Should I say goodbye to phalenopsis with white threads, rot and or shriveled up roots

[Alearner]

Hi,

Thank you so much for your links to diseases and cures of orchids.

I am a complete novice to growing orchid.

I purchased my first beautiful looking phalenopsis from a supermarket on 1 Feb 2022. It has two stems with blooms and was contained in a pot with bark. Today, I noticed white threads appearing at the base near whatever that remained of the roots. Should I say goodbye to it?

Here is the history of what I have done to the plant:

7 Feb 2022: Bottom leave of the orchid started turning yellow. Removing the bark I saw roots all coiled up at the bottom.

Intending to give it proper ventilation and humidity, I removed it from the pot, and put it into a larger pot (with more holes) which I have lined with spagnum moss.

Late Feb 2022: More yellow leaves which fell off.

Also, 90% of the roots have shriveled and dried up so much I could see a thin vein running through empty tube (root). Color of roots was straw like. Remaining 10% of the roots have dark spots and appeared limp.

Also noticed flowers appearing on one of the stems started falling off one by one, while other stem seemed fine.

I cut away rot root and not much left of the root stub. May be 1-2 inches long of shriveled root remained. Instead of using the pot with moss, I placed the moss over a piece of tree bark (over which I have poured boiling water to kill off any diseases it may carry), and rest plant on top and tied it around the bark and started watering much less.

14 April 2022: flowers on remaining stem dried up.

Also, after unwrapping plant from the board and moss, I noticed white threads appearing near base where the dried up roots were. No new root growth observed.

Any comments would be most appreciated and most helpful to my next attempt!

[WaterWitchin]

A picture might help. But were it mine it wouldn't be worth the save, regardless. Sounds like it was already in really poor shape if you started losing leaves that quickly. Or it sat in a cold car for awhile.

Then cutting off roots, then seeing dry straw-colored roots, it probably wasn't getting enough water. Phal roots turn silvery when they need watering, and plump right back up with a green color after watering. Then unpotting again and mounting... most mounts need to be watered at least daily unless your humidity is at an extremely uncomfortable high. I'm surprised it kept any flowers until April.

Try reading through a few pages on this site The Phal abuse ends here. and reading up more about phals on this beginner thread before getting another.

(Also, I removed your double-post in a sticky thread elsewhere that's very old. It's more for informational purposes. Post in one spot (beginner thread is fine) and you'll get better answers and advice).

[Alearner]

Thanks for the quick and helpful answer, supplemented with links, which i will go through definitely before the next one!

I hope the pictures have been uploaded properly. Sad view from all sides.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the board.

Unfortunately it's dead. You can learn to grow orchids with a little reading. The link WW sent you is the place to start.

Phals like warm temperatures, lots of air at the roots, plenty of water and low light. This isn't hard for most people to provide unless the house is kept cool.

I'd guess your plant's roots suffocated from old medium with no air. If your room temperatures are cool that finished it off. Sphagnum moss is an excellent medium for Phals if not old and degraded, but it is watered differently than other media. Sphagnum should never be soaked; only run the water over the very top of the medium for about one second. The water will diffuse down into the moss, leaving a lot of air. If sphagnum be soaked it excludes all the air.

[WaterWitchin]

Yep, that's ready for the compost pile. As ES says, read and educate yourself... read through the "Beginner" section about other folks' difficulties with and the information given for success. Then, try, try again!

[Alearner]

I am going through the beginner discussion of the Phal Abuse Ends Here link. I will certainly read through the beginning pages, and hopefully will get a better idea before the 71st page is reached!

May I ask one more question? Would an indoor humidity of mid 50%, and temperatures in the range of 16-20 degrees (most of the times during the winter or spring months) make any difference to your answers?

Thanks a lot WW and ES!

[estación seca]

In my opinion a range of 16-20 C / 61-68 F is too cold for most Phals without supplemental heat. Some experienced growers can keep them alive but there will be occasional losses. I wouldn't try.

A heat mat below the plants can make a huge difference. OB member greenpassion growing in Vermont in a chilly house used heat mats to bloom very nice Phals. She hasn't posted here in some years.

[WaterWitchin]

It doesn't change any of the prior answers, but for most phalaenopsis that's a bit too much on the cold side. And if your space was that cool when you brought this one home, and it appears to have not been doing well anyway, it could likely have been the tipping point for its demise.

Having said that, my phals grow for about three or four months of the year with lows around 65F days around 71F. They may occasionally have a few days with a 60F to 68F temp range. BUT, they have a higher temperature range the other 8-9 months of lows in the 70s, highs in the 90s+. They are adapted well.

But if I brought in an orchid with failing roots, that's a whole different story. I have to baby it with more "perfect" conditions until it gets vigorous again. One of your steps toward educating is to look at pictures or plants and learn what the characteristics of a healthy plant, good roots, etc,,are before purchasing.