have a conundrum with abused phal

[Paul]

Okay this won't be a pretty sight but here's the long drawn out story.

A buddy of mine gave me a phal of his when I moved that I always liked -- red spotted, nice deep yellow flowers that didn't seem to fade as many yellows do. It was a cross he had made [and named after his daughter]. Well the leaves started looking rather pitted [only on the upper surface] and generally cruddy. After what was probably too long, I wiped the leaves with a alcohol soaked cotton ball. A reddish residue came away on the cotton. Didn't look like any sort of mite so assumed it was a fungus -- perhaps rust. So I sprayed him down with Bayer's systemic fungicide/insecticide. The friend who gave me the plant had mentioned that he found it useful to use on orchids. Shortly thereafter, the phal lost every leaf. Now whether this was due to the systemic or whatever the ailment was or both I don't know. The stem however was still green which gave me hope that it would "live again".

New growth is now in evidence. And here's where we hit conundrum city .........





As you can see, there appear to be about 6 new leads all starting in one small area. Will such a tight cluster prove problematinc? Should I eliminate some of them so those remaining will have more room? Should I leave them all & see if any abort on their own?

[smartie2000]

I would leave them alone. When they bloom they will give an brilliant display with so many growths. But that's just my opinion, some people would divide them.
I actually wish some of my phals could give keikis and let me pot them up in the same pot

[justatypn]

Paul...I agree with Smartie and alos let it run its course and see what happens. The only thing I see wrong is that the systemic seemed to retard the plant leaf(s), minor of course and this should not be of any harm in the growth process, especially seeing the new growth so healthy. Phals are obviously very forgiving , suggestively, I would water on your normal regimen, as well as your fert routine. After watering take a napkin (the quicker picker upper :Tup) and absorb the excess water between the leaves and stems...this will prevent rot this is especially important while it is small. You have made it through the worse of the worse with this one and I know this one will flourish you with the best of the best of blooms...

[Gin]

Dito to the above . I did a reply earlier don't know what happned to it ???

[esungirl]

I agree with Cheryl and Gin, also make sure you have adequate air flow. I did'nt know how important that was until I moved to a new place.

[Oscarman]

Let the plant do it's thing and separate the extra growths as they develop roots of their own.

That's what I did with my Phal. Sierra Gold 'Suzanne' FCC/AOS. Lost all the top growth and the resulting new growth gave me 3 plants that are all now happily living in different pots.

[Lagoon]

This is very interest and neat, Paul.
Been thru this just this past Dec. Not too sure why it did what it did -- This phal tossed up 2 spikes one grew the other waited, first one went on to flower the second waited some more. The flowers showed themselves for about 1 month, died back very quicky. I too had some brownish spotted pits.

The second spike still sits there, meanwhile the flowers stops and the plant take a real dive ..... Loosing all it's leaves just to leave me with like spike of nothing and a very relaxed spike.

New leaves begin to arise from the center, I cut the older spike down to nothing -- Out comes more new leaves and there still sits the other spike.

A new small plant forms and yes you guessed it, the other spike is still there still waiting.

I personlly wouldn't do anything, I feel this is a watch and learn case.

Good luck what ever you decide

[Rick Barry]

Paul,

I have to differ with the previous responses. I think now is the ideal time to get your plant out of the pot and into some new bark. Take the time to inspect the roots and remove those that are rotted and/or dried up. Be sure to use a sterile tool when doing so. Remove all traces of the old bark without damaging the good roots.

Nothing better reveals the true condition of a plant than the condition of the roots. Healthy roots will have a fleshy tip that ranges from green to purple in Phalaenopsis. The fact that a monopodial orchid has multiple new growths at its base may well indicate a desperate attempt to survive. If the plant recovers you will find that one growth will tend to dominate while the others seem to languish. Don't try to remove the other growths as that will only further damage the plant.

Choose a new pot based upon the size of the root mass. The proper pot will just contain the roots. My guess is you will need a much smaller pot. A cardinal rule in potting orchids: Do not over pot! If a plant has few or no roots it should be placed in a very small pot, even if the size of the plant itself seems to indicate otherwise.

Swabbing the leaves of a Phalaenopsis with white cotton or tissue, followed by an inspection of the wipe, is considered an effective means of detecting the presence of mites. The mites that infest Phals are nearly microscopic and can only be seen with the aid of a magnifier. What you detected on the wipe was pretty solid evidence that the plant did indeed have mites, and the condition (and subsequent loss) of the leaves seems to support this contention. It sounds like you used the right tool, but just missed the diagnosis.

I don't have a foolproof means of dealing with mites, but if you choose to use an insecticide be certain that it is specifically formulated for control of mites. As a preventative periodically spray all sides of the leaves with water to which you have added a few drops of dish detergent. Mites thrive in dry, dusty conditions.

Apologies to those who may disagree, but I think this plant is crying out for action.

Regards,
Rick

[justatypn]

I agree with you Rick other than the repotting. The only part of this plant that looks like it has had trauma is the adult and at this time the new growth will nourish of the adult plant. The stress that this phal has gone through to me, does not warrant repotting. If the plant did not have any new growth or looking weak than I would definitely get it out of the pot and inspect. Just my 2 cents and not in total disagreeance but than again I am not totally well versed with 2+ years under my belt. I would definitely like to know what would be appropriate for these guys. Heather would be the slipper go to person ...Oh Heather

[tfields]

Don't give up it ain't dead yet.