Hello and what's wrong with my Phalaenopsis' roots?

[ROSIEonFIRE]

Hey all! New forum member, new to orchids. I bought this Phal about 2 months ago at the grocery store. It came packed tightly in spaghnum in a little soft plastic 'pot' inside a decorative container. About a week ago I repotted it using Repotme Monterey Orchid mix into the pot you see here. I'm concerned about the appearance and feel of most of the visible roots. They looks like they're covered in salt, seem oddly discolored, and are somewhat rough to the touch. I'm not sure if they looked like this when I got the plant or if this is recent.

These are my care conditions: I have been watering sparingly. I have a balanced fertilizer sans urea in extremely weak proportions a few times. I typically water about once a week. Previously, I was not flushing, I just started doing that today. I was just dribbling a little bit in to keep from overwatering. I'm using tap and i dont know if its hard/ph.

This plant was extremely vigorous looking when I bought it and seems to be doing well in it's new home. It's already put out a new leaf and the spike tips are clearly growing. The roots didnt look too bad when I repotted it, considering it was packed tight in spagh. However, I'm new to Orchids and really want this plant to thrive into the future. Please let me know what you think. I believe the cultivar (?) is Chia E Yenlin.

[SouthPark]

If you temporarily with-hold fertilising ------- and if you then keep watering normally, and if those sediments etc keep building up, then it could just be results of hard water. There are hard water test kits too.

For fertilising, I just use relatively weak concentration fertiliser ----- once a month.

Since you're new to orchids, some of these growing tips may be useful too : Click Here and Click Here and Click Here.

[ROSIEonFIRE]

Thanks for the tips SP!

So if I'm hearing you correctly, you suspect either root burn from ferts or hard water deposits and you're recommending that I stop applying ferts and see what happens. Do I have this right?

I def will stop ferts for a bit and see how it goes. I would love a recommendation about what kind of fertilizer to use. I'm currently using a generic 'balanced' fertilizer, in super tiny amounts.

Also, if it starts to look like hard water might be the culprit, do you recommend going to distilled? I plan on getting one or two more orchids and probably a Nepenthes (which require distilled water anyways), so I think keeping a couple jugs of distilled water would be pretty easy for me to do.

[Lacie]

I do not think the white on the leaves is salt from fertilizer. The color change is probably that they are drying out. When you move a plant from sphagnum, which holds a lot of water, to bark mixes, which drain quickly and provide lots of air, you have to water the new media much more than you watered the sphagnum to keep the roots hydrated.

I would water every few days for at least the first couple of weeks after repotting. The bark will eventually begin to hold water better and then you can water less often. Your Phal will also likely start putting out new roots soon which will adjust to the conditions of the new media.

I also personally always let water drain fully through the pot for several seconds to water. Most plants (beyond orchids!) prefer to be watered thoroughly and allowed to dry rather than getting watered in small doses more often.

[SouthPark]

rosie ----- if the substance is powdery and if it also is seen in the media surface, and also building up on dark coloured surfaces (where it can be seen more), then it could be hard water or fertiliser salt build up.

It's uncertain what it is due to for the moment. But some people use water filtration systems (relatively inexpensive) ...... like reverse osmosis water systems, which outputs some water that work nicely for orchids.

[ROSIEonFIRE]

I'll keep an eye out for buildup on the substrate! Thanks again for the info!

---------- Post added at 05:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:56 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Lacie

I do not think the white on the leaves is salt from fertilizer. The color change is probably that they are drying out. When you move a plant from sphagnum, which holds a lot of water, to bark mixes, which drain quickly and provide lots of air, you have to water the new media much more than you watered the sphagnum to keep the roots hydrated.

I would water every few days for at least the first couple of weeks after repotting. The bark will eventually begin to hold water better and then you can water less often. Your Phal will also likely start putting out new roots soon which will adjust to the conditions of the new media.

I also personally always let water drain fully through the pot for several seconds to water. Most plants (beyond orchids!) prefer to be watered thoroughly and allowed to dry rather than getting watered in small doses more often.

Over these last couple of days I've been thinking I might need to start watering quite a bit more. It took me a while to figure that out because for the last month or two this poor plant was packed tight in sphagnum with literally 0 drainage so I would just, like, triiiiickle water in there and it would stay damp for a week. I think ur spot on about giving it a really good soaking and then making sure it drains really well and dries out. It's in a pot covered in holes in a very high draining medium now so it looks like both me and my plant need to adjust

[Dollythehun]

I don't see anything wrong w your roots, except you need to water. They naturally look a little bumpy. You wouldn't notice hard water build up for quite some time. Buy a water filtration pitcher for your orchid if you're worried.

[JScott]

I agree with Dolly. I think your roots are fine. Keep an eye on the plant and if you notice any other signs of ill health, we can revisit this at that time, but I don't think that will be necessary. I don't see anything wrong with your roots, except it looks awfully dry.

[aliceinwl]

I agree with Dolly too. I use this same type of mix for my Phals. I have found it really helpful to water by soaking (at least at first). I put the potted Phal in a larger container and allow to soak for up to an hour, then I allow all the water to drain. This seems to accelerate water retention properties of the media and keep it moist longer. It also seems to ease the transition from moss to bark: I almost never have root loss following a repot.

If you can see the in pot roots (if you have it in something clear), whenever they turn silver, it’s time for more water. If you soak you’ll have to water less frequently than if you water by flushing. Basically, you want to give it a thorough soak or flush as soon as the bark/roots is dry again. Watering regime will vary depending on individual growing conditions but I end up watering the plants I soak weekly and those I flush every 2-3 days.

Everyone has their favorite fertilizer, but I’ve been very happy with the MSU dry formulas sold by repotme. I use both the RO and well/tap water formulations depending on who is watered with what.

[Mountaineer370]

I'll chime in here and agree with several others that I don't see a thing wrong with those roots. They have the silvery appearance of an orchid that is ready to be watered. You will find that your orchid needs a lot more watering being potted in that Monterey mix as opposed to pure sphagnum. The only thing I would suggest at this time is that, when you do water, don't just dribble a bit on top. Pour enough over it so that it runs liberally out the holes. Or, some here prefer the soaking method. That's a matter of personal preference. Frequency of watering will be dependent on your particular conditions, but a general rule is you want to water again when those roots turn from green back to silver. But it should be noted that aerial roots often turn silver quickly while roots down inside the pot may still be green. I go by the roots in the pot. The weight of the pot is a good indicator, too. Take note of how it feels before and after watering, and you'll start to be able to judge when it needs water again.