sickly phalaenopsis orchid

[Hazza]

Hi everyone, new member Hazza here from the UK, hope you’re all doing good.
So my first post I have a few questions.
This phal orchid that I have is not doing too good, all the leaves are wilted/drooping and have been for months.
It doesn’t seem to be dying but isn’t putting forward new leaves either, however it is producing new flower spikes which all tend to die back after a few weeks.
Also one of the off shoots is producing sticky sap, should I cut it back?
It is on a sunny spot on the kitchen window with filtered light, and has been on a drip feeder, and is watered very sparingly as it is in a glass bowl, it has been repotted recently and I’ve cut the dead/mushy roots off and it had a few healthy ones left.
Is there anything more I can do to help it recuperate? Is it worth persisting with?
Also it has 2 conjoined crowns, is this usual?
Sorry for the long post! Any tips would be appreciated, thank you.

[rbarata]

Welcome Hazza!

Your photos are too dark, hard to see properly.

It has all the symptoms of dehydration, that can be caused by two things:

1 - Lack of water

2 - Damaged root system

I would sugest not cutting anything, nor roots nor spikes.
Sunny spot...Phals are low light plants. You said "filtered light" which seems ok if it prevents the plant from getting direct sun light.

From your description I think you have checked the roots. Did you changed the medium also? It seems to be bark + LECA.

The bark I see it's too large for the pot size you're using. Phals are epiphytes which means their roots are constantly in contact with "fresh air". Stalled air around them leads to root rot that can be what's happening here. Large bark allows new air to go into the medium preventing this from happening. But I don't know if that's the cause...may I sugest you to take photos of the root system and post them here?

[Hazza]

Hi Rbarata, thanks for your quick reply!
The orchid is behind a window blind so yes filtered light when it’s very hot/ sunny.
I can’t check the root system without pulling it all out of the bowl and am reluctant to disturb it again.
It it in a medium of bark and clay granules and always has been, unfortunately it was overwatered which has caused it to be this way. But the other 2 phals are in the same medium and doing really well, would it help to repot it in sphagnum moss or something it can breathe better in?
Apologies for the dark pictures!

[rbarata]

What do you mean by being overwatered?
You can unpot Phals anytime, the disturbance is minimum. Note that, in this matter, Phals are one exception in the orchid world. You can even unpot it when in bloom

[estación seca]

It's been severely water stressed for a long time, many months. I see plenty of very healthy roots exposed. I don't know what the roots look like in the medium. I suspect they're all dead, so no water is getting to the plant.

I don't know how your watering system functions but it clearly doesn't work for this plant. Phals. require lots of air at the roots. I would not use a glass bowl with wet medium because I would be concerned there would not be enough air circulation at the roots. People grow them very successfully completely bare-root, without medium, in vases and bowls. They water by filling the vase periodically and letting the plant soak for a few hours, then emptying it completely. But most people grow them in pots with large, chunky medium.

There is a good chance it will survive. Phals. tolerate amazing amounts of dessication. The existing leaves are unlikely ever to look normal, but new, normal leaves should form. It may be several years before the plant flowers again.

For now I would take it out of that pot and gently remove all the old medium. Try not to damage roots. There is a good chance there will be lots of dead roots that fall off on their own. I recommend not cutting off anything that doesn't fall off on its own; it can be hard to tell which roots are really dead.

Then soak just the roots in a bowl of barely warm water for a few hours to begin rehydrating it.

While soaking have a look at a sticky thread here: From the left yellow menu choose Forums then Beginners. Near the top is a sticky thread, The Phal. abuse stops here. Read through the beginning few pages to get the sense.

It is fine to keep the plant bare-root for a few days or weeks while you collect the necessary materials for repotting. Soak it for a few hours every day or two, letting the roots dry between soakings.

I would then repot the plant using the commonest growing method, medium bark in the smallest pot into which you can fit the roots, and water by hand when the plant needs it. Keep it as warm as you can. When you repot, soak the roots for an hour or more so they are more flexible, then gently twist them into the pot. It's OK if a few crack; don't cut those off. Then backfill with medium. While the medium is fresh it will hold little water. You will either need to water often, every day or two, or water by soaking the pot in a bowl for an hour or two every few days.

[Hazza]

Thank you both so much for your kind advice!
Apologies for the delay in response.
I have taken the phal out of the bowl and am soaking it for a few hours then will return it without medium to see how it fares, there are a couple of good roots left and plenty of aerial ones growing too with another on the way, hopefully this signals the start of a recovery 🤞
Really appreciate the tips you both gave! Will update with any more promising progress, all the best!

[FranningtonBear]

Welcome Hazza, I'm another UK member!

Absolutely agree with what E_S has said. I also think this plant looks very dehydrated but would expect this plant to make a full recovery

[Hazza]

Hi FB! Thank you, really hope it recovers as I remember it produced really nice pink flowers.
I think all orchids are amazing but I’ve only ever had phals, unfortunately lost a couple due to negligence while learning more about them.
I also have one in bloom with 2 keikis growing around the crown!
Do you have many yourself?