Stunted leaf on schilleriana seedling

[angelinabobina312]

I bought a little Phalaenopsis Schilleriana seedling back in July. It was potted completely in Orchiata according to the grower (purchased on EBay) and in a 2 in. clear plastic cup with many air holes. It had already bloomed once according to the listing and evidenced by an old, trimmed spike on the plantlet.

The medium, aerial roots, and visible roots looked okay to me, so I left it in the cup (my mistake, I should’ve repotted sooner).
A new leaf started growing maybe late August and then pretty much stopped, it’s still a little nub just sticking out. I was waiting for it to do more but nothing happened so today I pulled it out of the cup to repot and it had many dead roots 😭

I trimmed them all, sprayed with peroxide, and potted in a 3 in plastic pot with bark mix and sphag moss on top for moisture retention. It still had quite a lot of viable roots with active growing tips.

So my question is, has anyone ever experienced a stunted leaf to continue growing after repot? If this little nub doesn’t continue to grow will there be space for a new leaf to grow eventually? It seems to be blocking the way for another growth to begin. I have attached some photos.

[Roberta]

I have had new leaves continue to grow, or if it so desires, it could produce yet another one. So just be patient, let it do what it wants to do. A hint for the future... peroxide tends to damage the tiny hairs on the good roots. So I hope that you didn't hit those. If I have bad roots, I just trim them, don't use anything else (you don't want to use cinnamon on roots either) Once the conditions in the pot are back to optimal with fresh medium, rot on the bad roots won't spread to the good ones. I would suggest removing the sphagnum... the bark alone will provide the "humidity" that the roots want, as well as air. With just bark it will dry out faster, so water more often. It is much better to water more often (which also brings fresh air to the roots) than to try to keep things wet. They want a wet-dry cycle. In fact, I have found that especially with Phal species (schilleriana among them) they do better in an open basket than in a pot. I like wood baskets, to which the roots really love to attach. In that situation, if I use sphagnum (which doesn't fall out of the holes) I pack very loosely, so it tends to dry out. As water evaporates, air is pulled into the root zone, highly desirable.

[angelinabobina312]

Thank you Roberta! I will take off the little layer of moss and watch this little guy to see what he does. I knew cinnamon desiccates so I did not apply but I didn’t know that about the peroxide. Thanks for the tip, there seem to be mixed feelings on the use of it.