Floppy Leaves and Root Rot

[Gwenchanter]

So even though I've been growing Phals for 4 years, I've been very lucky and haven't had any root rot until now. In the past I always re-potted in bark as soon as I brought the phal home, but this year I bought several at one orchid show and didn't have time to repot them all since it was so close to finals week (I'm in college).

Anyway, I bought a beautiful Baldan's Kaelidoscope which was potted in tightly packed sphag. Everything else was in bark or aliflor mixes or more loosely packed sphag, so I water a little more often since the bark and aliflor don't hold much water. Needless to say, the one in sphag probably got watered too much, and lo and behold, the leaves started wilting badly. I didn't want to repot until after it finished blooming but yesterday I couldnt take it anymore because the leaves were just looking so terrible, so I pulled it out of it's pot in full bloom. I clipped off all of the rotted roots and there wasn't much in the way of healthy roots left. Then I sprayed it with fungicide and potted it up in a clay pot with a mixture of bark and aliflor.

I have done some reading and it seems that in this situation.. when there are very few good roots left, most people reccomend the sphag in a bag approach. I understand that the leaves are wilted because with too few roots to absorb water to fill the leaves, the leaves have become flaccid.

I'm concerned that here in Miami with the onset of summer coming soon and with the extreemly high natural humidity, putting an orchid in a bag with wet sphag is going to rot it all to heck. On the other hand, if I just leave the plant in bark, with too few roots, the top of the plant may die of dehydration.. on the other hand, I do keep my orchids outside on a covered patio and the humidity might be enough to keep the leaves alive while the roots are nice and well drained in the bark.

Any thoughts?

[bodaciousbonsai]

I would sphag -n- bag! in the cellar under a 2' or 4' flouresent light. be sure to check temps ya dont want cold. sphag -n- bag! was made for orchids that do not have any roots.

[Lene Th.]

What about doing a sphag and bag with the pot as well? Or as i do after repotting, putting a bag just over the leafs and the top of the pot, alowing the roots and cultur to dry out, but remaining the humidity on top as the plant recovers. This way the plant doesent have to work that hard, and can consentrate on growing roots instead.

[bodaciousbonsai]

Originally Posted by Lene Th.

What about doing a sphag and bag with the pot as well? Or as i do after repotting, putting a bag just over the leafs and the top of the pot, alowing the roots and cultur to dry out, but remaining the humidity on top as the plant recovers. This way the plant doesent have to work that hard, and can consentrate on growing roots instead.

you could try that. but beware of fungus on the leaves. they are most likely already in a state of dispair. when I do the sphag and bag. I soak the moss then give it a good squeeze. This way there isnt to much water build up in the bag. The plant is going to want to throw roots before repairing the leaves. I would check for signs of roots at least twice a week. Of course I also never did the sphag and bag with plants that had weakened or shrivled leaves.

[Ray]

In Miami, I would speculate that if you put it in a shady area outdoors, it will be warm and humid enough to regrow roots without a problem. The bag adds/prevents nothing.

[bodaciousbonsai]

Originally Posted by Ray

In Miami, I would speculate that if you put it in a shady area outdoors, it will be warm and humid enough to regrow roots without a problem. The bag adds/prevents nothing.

. I think thats a brit flag hmmm rain cooler temps. anyways listen to the expert. Right ray

[Gwenchanter]

Thanks Ray, that was sort of my thought too. I moved it to a more shady spot on my north west facing porch.

LOL Bodacious, we don't have cellars in Miami, Florida! If you dig down more than a foot you hit solid limestone, not to mention the water table. Thanks for the suggestions though, if they look worse next week I might try tenting it.

Lene I liked the idea of putting the whole pot in a bag too since I just repotted it in very good draining medium.
I might try that idea too.

Actually today my mom, who is not very good with orchids yet, brought over a root rotted phal thats in worse condition then mine, so mine doesn't look as bad to me anymore and I think it's going to me ok. My mom's might need a trip to the Orchid ER though. Actually I'm not sure if she overwatered it or just over fertilized it. I asked her how much food she was giving it and she said she puts about half a teaspoon full of fertilizer in a 2 quart tupperware container, fills it with water, and lets the orchid sit in that for 10 minutes. I use the same fertilizer and I put half a teaspoon in two GALLONS of water and then i pour it on and let drain. So yeah I think she was pretty much burning up it's roots. Thankfully she left it with me so I can try and save it becuase it was a really really nice big retired breeding plant from a local specialty hybridizer (Baldan's Orchids), and It would be an aweful shame to loose it.