TheNaturePlanet

I believe that many people who regard Phalaenopsis as their "white moonlight" are attracted by its dancing flowers. Their petals are naturally ethereal, as light and elegant as the skirt of a ballerina. Therefore, there is a saying among the people that "a pot of Phalaenopsis is better than ten bouquets of roses." However, although the flowers are uniquely beautiful, there are many things to pay attention to in their maintenance. People often complain that Phalaenopsis is not as easy to care for as they imagined.
In fact, although the general maintenance methods for different varieties of Phalaenopsis are more or less the same, there are indeed differences among various varieties, just like the problem encountered by this flower enthusiast. She said that she had a pot of Xiangfei Phalaenopsis, and the growing medium she used was a mixture of orchid stones and wood chips. But she always felt that the plant didn't look energetic and seemed a bit sickly.
Later, in order to solve this situation, she came up with an idea. She placed the orchid pot in a tray filled with water, thinking that the water would slowly seep up from the bottom of the pot until it reached the surface of the potting soil. She has been observing the surface of the pot for the past few days, and now it does look very moist. So far, the Phalaenopsis hasn't shown any adverse reactions. But she is a bit worried because she has seen many maintenance methods for Phalaenopsis suggesting that the roots should not be soaked. Will the roots of her Phalaenopsis rot if she keeps it like this? She is not sure whether what she is doing is right. If it's not right, what on earth should she do to make the plant grow better?
Regarding the situation of the above-mentioned flower enthusiast, generally speaking, Phalaenopsis is much more sensitive to the growing medium than other types of orchids. If you are not careful, the growing medium is likely to rot, or it may already be in a state of decay. And there is also a knack for mixing different growing media. If you choose the wrong growing medium or mix them incorrectly, the Phalaenopsis is really in danger. It may not develop roots, or even suffer from root rot directly.
Taking the mixture of orchid stones and wood chips you used as an example, it should be that the wrong combination of the growing medium has made your Phalaenopsis listless. Because if the quality of the wood chips is poor when you buy them, they are very likely to rot and deteriorate in a humid environment. Once they deteriorate, they will cause irreversible harm to the roots of the Phalaenopsis.
All in all, it is recommended that you seriously consider changing the growing medium. You can take your Xiangfei Phalaenopsis to the flower market and consult those professional merchants who sell orchid growing media. They usually know a lot about it.