Phal Advice Needed - Orchid Board

Sweet_Piece_Of_Work · #1 06-10-2008, 07:24 PM

Okay...My plant is a pretty good size white phal with fairly large blooms. That is, when it had blooms. Which brings me to one of my reasonings for joining the forum....my worries about the care i give my current orchid. I hope to eventually obtain several different species, but first i have to care for this one and i need some advice. So here is my story. First off this is my very first orchid and it was gifted to me about 3 or 4 months ago with 3 spikes and about 5 or 6 blooms on it. As soon as i got it i immediately began to research the orchid and its care and began to follow most of the advice given on the net. After a few weeks a couple of the blooms fell off, which i expected, but it also budded and bloomed about 3 more blooms after losing those few. Eventually over the next 4 or 5 weeks all of the blooms had fallen off. About a week or so after the blooms fell off one of the spikes turned a weird yellowish brown color and dried up. I eventually ended up cutting that spike down to the very bottom of the plant. My first question is was this a mistake or did i do the right thing? I also wanted to know if i did the right thing by trimming the other 2 spikes down to where the first blooms were? I trimmed the other 2 spikes because they too were turning color and i wanted to stop it before it destroyed the entire spike. One spike is fine now and the other I don't know about yet. If it continues to turn color and dry up what should i do then? Trim it again?...I then noticed that the plant had alot of roots coming out the little plastic pot filled with moss so after reading up on it a bit i re-potted the plant in a clay pot with proper bark and trimmed off all the dead roots. Was this a good thing to do? Or could i have harmed it? Its been about 13 days since the re-potting and now one leaf has turned completely yellow and another looks as though it is turning to. What does this mean? Also are they suppose to droop over the pot or stand out? The color of the other leaves are a bright green color, which they have always been, and some of the leaves have this dark color on they're bottoms. Is this a fungus or disease? I also wanted to say that I mist this plant 3 or 4 times a week lightly in the morning and in the afternoon. I water about once every 7-10 days and have only used fertilizer once after getting it. I also try to keep a tray of rocks with water in it under the pot. Should i not do that? The temp in my house stays between 75-85 degrees all the time and my plant sits facing a south window with a sheer curtain over it.Since re-potting though it has only been watered once and is in a dark spot away from direct light. I've uploaded pics of my plant so that you can see what all I'm talking about. Three of them are of the last bloom and the others are the plant in its current state. Sorry for the long post and the carrying on and on but I'm only trying to be as accurate as possible in describing it all to you so i can hopefully become successful at caring for orchids.

Thanks,
Robert

CodiMN · #2 06-10-2008, 07:42 PM

Hi Robert!

Whew! Lots of questions here! Let's just take a few at a time.
Yes, orchids (your orchid is a phalenopsis) don't always keep their spike year after year. Cutting a dried up, brown spike is okay.
Now my biggest concern is about the roots. You said you trimmed the dead roots? How did you know they were dead? You may have shocked the plant by doing too much to it all at once. If you have pics of the roots that would be great.
Is there a reason you choose a clay pot? Good choice though to switch out of the moss, moss creates a moist-er environment. Moss can be okay IF you have a VERY dry climate, or are trying some sprag-n-bag technique.
Anyway, take it one step at a time. Take a breath, it'll be okay.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweet_Piece_Of_Work

Okay...My plant is a pretty good size white phal with fairly large blooms. That is, when it had blooms. Which brings me to one of my reasonings for joining the forum....my worries about the care i give my current orchid. I hope to eventually obtain several different species, but first i have to care for this one and i need some advice. So here is my story. First off this is my very first orchid and it was gifted to me about 3 or 4 months ago with 3 spikes and about 5 or 6 blooms on it. As soon as i got it i immediately began to research the orchid and its care and began to follow most of the advice given on the net. After a few weeks a couple of the blooms fell off, which i expected, but it also budded and bloomed about 3 more blooms after losing those few. Eventually over the next 4 or 5 weeks all of the blooms had fallen off. About a week or so after the blooms fell off one of the spikes turned a weird yellowish brown color and dried up. I eventually ended up cutting that spike down to the very bottom of the plant. My first question is was this a mistake or did i do the right thing? I also wanted to know if i did the right thing by trimming the other 2 spikes down to where the first blooms were? I trimmed the other 2 spikes because they too were turning color and i wanted to stop it before it destroyed the entire spike. One spike is fine now and the other I don't know about yet. If it continues to turn color and dry up what should i do then? Trim it again?...I then noticed that the plant had alot of roots coming out the little plastic pot filled with moss so after reading up on it a bit i re-potted the plant in a clay pot with proper bark and trimmed off all the dead roots. Was this a good thing to do? Or could i have harmed it? Its been about 13 days since the re-potting and now one leaf has turned completely yellow and another looks as though it is turning to. What does this mean? Also are they suppose to droop over the pot or stand out? The color of the other leaves are a bright green color, which they have always been, and some of the leaves have this dark color on they're bottoms. Is this a fungus or disease? I also wanted to say that I mist this plant 3 or 4 times a week lightly in the morning and in the afternoon. I water about once every 7-10 days and have only used fertilizer once after getting it. I also try to keep a tray of rocks with water in it under the pot. Should i not do that? The temp in my house stays between 75-85 degrees all the time and my plant sits facing a south window with a sheer curtain over it.Since re-potting though it has only been watered once and is in a dark spot away from direct light. I've uploaded pics of my plant so that you can see what all I'm talking about. Three of them are of the last bloom and the others are the plant in its current state. Sorry for the long post and the carrying on and on but I'm only trying to be as accurate as possible in describing it all to you so i can hopefully become successful at caring for orchids.

Thanks,
Robert

Sweet_Piece_Of_Work · #3 06-10-2008, 07:56 PM

The only roots that I cut off were all brown and empty/dried. I left all the other roots alone. I followed the instructions from AOS and am pretty confident that I didn't cut ones that were healthy roots. I didn't think to take pics of the roots at the time. And no there was no special reasoning for a clay pot except the size. Thanks for the reply. I know my post seems a bit overwhelming but i wanted to be sure that I got all of my concerns out there at once.

Robert

priz_m · #4 06-10-2008, 08:37 PM

Hey Robert! welcome to the OB! (I was reading your intro post). Well looks like you'e taken textbook care of your phal so far, I don't believe is infected by anything the leaf could have turned yellow over the loss of roots, which reminds me, how many roots (or %) did you cut back?

My experience with my 1st phal was root rot, it came in moss and I over watered it lost 90% of its roots and 2 leaves, hence my question. (it recovered BTW)

Your phal seems to have a lot of leaves, so the yellowing could also have something to do with aging (given the drying spikes and all)

I wouldn't sweat it, seems like you are doing an excellent job taking care of it, phals are though, they can take repotting while in bloom.

Personally I would hold the fertilizing for a couple weeks, and as for the misting, well since you already have set up a humidity tray... perhaps is not absolutely required.

I hope to have been of some help, I'm sure everybody at OB will help you look after it!

jkofferdahl · #5 06-10-2008, 09:48 PM

As others have said, it sounds as though you did everything right. It's natural for a bloomed spike to wither, and you cut it correctly. Trimming them back as you did the others may encourage the stem to regrow, which is wonderful, too. However, if they also dry out don't worry.

It's good to give a plant a break after repottinng. Keep a close eye, though, on the bark. Fresh bark dries very quickly - I've seen it dry after just one day where I keep mine. You don't want to overwater, but underwatering is also not a good thing (though better than over-).

Leaves often yellow with age, or stress, and die off. That's also a normal thing. It's likely that the lost leaf will soon be replaced by new growth. I get almost as excited by new leaves as by a spike on my Phals.

The nice thing about an adult Phal is that they can take a lot of abuse. I've seen them fall on a greenhouse floor and get left there for days before being picked back up and repotted, and soon thereafter go into bloom (though I wouldn't advise this!!!).

Enjoy the plant - and consider yourself hooked!

quiltergal · #6 06-11-2008, 12:29 AM

Welcome to the OB.

First of all I want to compliment you on asking very to the point questions, and giving as much detail as possible.

I just finished repotting 8 plants last weekend. 3 of the 8 had root rot and they were brand new. Often new orchid growers blame themselves if the plant dies of root rot when in reality they bought it that way and it just happened to die on their watch.

I personally prefer to cut the spikes all the way back. I did that with all my Phals last summer and I had an amazing bloom season this spring. I let them put their energy into growing new leaves and roots during the summer. I feel it keeps the plant healthier and you get better bigger blooms in the spring. JM

Sounds like your repotting went well. I personally prefer clear plastic pots because I can see what's going on with the roots and when it's time to water again. Often roots will attach themselves to clay pots and it can be difficult to get them off without breaking them when it's time to repot again. Did you soak your bark 24 hours before using it? Soaking opens up the fibers of the bark and allows it to retain a little more water.

Lastly I want to ask...did you notice you actually have two plants?

Gotta love those two furs! You could have separated them when you repotted and had two plants. Then again when the bloom cycle roles around again, hopefully they'll bloom at the same time and give you a great show!

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #7 06-11-2008, 01:57 AM

Your Phalaenopsis looks fine.

If the spike has dried, it's alright to cut. If the spike hasn't, some of the other members here have tricks to get the spike to kheiki. But I've found that sometimes they naturally kheiki from the spike.

You may have several kheikis growing from the plant itself. Next time you repot, check to see if some of them can be shaken loose.

The yellowing leaf looks like an old leaf, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Cutting off dead roots during repotting is good. Keeps healthy roots from being possibly contaminated with unwanted fungus. Healthy roots also look stronger when the dead ones are removed.

Repotting into large wood chips is good.

Finally, Phalaenopsis grow on tree branches and tree trunks sideways. They don't naturally grow upright like Vandas do. The plant will naturally go over the side of the pot and the leaves will eventually droop.

Jadeco · #8 07-23-2008, 04:44 PM

So, after a phalaenopsis spike's blooms fall off, should I a) cut it or b) wait until the spike dries until I cut it?

Also, a couple of my phals have sphag moss. Should I take it out?

Ross · #9 07-23-2008, 06:17 PM

Jumping in here late, welcome! Now on the Phal, I personally cut all flower spikes back next to the leaf after they are done. I am one who doesn't like to stress my plants. Often, leaving the green flower stalk will allow another side shoot to develope with more blossoms. Keep in mind, though, that in the plant world (not just orchids) flowering sucks off more energy from the plant than any other event. Since you said there were some issues with the leaves (not sure what's going on there) I offer my suggestion to cut the flower stems and hope the plant regains its strength. Now the next issue is water and fertilizer

Jadeco · #10 07-24-2008, 03:48 AM

Nope, no issues with the leaves. But the grower put sphagnum moss in the pot on top of the roots, so I'm not sure if I should take the moss out. Actually, the spike is losing its nice deep green color and beginning to yellow-brown a little. I think it's time to cut!

Should I lessen the fertilizer while it rests? I usually water and fertilize weekly (weakly), so should I start doing so monthly?