Quote:
Originally Posted by alopez1021
Hi Guys I posted a few weeks ago asking some questions about my Phal's roots. I changed the way I was watering it and starting doing the soaking method. I've only done this method once since I last posted. I soaked for about 10 minutes and then let the water drain out. I've been noticing that the aerial roots are starting to shrivel up and dry out, not sure if they are dead??  (Shown in updated picture) The clear pot does have holes at the bottom, most of the roots inside look nice and plump, I did noticed there's one root that is turning brown, and it looks a little mushy but I'm not certain since I haven't taken it out yet to repot. As I pressed into the side of the container, it seems a little squishy, might be hard to tell in picture but the root goes from green/plump to brown at the bottom. I also attached another root pic that's inside, that's yellow- seems like its becoming a little hollow and squishy. Should I do anything about these roots?
**Last time I watered it was 4/19. I was going water it again today since it's about time. |
Hey there! I'm new to orchids too (about a few months in now) but I've been lurking this board, researching, and experimenting with my care. The reason why I decided to post was because my home environment is also very dry and my roots can end up looking a lot like yours.
As a fellow beginner, I know what kind of information is out there on websites and youtube, and it can be very confusing. I also sometimes had trouble googling answers from people who had similar environments and pictures that looked like what I was experiencing.
If your home is very dry, you will get dried out aerial roots like you have here. I find that even roots that look dessiccated (extremely wrinkled/hard and shrunken, with brown spots) can be revived as long as there is some green! A short-term quick solution is to wet some paper towel and wrapping it around the dry spots, the velamen will soak up the water. However, this makes your orchid look a little bit like a mummy, so a better long-term solution is getting some sphagnum moss and loosely wrapping a few strands around the aerial roots, and wetting the moss as needed. For me I mist every 2 days or so, but your care may vary depending on your environment and conditions.
Disclaimer: I enjoy looking after my orchids so I do check on them daily to watch their progress. If you want a more stable environment you don't have to think about, maybe more moss will help retain moisture, provided that your temperatures don't get too cold. Wet + cold = mold
As for your pot, it probably only has holes on the very bottom and therefore not very good drainage. Most orchids are sold as "easy care" plants in stores and that's why the directions are to water sparingly. Therefore, the way the orchid was packaged to be sold in a big chain store will be for the longest amount of survival with the least amount of care. The medium will be tightly packed small bark chips and there will probably some sort of cork/moss ball/ seedling plug in the middle that retains water. The media may also be very fine/broken down inside because it's meant to retain a lot of water. For this reason, I don't suggest watering by flushing the pot until you repot it into a pot with lots of aeration/chunky media!! I learned this the hard way when I almost drowned one of my new phals, thinking I was hydrating it. That's why you're seeing some rotting now while you had beautiful and green roots before.
But don't worry! From my experience, phals are very hardy and forgiving to newbie mistakes as long as you give them the proper conditions to recover. They also can handle repotting pretty well as long as you're gentle and careful with the roots. I was also stressed out about repotting but it turned out fine - in fact my oldest phal started thriving once I finally figured it out. (I've had it since October. After repotting it grew healthy new roots, bloomed, and is now putting out a new leaf and what I hope might be a new flower spike?!
)
so if you're serious about being good to your new orchid, I would recommend:
- a pot with good drainage and aeration, look for slots and holes in the side
- chunky media (the classic phal mix from repotme was great for me as a beginner until I learned to mix my own)
- and if you're buying from repotme, they have a sale going on right now, you can also pick up the
orchid probiotic (Quantum Orchid) which helps reduce transplant stress and will ease your fears about repotting!!
also, when repotting, any roots that feel firm to the touch are still alive, no matter what their color. I've seen people cut off healthy roots because they didn't know what they were looking for and I want to save you that heartache!
Finally, you have to keep in mind that concepts about orchid care are more important than details, because every grower's home environment is different. What works for someone who grows orchids in hot and humid Florida will be different from those of us in very dry places. You will also have to tweak your care to your lifestyle (how often you water, how often you check on it) and this will all be a part of the learning process.
Your phal still looks pretty healthy though, so don't worry too much!
good luck!
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