Is potting an orchid necessary?

[eustoma]

I just bought my first orchid recently, a beautiful Phal, but added a bit too much of the sphagnum moss when repotting it because most of my substrate was just hydroton clay balls and I thought it needed something to hold onto a little moisture...

Well it turns out I was wrong because a week later the lower leaves are droopy and leathery, so I remove the orchid from the pot and there is a mass of rotted roots in the center of the root system.

I took out all the substrate and left it bare rooted in its container to dry out, and I did buy some bark yesterday to repot it but now I'm wondering if that's even necessary. Couldn't I just soak the roots as is once a week and then leave it in its pot? Or would it eventually start dying if I did that?

I'm just scared of repotting it again just to have more issues as I know bark isn't as moisture retentive as sphagnum moss, but still retains moisture nonetheless.

Also do I need to cut off the unhealthy roots if I do decide to repot it again? Or can I just leave those on? The youtube videos I've seen did say to cut them off, but I guess a part of me is scared to.

[aliceinwl]

If there’s any doubt as to whether roots are dead, it’s much better not to cut.

I’ve seen some members have success keeping Phals bare root, but I think they water more frequently than weekly. I image you’d be looking at daily to every other day.

If the Phal was a new acquisition the roots may have already been on the way out. If you think it was overwatering or keeping it too wet that damaged the roots, before you repot: make sure you’re not overpotting, if you have a tendency to overwater go with a coarser substrate and make sure your pot is well ventilated. Clear plastic pots can also help you spot trouble early because you can monitor the roots without unpotting.

You may also want to peruse the first few pages of the sticky titled the Phal Abuse Ends Here. It has a lot of helpful advice.

Good luck!

[Cym Ladye]

Pot it up in a well draining bark mix in a pot just large enough to hold the undamaged roots. Any roots that are soft and mushy should be removed. If you need something to hold the plant in the pot, simply strip the velum (soft rotten outer layer) from the root and leave the stringy root itself. Leaving obviously rotted roots in a new mix is simply a recipe for trouble.