Can this phalaenopsis be saved?

[orchidaus]

Phalaenopsis from florist, had a heap of rotted roots which I cut off. I treated with hydrogen peroxide 3% twice. Not sure what to do as looks very unwell. Water or don’t water? Potting media? I had it in an orchid mulch but seemed to not be getting enough air and light. Have now transferred to a glass with terracotta beads. Haven’t watered as am afraid to do the wrong thing!

[DrDawn]

I'm quite new at rescuing Phals, but I have several healthy ones so I'll give you some quick thoughts while waiting for someone more experienced to chime in!

The roots that remain all look really dry and unhealthy. However, I do see possibly a new root tip coming out on the last picture that you posted? If so, that's good, but not sure if it will be enough to save it. It might drop a few leaves, which is ok (just a sign that it is stressed, which it is!). Try to keep it in a humid environment (but not soaking wet) to encourage that little tiny root to sprout!

[WaterWitchin]

Soak those dry roots for at least a half hour in water. See if they start to turn green. If so, they're still alive. Stop putting hydrogen peroxide on the roots and don't do it again. Choose a medium you want to grow it in, whether bark mix or LECA (the clay balls) and stick with it. If you have a pot that's transparent so you can keep an eye on the roots, put it in a transparent pot. Then water it whenever you see the roots turning a silverish gray instead of green.

It's very dehydrated. Perhaps the older roots that were decayed is because the medium it was potted in had degraded and should have already been repotted.

[aliceinwl]

Hydrogen peroxide damages roots and if the roots are already not in prime condition a treatment with peroxide is usually enough to kill them. The plant probably won’t really start to recover until it grows new roots.

I second Waterwitchin’s advice. In addition, if you may want to consider getting some Kelpmax and adding that to your watering regime to jump start root growth. You may also want to consider putting a clear plastic bag with some holes cut for ventilation over the whole plant and pot to limit water loss through the leaves.

If the plant is going to pull through, expect to see pretty much no change for the next 1-3 months followed by a gradual improvement when new roots are finally produced. Phalaenopsis don’t tend to do anything quickly ;-)

Good luck!

[orchidaus]

Thank you so much for all of your helpful posts! I have soaked and the biggest root turned green. I’ve potted into the leca and into a bag In the window and will see what happens over the next two months.
That new root you can see came up a while ago but turned black, as did a lot of the other roots it had which is why I tried the hydrogen peroxide but I had never had tried it before. I’m new to this but hopefully after many years I’ll also be able to help others starting out like me!
Thanks again I’ll let you know how it goes.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by orchidaus

I treated with hydrogen peroxide 3% twice. Not sure what to do as looks very unwell.

Totally agree with the recommendation about not using hydrogen peroxide on roots. It can set the roots back in terms of growing and developing, or even can kill them altogether, especially when in a bad state already.

Try this method here:

Click Here


Also - to cut down on fungal build-up, maybe keep the bag open a little ------ or spray a bit of mancozeb or something over the leaves etc before-hand.

And --- keep the plant (roots and all) away from the wet sphagnum moss ----- that's if you try this method.

Also, the following growing tips may be useful too -----

Click Here and Click Here and Click Here and Click Here

All the best!!!!!

[orchidaus]

Thanks all I followed your advice and 3 months later there is progress! I have a root tip budding and a new leaf trying to grow from the centre.
I have been too nervous to do much to it other than run spring water over if it looked to sad (once a fortnight or so) and kept it in a glass with the LECA in a bag with a couple of holes in it.
I have just done an inspection and the old roots are looking terrible, soggy and mouldy.
And tips again as to what to do? I’ll attach some pictures.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by orchidaus

Thanks all I followed your advice and 3 months later there is progress! I have a root tip budding and a new leaf trying to grow from the centre.
I have been too nervous to do much to it other than run spring water over if it looked to sad (once a fortnight or so) and kept it in a glass with the LECA in a bag with a couple of holes in it.

I have just done an inspection and the old roots are looking terrible, soggy and mouldy.
And tips again as to what to do? I’ll attach some pictures.

That new root growing out is a very good sign indeed. We are now going to depend on that root. This is now a time to not tinker with the orchid too much. That is - avoid touching etc. Once it is potted - just maintain warm temperature, and very gentle air-movement in the growing area. And keep the region around the root moist. Don't allow that root to stay soggy/wet for too long when watering. Otherwise that could take a dive in health too. The other roots appear to have not made it.

So now we're going to count on this new root, and we're going to count on you to look after it.

Just keep doing what you've been doing - as the plant is recovering. But definitely don't tinker with the orchid now.

Also - I'm growing a phalaenopsis too. And if you watch this video ..... I basically just put some water out toward the sides mainly (of the pot) ------ and the combination of tropical humidity and moisture in the media around the sides of the pot is enough to keep the orchids going really well.

The orchid pots drain water really well, and whatever water reaches the bottom of the pot will drain out.

Keep going with that orchid care. Looks like this could pan out well in the end. The orchid is making a come-back for sure.

Watering of scoria-grown orchids in the tropics: - YouTube

[estación seca]

What are you day/night temperatures and relative humidity?

If you're watering once every two weeks in that tiny container with a tiny bit of fast-drying medium, you're drastically underwatering it. The leaves are severely shriveled. The older roots died from lack of water. The plant is desperately trying to get more water by growing more roots.

In a container with LECA you could easily water every single day of the year, if temperatures are correct.

The roots shown in the photo are indeed dead and molding. I would cut them off, pot the plant into whatever medium you wish to use, and put it someplace warm and humid. Water it so there is always air at the roots but they stay moist. You can certainly use LECA, in which case I would advise watering this plant every day until it's better rooted.

[SouthPark]

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