch of flowers from the same inflorescence. This doesn’t always work, though it does more often than not.

I (used to) run my finger along the spike to feel for the most prominent node, which feels as though it has the most advanced growth underneath & cut the spike roughly 2cm above this & always succeeded with a secondary spike. I say “used to” because I no longer do so; I now always cut the spike right back. Why? This allows the orchid to put more energy into the growth of the rest of the orchid, as flower production consumes a lot of energy. Flower spikes are only ever produced under the second fully grown leaf. So the more leaves produced through the year, the more likely the plant will produce multiple flower spikes. I also find the full, intact spikes more aesthetically pleasing than those cut for secondary flowering.

In short:
Why promote a secondary spike?
Longer flowering time

Why cut back the entire spike?
Better blooms the following season & a higher chance of double spikes the next year & it just looks tidier.