Phal - advices about mutiple problems

[Franzwdk]

Hello,
I'm new here and I thank you for welcome me. I'm new in growing phals too. After lots of problems with bark culture, i'm trying full water culture and it seems to work very well.
When I decided to pratice such way of culture, I had to cut all roots (every roots were roted) and remove existing mold on the bottom of the phal.
Now, the phal is growing correctly with lot of new roots and new leaves. But I had some problems regarding its well growing:
-Somes leaves burn under to much sun exposure. This leaves are growing now but were very damaged. I had to cut one. Is there a way to cure them?
-I observed one damaged area on leaves of the same side that I can't explained. Perhaeps you could help me to identify this.
- One leaf is getting yellow from it's extremity and I didn't know why.

You could find some pictures of this.

Thanks for you greatfull help and I apologize for my very poor English...

[Dusty Ol' Man]

First of all, welcome to the OB. You've come to the right place.
I can't speak to water culture as I have no experience with it. About the sunburn, there is no need to cut a burnt leaf. The areas of the leaf that are still green are still producing food for the plant. There is no way to heal the burnt leaves, but if you leave them alone they will eventually die and fall on their own.

Good luck with your plants. Just keep them out of direct sunlight and they will be fine.

[estación seca]

Welcome!

Water culture can be a problem in winter if your house is cool. Orchids grow slowly, so I agree not to cut off anything. They will drop what they don't need. If it's happy new, beautiful leaves will grpw.

[Ray]

Phalaenopsis are low-light plants that should never be exposed to direct sunlight.

I am not a fan of water culture, as the lack of potting medium gives the plant no mechanical stability, which they prefer.

That damage in the 3rd photo is nothing to be concerned about.

The yellowing of the leaf may be an indication that your current technique is not providing enough water to the plant. The silvery-gray coating on the roots is the velamen, which is what absorbs water for the plant to draw in. If you're going to continue with water culture, immerse all the roots for a few minutes, then drain.

[Franzwdk]

Thanks you very much for all your answers.
I suppose, due to the yellowing leaf, I had to add water in order to immerse more important part of roots. Only if I want to continue water culture...
The choice of water culture is only a test after having great trouble in bark. I'm trying full water culture because I never suceed in semi hydro.
I was wondering if I put it in sphagnum moss to try this kind of way of culture.
I'm interresting in understanding how the culture medium could bring some mechanical stability for the growth.

About damage on the third picture, I firstly thought that was an insecte but never observed it. From now I was wondering if that was some kind of rot...

[Roberta]

Think about how Phalaenopsis grows in nature - on the trunk or branch of a tree. It gets rained on (heavy tropical rain) then the rain stops and it dries out somewhat. Its roots are fully exposed to the air. But in that environment it is very warm, and very humid. When we grow them in pots, in our homes, we can't duplicate the natural conditions, but we can approximate the most important part - humid air, wetting and them some drying - but not drying completely. In bark, you really can't over-water. The water flows through the pot, pulling air behind it. It then drains out, leaving behind humid air (bark is wet but there are lots of air spaces). If that is your medium, you need to water every few days. Sphagnum can be an excellent medium, but you need to water differently. If it gets soaked, it needs longer to dry out. But if it gets completely dry, it is very hard to re-wet.

The disadvantage of semi-hydro for Phals is the same as the ADVANTAGE for many other orchids - lots of air, and evaporation. The evaporation cools the roots... great for Paphiopedilums, Oncidiums, and many other orchids that don't like heat. However, that is usually too much cooling for Phals, which like to stay warm (25 deg C or higher is best).

So first, focus on what conditions you need to achieve, then look at the various possibilities for medium, based on the rest of your conditions including the amount of time you can devote to watering. So decide WHAT you need to achieve, then you can examine the HOW to do that (likely there is more than oine "right answer").

[tmoney]

howdy, and welcome to the ob! definitely agree with everyone that maybe its best not to cut too much more off. we occasionally will cut the end of a leaf off, but that is vanity more than necessity! it doesn't seem to hurt the plant.

for stability in water culture, we have found that using tiny glasses like shot glasses work great for phals. you need to be a bit gentle tucking all the roots in there without breaking (soak them well first to make them more flexible) and the tight glass will hold the plant just fine. most of our we can turn over and the plant stays right in the glass, no problems. for soaking, we have had good results with 8-12 hour soaks, and 3 days of dry in between.

in winter, you can get creative. assuming you have radiators for heat (like most of europe), then put a conductive surface on top of your radiator and put the plants on them. when you run the heat they sat nice and warm. sort of like a seedling heat mat, but using your radiator. sort of depends on how much you heat in winter tho i guess....

your plant looks fine and should bloom if you can give it enough light and a shift in temps throughout the year...

[Franzwdk]

Your explications are very clear and let me know how to adapte my way of culture.
What do you think about automatic spray/fogger in order to have regular water and dry periode ( exemple: Intelligent Reptile Fogger Terrariums Humidifier Electronic Timer Automatic Mist | eBay Could it be a good way to have regular watering and drying periodes? It could create an athmosphere closer natural conditions. I never seen litterature on web that deal with this subject.

Conditions of culture:
- Summer:
- day: about 30°C and 40% moisture;
- night: about 20/25°C, same moisture;
- Winter:
- day: about 18° and 50% moisture;
- night: about 15°C, same moisture

[Roberta]

That would be a lot of trouble and expense for a Phalaenopsis...

Just put it in a medium with lots of air (bark or sphagnum, your choice). Water it well, let it drain. Weigh it on a kitchen scale or postal scale. The next day, weigh it again. When the rate of weight loss slows down (in a day or two or three) there is little water left to evaporate, so time to water again.

Keep it simple. These are very forgiving plants. Rerad the first few pages of the "sticky thread"
The Phal abuse ends here. there is a lot of good information to help your Phalaenopsis thrive. One more thing... be very reluctant to cut things. We all have imperfections...

[tmoney]

agree with roberta that we wouldn't mess with that. but your humidity at 40 avg is a bit lower than ours id say and so that will for sure affect your culture. but yeah, it wouldn't make me go out and get misters and stuff.

really you just gotta keep em "bright" and at a decent low temp in winter. if you run air condition with forced air then that is another thing we cant give you any advice but that we know really can mess with some plants.

honestly we grow phals at similar low temps just fine (but maybe higher day winter temps so the avg is higher). species and hybrids, so personally i wouldn't stress too much about the temps. the trick you gotta figure out in winter is the wet dry cycle to avoid rotting the roots. if you can keep your roots alive then it'll be just fine. but yes, at those temps our plants basically go dormant and don't do much for about 2-4 months of the year.

edit: you can force temps a bit by giving the plant some direct morning sun ONLY in winter. yes, i know everyone says to never give phals direct light, but in winter, through a window, for only a couple hours when ambient temps are 15 or 16, and trust me the plant will thank you...i don't care what anyone says. we do this with our phals and they have never complained. but the affect is that the plant warms up and it can raise your avg daily winter temps a tiny bit. mind you, this is just our uninformed, beginners opinion!!!!