So I posted on here a while ago because I was worried my orchid had stem rot, read the suggested phalaenopsis care thread, figured it seemed like I was over watering, and so I reduced the amount of sphagnum moss in my mix and started using the wooden skewer test to tell when to water, and I thought I'd been doing okay with my phal. The leaves never really stopped being wrinkly but I'd read somewhere that sometimes they never recover from damage, and the little new leaf on the top was still firm and healthy looking, and it was also growing quite a bit so I figured everythign was fine. But I decided to check on the roots today, which i guess I should have done before but I didnt want to disturb the plant much after a ton of handling before and it seems like all the roots that were under the potting medium have rotted away.
I had had the Phal sitting so that the stem was on top of the medium because when I repotted it before, I was still worried about the possibility of stem rot so left that part exposed so it wouldnt get too wet no matter what, but there were a few roots that went down into the medium. (I had intended to add more medium after a month or so but forgotten - kind of glad I did) so now Im wondering if perhaps the medium I am using is bad?? I've been very careful to not over water, leaving a wooden skewer in and not watering until it feels dry when touched to my lip. The medium Im using is sphagnum moss, and fir bark chips I gathered in my back yard, then sterilized in the oven. I did this over a purchased mix for a few reason; I live a bit far from stores and work nights so getting to a store that sells an orchid mix in my area was looking to be a huge pain, things I found online kept having weirdly high shipping costs, and I figured something i sourced myself wasnt going to be a problem but I dont know.
Is this my issue? Here are some pictures of the orchid now
Mini Phalaenopsis - continued problems, roots rotting below medium
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