problem with a phalenopsis

[Tezas]

Hello,

I have an orchid - phalenopsis. I bought about a month ago and it was blooming, but unfortunately the top with the flowers broke. So I cut off the seem above the third node. I have not fertilized yet.
I water it ca. once a week, only in the morning, making sure the water freely flows out. The soil is practically dry then, but little drops of water gather at the pot and there seems to be a little moss inside the pot.
The temp in the room is ca. 18 degrees C at day and ca. 15 degrees C at night.

I noticed ca. 2 weeks ago that the leaves are drooping; some air-roots seem wilting (and are soft to touch). Under the link I attach the pictures of the plant.
U¿ytkownik tezas - zdjêcia na FotoForum | Gazeta.pl

in short, it seems not to be doing well. I also notice a white residue on some of the bark (picture ending with ‘5’). What should I do to save it? Its flowers were beautiful and I’d love to see them again…

I’ve already lost one orchid and I’d like to avoid losing this one as well..

[Ross]

Originally Posted by Tezas

Hello,

I have an orchid - phalenopsis. I bought about a month ago and it was blooming, but unfortunately the top with the flowers broke. So I cut off the seem above the third node. I have not fertilized yet.
I water it ca. once a week, only in the morning, making sure the water freely flows out. The soil is practically dry then, but little drops of water gather at the pot and there seems to be a little moss inside the pot.
The temp in the room is ca. 18 degrees C at day and ca. 15 degrees C at night.

I noticed ca. 2 weeks ago that the leaves are drooping; some air-roots seem wilting (and are soft to touch). Under the link I attach the pictures of the plant.
U¿ytkownik tezas - zdjêcia na FotoForum | Gazeta.pl

in short, it seems not to be doing well. I also notice a white residue on some of the bark (picture ending with ‘5’). What should I do to save it? Its flowers were beautiful and I’d love to see them again…

I’ve already lost one orchid and I’d like to avoid losing this one as well..

The roots look fine to me. I would say maybe there is too much watering going on? The "softness" of the roots may be normal for Phals. I like mine to get white before I water again. Hope this helps.

[CodiMN]

I actually think the roots look shriveled. I prefer to keep them nice and plump if I can help it. Looked like your bark was very dry as well.
If and when you repot, you may consider tossing out the current medium and repotting with medium fresh from the store (or homemade).
I find I need to prepare the medium by soaking it thoughly overnight (or boiling if you're in a time crunch, then waiting for it to completely cool) in order to open the bark up to receiving and retaining water more efficiently.
After cleaning and rinsing off the roots, this is what I would do in order to give this plant a fresh start.

When you water weekly, make sure all the bark gets throughly soaked in the morning...not just "wet."

[Tezas]

I overwatered my first orchid, so maybe I was too careful with this one. I'll try t make sure the medium gets more water when watering.

if anybody else has any suggestions, please feel free to share.

[kimstwin]

It almost looks like you have some mold started in that medium. Does that plant get good air circulation? You might consider potting down a little, as that pot looks deep in comparison to the size of the root mass. If I let mine get too dry, a good half hour to hour soak in a sink helps to revive the medium. Just a few suggestions.

[cuongland]

in my opinion, i think you need to buy a big tray and rock. put rocks to the tray and put orchid's pot on them. finally, water them and water level does not touch the pot. Give your orchid more huminity , they will OKIE again, and if you can, buy a feed like 24-8-16 of Miracle Gro . I mean you need choose first and third number higher than second number
or like me, i use 24-8-16 and use Schultz TakeRoot with 0.1% IBA (hormone) and it works ery nice good luck

[CodiMN]

A humidity tray (rocks and tray) doesn't really help increase humidity tho, it typically works to just "catch" left over water after watering. If you blow a fan across the water, then yes it would help to increase humidity, possibly...but then you're defeating the purpose by drying out the plant with the "wind" from the fan.

For severe cases of dry out, there's always the sprag n'bag technique. But for now, I'd just stick with the repot and increase in water soaking into the medium.

[dave b]

Id agree with Carolyn, and add that your temperatures are a bit low. Your high of 18C (64F) is quite low for a Phalaenopsis. They are warm growers, and would greatly benefit to reach highs at least in the mid to high 20's (75 - 82F). Depending on you growing conditions, this may be a challenge, but try and get out of the 60's at least.

[nenella]

Tezas, I think your plant looks ok ... & the visible roots do not look so bad, ie: at the time of photo they look on the dry side... I would make sure to soak it thouroughly (leave whole pot in water at least 10 mins) when you do water and if you leave it potted in the bark try using a "skewer" to know if its dry or not..
also, i think that the centre of your pot seems to be be filled with "moss" which is surrounded by bark so on one hand the centre is very damp (and roots may be rotting- leaves going limp) but the external roots in the bark seem too dry...in your conditions you probably need to have a mixture of different things in the pot like 1/3 bark 1/3 perlite and 1/3 moss....but I m not an expert ..i'm sure somone can give you the proportion of ingredients...but I think you definitely need to repot in fresh mixture for sure !
ps: from the photo I dont think you have mold but maybe a build up of minerals from the fertilizer....

[Ross]

Originally Posted by nenella

Tezas, I think your plant looks ok ... & the visible roots do not look so bad, ie: at the time of photo they look on the dry side... I would make sure to soak it thouroughly (leave whole pot in water at least 10 mins) when you do water and if you leave it potted in the bark try using a "skewer" to know if its dry or not..
also, i think that the centre of your pot seems to be be filled with "moss" which is surrounded by bark so on one hand the centre is very damp (and roots may be rotting- leaves going limp) but the external roots in the bark seem too dry...in your conditions you probably need to have a mixture of different things in the pot like 1/3 bark 1/3 perlite and 1/3 moss....but I m not an expert ..i'm sure somone can give you the proportion of ingredients...but I think you definitely need to repot in fresh mixture for sure !
ps: from the photo I dont think you have mold but maybe a build up of minerals from the fertilizer....

:iagree: The roots look pretty normal for any Phals I've ever seen and grown. Minerals can be flushed out with plenty of tap water.