Help/advice/suggestions with Phal root issue - drying out/dying

[LarryAJ]

I am posting in this forum hoping that some of the experts (which I am not) can provide me with some advice on how to stop/prevent the roots on my phalaenopsis from dying. I have taken some photos to show my problem.

The photos are not as clear as I had hoped. The plant have lots of roots, but many will start to dry out at the ends. The drying continues until the whole root is dead. A good example can be seen in the lower right photo where the root coming out near the bloom stalk is dried out completely. I recently repotted three plants and when I finished cutting off the dead roots there were only one or two. The pile of dead roots was bigger than the plant for one that I repotted. I should have taken photos.

I have my plants in the living room, the best place I have. It has a west window that gets full sun from mid after noon on. There is an album in my gallery showing the plants and shelf unit I built to hold them and watering day on the floor. The house has hot water baseboard heat so is quit dry. I have water trays around to help and mist morning and evening enough to wet the leaves and exposed roots, especially in the winter. I use Better-Grow Phalaenopsis Mix to pot them in. The mix has not seemed to have decayed any in the ones I have repotted. When I water, once a week, I let them soak for several hours hoping that they will draw up enough water to rehydrate for the coming week. I don't think that the soaking is causing root rot. I drain the pots well before I put them back in their saucers on the shelf. Besides, when I repotted some, the roots were dry not like the rotted ones I have seen on plants given to me. I am baffled, that is why I am hoping for some expert help.

Can't think of what else you might want to know, so ask if I left out something.

[littlefrog]

Do you have a water softener? How much do you fertilize?

Rob

[tuvoc]

Looks to me like you're growing them way too dry. Under the conditions you describe, once a week is not nearly enough. I use the same mix as you, and, esspecially after pepotting, water at least twice a week. I never let my Phals totaly dry out.

Kim

[stefpix]

I mist the roots of the Phals every day.
central heating makes the air very dry.
I think root rot is happens when the bottom of the pot is soggy.
as others say your roots and medium looks very dry.
I would buy a pressure mister with a wand for 10 $ and also maybe add a little sphagnum or coconut fiber on top of teh pot.

what is teh heat/humidity in your living room?

[orchidsamore]

The plants look like you bought them with roots exposed.

This is very common with old Phals grown in commercial greenhouses. They are watered heavily several times a week and the roots grow outside the pot. This is because of several reasons.

Since a pot is abnormal for the plant which normally grows down from branches the roots grow up.

As the plant gets old the bark deteriorates. New roots do not like to grow in those conditions so they grow outside the pot.

Many commercial growers compensate for some of this by keeping a ball of sphagnum in the center of the pot. Members of this forum think that is terrible but it works for experienced commercial growers.

More important than the dried roots is that I do not see any new roots. All roots dry and die but are replaced by new ones. The newest roots on your plants are dying before they reach the medium. They are so high out of the pot they can not grow naturally.

Moving those roots outside the pot into the pot risks rot but I don't see an alternative for you. You can not go back six months to a year and re-pot, so you do you best now.

Putting aerial roots into a pot requires the plant to change the nature of the velum. It is different in a pot from aerial.

Use fresh medium and water heavy when you water and then let it almost dry out.

[Doc G]

I would add that the top bark seems to be tinged with white. This would mean that salts, either from your water or from the fertilizer is collecting. The next time you need to water, try rinsing by running water through the pot a number of times.
Clear pots help Phal roots to grow but yours is inside a clay pot. If the plant is not in danger of tipping, pull the clear pot out of the clay.
I used to kill Phals on a regular basis when I misted and sprayed roots. I'm not sure there is any benefit.
When you water, look through the clear pot and make sure that the water is getting to the all of the media. Roots will not grow toward a dry spot.

[Doc G]

Ok, I just re-read your original post.

Soaking for hours is way too much. The same white I saw on the media is on the plant. Don't fertilize for a couple waterings, your plants won't die.