Phal. Hanging on by a Thread

[drewtoby]

Hello Orchid Board,

A friend gave me a phalaenopsis a while back. I changed the setup but kept bark as the potting medium--big mistake. Although I watered every week, the plant apparently didn't get enough water.

Flash forward a year or so. I'm taking good care of an Oncidium, Tolumnia, Cattleya, and 2 other moth orchids. All but the Tolumnia are in a sphagnum mix with bark. I love the spagnum setup; my friend hates it. Go figure

But, back to the point of the post: my first phal. has three browning leaves (the newest leaf is almost all brown, others are only brown on their tips but paper thin). I would throw it out, except is has 4-5 little root remains and a new root growth still alive. I have been keeping it in pure spagnum, although the leaves still keep browning little by little.

Should I cut off the leaves and leave the roots? Or, is it a lost cause? I want to save this fella if possible--it was my first orchid.

[turock]

Hmmm, a pic will definitely be helpful once you are able to post one. There are many possible causes for this.

You may have a problem in the crown of the plant, if the newest leaf is browning. If it is indeed crown rot, there's not much you can do, but hope for a keiki.

It's also possible that you have a bacterial or aggressive fungal infection of some sort. I'd keep this guy well away from your other orchids, just in case.

Take a look at this page and see if any of the diseases described here are similar to what you're seeing. Orchid Diseases

Are you positive that the orchid was too dry in the bark medium? Most phals can bounce back quickly from being too dry, but not from drowning-- and drowning looks very similar to being too dry. You'll see wrinkled, limp leaves, because the plant has lost too many roots to draw in water.

I'd have to see a picture of the roots to know, but since you describe them as "remains", I'm wondering if maybe they rotted away...?

In any case, leave the leaves intact until you are sure they're infected.

Looking forward to pix.

[snowflake311]

I had an orchids that was rotting no matter what I did. I think it was sick to start with. It did die and I was sad because it was amazing when in bloom. My first orchid is till alive and well among many other orchids of different kinds. But for some reason this one Phal was sick.

I had to say goodbye to it and put it in the compost. I was very sad. I say don't give up do what you can but be ready to say good bye.

I have this other Phal that has ugly deformed flowers I never lived it much. Well I had too many orchids and abused the crap out of this one over the summer. But the Darn thing would not die. After all my abuse it sent out new leaves and roots. SO I took it in and I am caring for it. I cut off the ugly dying leaves more as an experiment to see if cutting the bad leaves would help the new ones grow.

I am not one for giving up on an orchid. In the end sometimes we can't save them all.

Photos would help.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Drewtoby - the best information you can add to what you have already posted are some good photographs. If possible, post photos of the whole plant, including roots out of the pot. Also some photos of any roots,leaves, etc.that you believe are having problems.

[bil]

Well, personally I like bark for phals. My watering schedule has dropped to twice a week, I do water more in summer. Open bark is almost impossible to overwater.

I do think that if it was hot and drying, once a week just isn't enough, but that isn't the fault of the media.

Personally I see overwatering in winter as the big risk, and prefer to water a lot more often in the summer so as to reduce the risk of overwatering in winter, which is harder to avoid.

[drewtoby]

Thanks for the replys! I am ready to let it go, but wanted to see if there was any hope first. I doubt its fungi or an infection, as I spray my orchids with a neem oil and insecticide soap once a year (or as needed).

The orchid does have root rot. I guess I really overcompensated once the plant started becoming dehydrated . I only recently discovered and transferred it to sphagnum moss. The roots are damp in the image because I watered it yesterday (the spagnum was almost fully dry).

Somehow, the crown is okay though. Its still firm, not mushy.


For some reason I can't insert the image or a link. But the plant can be found at:

greenmowers . org / 0924150711.jpg

If someone could insert it for me, it would be much appreciated!

[bil]

Originally Posted by drewtoby

Thanks for the replys! I am ready to let it go, but wanted to see if there was any hope first. I doubt its fungi or an infection, as I spray my orchids with a neem oil and insecticide soap once a year (or as needed).

The orchid does have root rot. I guess I really overcompensated once the plant started becoming dehydrated . I only recently discovered and transferred it to sphagnum moss. The roots are damp in the image because I watered it yesterday (the spagnum was almost fully dry).

Somehow, the crown is okay though. Its still firm, not mushy.


For some reason I can't insert the image or a link. But the plant can be found at:

greenmowers . org / 0924150711.jpg

If someone could insert it for me, it would be much appreciated!

Can't see the image for some reason.

[drewtoby]

Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Did you remove all of the spaces? I have it set for public viewing. Hopefully the setting works. Also, try adding the ht tp : // before.

If this still doesn't work, I'll upload it somewhere else.

[bil]

Originally Posted by drewtoby

Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Did you remove all of the spaces? I have it set for public viewing. Hopefully the setting works. Also, try adding the ht tp : // before.

If this still doesn't work, I'll upload it somewhere else.

5th time of trying. Didn't see the spaces, I'll try and post it for you but this pc is behaving like a spoilt child.

[bil]

Here it is