How do I save my dried out Phal

[RosieC]

Hi, I'm new here but I hope someone can give me some advice.

I have a problem with one of my three Phals (unforunately it's my favorite of the three).
I think it has got too dry and I'm wondering what to do to help it recover.

I've just come back from a week away and the weather turned unexpectedly hot while I was away. The other two which I bought this spring look fine. But the older one which I've had about three years is looking really ill.

I re-potted this one at the beginning of June and I had to cut away some dead roots (they were dry and dead not mushy). I was very careful to keep it humid for a month then put it back with the other two, and it was doing well when I went away last week with the new leaf growing well, new extenstions starting to grow on two of the arial roots and even a new flower stem apearing. (I know it's the wrong time of year but all three have got new flower stems having already flowered in the spring).

When I got back it has six of the nine leaves looking wrinkled and wilted. The lowest two are yellowed as well. The top two were limp but not wrinkled and seem to have strengthened already with a bit of water. The new leaf seemed still OK when I got back.

So is there more that I can do?
Is the answer to keep it humid again like when it was repotted?
Will the wrinkled leaves ever recover or am I just trying to save the rest of the plant?
Does it sound like this plant will survive at all (it has loverly deep purple flowers and I would hate to loose it)?

It would be great if anyone has advice.

[icedtea2008]

It definatly sounds like it got too dry, even though you were only away for a week. If you repotted it in a mixture with no sphagnum moss, like a fir bark, charcoal, and perlite mixture, this might be why it dried out more quickly than your others, if they have sphagnum moss in the mix. Of course, a little hot weather usually does the trick as well =P. We have a few Phals where i work that got too dry and wilted and got the shriveled look in the leaves, and what i was told to do was to water them a little more frequently than normal (not too much to avoid molding and such) and to place them on some mesh wire racks we have there over dishes of rather warm water, to give them a little more humidity. This was just recently that I did this, and I think that i do see some recovery in the Phals (slight but noticable), but there may be more effective ways to cure this, and i'm not sure how long it will be before yours will recover, given the extent that it wilted, but i wouldn't worry about the plant dying or anything. I hope this helps!

[RosieC]

Thanks, I've read elsewhere on this forum tonight about putting water in trays under the pots to raise the humidity so I'll give that a try.

I really hope that as you say the plant shouldn't die. I've just checked again and the two leaves that had flopped but not shrivelled seem even stronger than last time I checked so I'm hopeful that it will live with at least those leaves even if it ends up severly reduced in size.

Thanks again

[RosieC]

I can't see any sign of moss in the other two, but I know this one was re-potted just in bark. It does seem to dry out slightly faster than the others although it usually lasts a week.

It was great for my holiday (also in the UK) that the weather went suddenly hot, but not so good for the plants I left behind.

[kalla]

Hi RosieC ,

I'm very sure your chid will recover. Standing dry for some days is not killing a Phal.
Do not water too much, because of mould. Once a day spray slightly with water over both sides of the leaves, and do not expose to sunlight. Maybe a leaf or two will die, but the Phal should survive. I'm very sure. I wouldn't
use fertilizer until the Phal has recovered.

You can also put a translucent plastic bag over it, to increase air-humidity (Zip-Lock bag f.e).

Love from
Kalla

[Lene Th.]

I got a phal to rescue for about a month ago, this one had suffered with to little water, and its leafs where all shriveled and pretty dry. The old lady who ownes this one got sick, and her husband put this chid away, and pretty mutch forgot to water it for several months, the only time it got water was when the maid remembered to give it a little...
I repotted it, as it had out-grown its pots a long time ago, and started to increase humudity, and watered it a soon as the medium got dry.
Now it has a spike, and the two youngest leafs have firmed back

[RosieC]

Thanks for the encoragement that it should survive

I'm going to try spraying the leaves. This one is a bit large to go in any of the bags we've got. I've seen a plastic cover for propergation of seedlings in the local garden center and I'm thinking I might give that a try to put it under.

Thanks again

[JennS]

If you do decide to put it in the bag make sure it is not going to get any direct sunlight because that could bake your plant instead! I would go for the humidity trays. I have struggled with finding somewhat attractive ways to do this, but finally found one. I took some pottery that I had made (just bowls, but pretty colors) and it luckily is pretty much all blue tones so it is not ugly. Then I used the little glass beads that they sell at florist shops to put in the vase to anchor the stems. They come in all sorts of colors (mine are just clear). Or you could collect some pebbles or something. You just don't want to the plant to be sitting in the water.

Your Phal can perk up though, it just takes time. They do not respond as quickly as some plants. If you are not seeing a big improvement you could (I know this is painful) cut the spike off to tell the plant to put it's energy back into leaves and new roots. However, if you really want those flowers, it should still recover it just might take a bit longer. Good luck and keep us posted!

[RosieC]

Thanks Jenn, I was actually just about to ask if it would be best to remove the spike.

It has already flowered this year in the spring (previously it has been quite reliable at flowering every year) and one of my others has also just produced a spike.

It IS a painful thought but I think I'm going to remove it and hope the plant has recovered enough to flower again next year, meanwhile I'll enjoy the flowers from the other Phal. It's a shame because this one is the prettiest colour in my view, that's why I want to make sure the plant it's self is healthy even if I sacrifice this spike.

[RosieC]

Oh and if I do remove it should I use something on the base of the spike afterwards. I've read about listerine or cinoman on this forumn in different circumstances, is this a case for either of those or for something different?