Community pots always seemed like a fun idea.....
.....when I first read about them as I scrolled through forums on Orchid Board. Someone had posted about their community phalaenopsis in pink and how the plants would grow and spike together. I loved the idea of this because it saves a lots of room, makes for a beautiful presentation, and is easier to water than keeping the plants separately.
I had the perfect candidates ready, my original three phalaenopsis from the very beginning of my orchid hobby. I bought the three orchids together and it would only make sense that I let them grow together in my first foray into community pots.
I had to cut back the spikes on Nameless and #2 of the Island Collection since they aren't doing well in the root department. Nameless' spike got so long and seemed ready to start budding but when I went into the pot, all of her roots were black and rotted, except for two aerial roots. #2 seemed to be growing in her spike super slow since she had so few roots to begin with so I just cut the spike now. #1 is the only one to keep her spike because she seems to have adapted her roots so far and is even growing in some new ones.
I put the three orchids into a larger pot and it fit them perfectly. They look so great together and I'm hopeful all of them will recover and continue to grow in their roots. I'm going to keep The Bellas in the bathroom window and watch the progress forward. I'm so happy with how this looks that I'm thinking that I might do the same with my remaining phalaenopsis.