How often to water your Phalaenopsis will depend on many different factors.
Generally speaking, your plant should never be allowed to dry out completely, and the plant should never go into the night time hours with wet leaves. These are two hard and fast rules you do not want to break. When you water, you should thoroughly wet the soil. If you have purchased one of our plants, we do not suggest using the "ice cube method". Our plants have a high number of spikes, buds, and flowers to support, and we do not believe this method provides enough water to adequately sustain the plant's quality. Also, we believe the leaves of the plant should be watered to rinse them as they naturally receive water everyday in the rainforest. This will remove any surface polluntants that could potentially harm the plant over time.
Additionally, we suggest you use the following factors as guidance for watering your plant.
1.) The soil consistency and age:
Your Phalaenopsis could be living in many types of soil. Plants are commonly placed in spagnum moss for ease of shipping. We suggest repotting your plant if this is the case, but until that time comes, these plants must be monitored carefully. Spagnum goes from very wet to very dry quickly. The spagnum should never be allowed to dry completely.
Our plants are potted in a bark/peat/perlite mixture with a moisture agent when they are young. This mix becomes wetter as it ages because the peat and bark break down. When you receive your plant in a blooming stage, the mix will stay quite moist, but the plant will also be using quite a bit of water to support the buds and blooms. Keep the plant moist at all times while it is still blooming. Once the plant is finished blooming, the soil mix will stay a little moist for a plant that is not blooming. It is time to the repot the plant into fresh soil, but in the interim, water the plant less frequently, letting the soil on the surface of the pot get almost dry before watering again.
2.) The amount of light the plant receives every day.
Plants in higher light areas will use more water whereas plants in lower light areas will use less water. If you are leaving on vacation for a week or two, we suggest watering your plant well, allow the leaves to dry completely, and then place it in a darker place until you return. (Plants can survive up to a month in a closet, but we don't suggest placing them in a place quite that dark.)
3.) The size of the roots in the pot.
This is somewhat counter intuitive, but when the roots are very small, the plant may need more water because the roots are unable to reach all of the water available in the pot. When the volume of the roots match the size of the pot, the plant will need to be watered the least often because the roots are available to absorb all of the water made available. When the volume of roots start exceeding the size of the pot, by growing out of holes in the pot, and coming out of the top of the soil, the plant will again require more water. The soil in the pot will be unable to adequately provide enough water to the plant, and so the plant will require frequent watering until you are able to repot it.
4.) The humidity of the plant's environment.
In humid enviornments, an orchid's epiphytic roots will be able to absorb water in the form of vapor right out of the air. Most orchids love a humid enviornment, as long as water droplets don't settle on the leaves for too long a period of time. In a drier enviornment, Phalaeonpsis will need to be watered much more often.
5.) The blooming condition of the plant.
As mentioned above, when a plant is growing a spike, forming buds, or full of blooms, it needs water to support these extra parts. Some growers "flip" plants by buying them from overseas in spike, putting them in a pot with spagnum moss wrapped around the roots, and then shipping them out the door to a retailer. These plants are stressed from the extended shipping period, have disrupted root systems, and sometimes very small root systems, that don't allow them to absorb enough water to support the buds and blooms. This causes the buds to dry up and die (known as "bud blast") or the flowers to drop off of the plant prematurely. We pot our plants a year in advance so that by the time they are blooming, the roots systems are strong and established enough to support plenty of spikes, buds and blooms.
Generally speaking, your plant should never be allowed to dry out completely, and the plant should never go into the night time hours with wet leaves. These are two hard and fast rules you do not want to break. When you water, you should thoroughly wet the soil. If you have purchased one of our plants, we do not suggest using the "ice cube method". Our plants have a high number of spikes, buds, and flowers to support, and we do not believe this method provides enough water to adequately sustain the plant's quality. Also, we believe the leaves of the plant should be watered to rinse them as they naturally receive water everyday in the rainforest. This will remove any surface polluntants that could potentially harm the plant over time.
Additionally, we suggest you use the following factors as guidance for watering your plant.
1.) The soil consistency and age:
Your Phalaenopsis could be living in many types of soil. Plants are commonly placed in spagnum moss for ease of shipping. We suggest repotting your plant if this is the case, but until that time comes, these plants must be monitored carefully. Spagnum goes from very wet to very dry quickly. The spagnum should never be allowed to dry completely.
Our plants are potted in a bark/peat/perlite mixture with a moisture agent when they are young. This mix becomes wetter as it ages because the peat and bark break down. When you receive your plant in a blooming stage, the mix will stay quite moist, but the plant will also be using quite a bit of water to support the buds and blooms. Keep the plant moist at all times while it is still blooming. Once the plant is finished blooming, the soil mix will stay a little moist for a plant that is not blooming. It is time to the repot the plant into fresh soil, but in the interim, water the plant less frequently, letting the soil on the surface of the pot get almost dry before watering again.
2.) The amount of light the plant receives every day.
Plants in higher light areas will use more water whereas plants in lower light areas will use less water. If you are leaving on vacation for a week or two, we suggest watering your plant well, allow the leaves to dry completely, and then place it in a darker place until you return. (Plants can survive up to a month in a closet, but we don't suggest placing them in a place quite that dark.)
3.) The size of the roots in the pot.
This is somewhat counter intuitive, but when the roots are very small, the plant may need more water because the roots are unable to reach all of the water available in the pot. When the volume of the roots match the size of the pot, the plant will need to be watered the least often because the roots are available to absorb all of the water made available. When the volume of roots start exceeding the size of the pot, by growing out of holes in the pot, and coming out of the top of the soil, the plant will again require more water. The soil in the pot will be unable to adequately provide enough water to the plant, and so the plant will require frequent watering until you are able to repot it.
4.) The humidity of the plant's environment.
In humid enviornments, an orchid's epiphytic roots will be able to absorb water in the form of vapor right out of the air. Most orchids love a humid enviornment, as long as water droplets don't settle on the leaves for too long a period of time. In a drier enviornment, Phalaeonpsis will need to be watered much more often.
5.) The blooming condition of the plant.
As mentioned above, when a plant is growing a spike, forming buds, or full of blooms, it needs water to support these extra parts. Some growers "flip" plants by buying them from overseas in spike, putting them in a pot with spagnum moss wrapped around the roots, and then shipping them out the door to a retailer. These plants are stressed from the extended shipping period, have disrupted root systems, and sometimes very small root systems, that don't allow them to absorb enough water to support the buds and blooms. This causes the buds to dry up and die (known as "bud blast") or the flowers to drop off of the plant prematurely. We pot our plants a year in advance so that by the time they are blooming, the roots systems are strong and established enough to support plenty of spikes, buds and blooms.