My phalaenopsis (moth) orchid roots drying/dying

[johnny206]

Hi all - I'm a total newbie and I need help.

My moth orchid was doing really well until recently. I noticed a lot of roots are drying up and dying. Smaller ones looked completely dead, some larger roots are dried only in the middle section. The leaves look good but the flower stem looks bad. I've attached some photos for your perusal.

Also, how/when do I re-pot? The roots are growing out of holes in my pot, do I break the pot to re-pot the plant? Right now I have moss, is that the best medium?

Much obliged!

[JennS]

Hello! The roots in the first pic, are probably dead. Many of the roots in pics 2, 3 and 4 look pretty healthy, even though some have a little spot in them that looks skinnier. They should be OK.

What kind of care do you give this Phal? Also, where do you live, and where do you grow (indoors, windowsill, outdoors, etc.). Do you ever mist the phal? Many orchids, Phals included tend to get a bit unruly with their roots (in nature they have room to spread out their roots) when trying to grow in pots.

When you say the flower stem looks bad, what exactly do you mean? Are the flowers starting to die? Generally the flowers will last 2-3 months, but depending on when you bought the plant, it could have already been in bloom for some time. If you flowers are just wilting, fading, then falling off, it is probably normal. Once all flowers go, you can cut the stem back to the first node (you will see where there are little bumps on the flower spike) which is the lowest one on the spike. Sometimes a phal will re-spike from that same spike. It has never worked for me, but others have said it does.

If you have never repotted the plant, you might want to consider. To avoid breaking the pot, you can try soaking the plant (do this early in the day to allow dry out time) for an hour or so to make the roots really soft. Then you can gently work them out of the holes. Be patient, it will be time consuming.

I used to use moss on my phals, but it didn't dry out well inside my house. Once they went outside, it was find, but I chose to move them into bark w/charcoal and perlite mixed with about 25% of moss just to add some moisture. This works well for me, but it will dry out much quicker then the moss. Also, if the moss is old is will retain water much longer then it should (or did originally). If you chose to go with bark chips, soak them overnight in water (you can add some fertilizer or rooting hormone or Superthrive, or all to the water if you want). That will help the bark retain water better when you water.

Good luck!

[bonsai1504]

My guess would be not enough humidity

[Ross]

I grow mine in bark in a clear pot. I really think yours are too dessicated. I doubt any of the roots are really dead. I think the outer white layer is dessicated, but the actual root in the center may be fine (hard to say). These clay pots are decorative, to be sure, but cause many problems with watering and keeping roots healthy. Hope this helps somewhat.

[Royal]

I like using bark too. Clear pots take a lot of guess-work out of the equation.

[dounoharm]

best way to use a pot like that is as a cache pot...keep the phal in a clear plastic pot and place that inside the decorative pot....then you have the best of both worlds

[Ross]

That would work for situations where esthetics are really important. Thanks for suggesting that.

[johnny206]

Jenn,

Thank you so much for your reply. I live in Seattle and I keep the orchid near the window at my office. The only care I give this phal is water. I haven't fed any fertilizer to it yet. A friend told me to thoroughly water the plant and let it go until it's really dry - don't water it constantly. Is this the correct way to water it. I do mist the phal probably 3 times a week, is that too little?

Regarding the stem, the flowers have already fallen off and I cut it above the 2nd node - now the stem looks brown and dead. What to do?

Thanks to everyone for your input

Cheers,

Johnny206

[RosieC]

I would usually cut the old flower spike back as close to the plant as I can without damaging the plant it's self. If the remaining part has gone brown then nothing else will grow from it so there is no point keeping it.

Watering thoroughly then letting it dry out sounds about right. Just make sure it can drain well after the thorough watering so it is not standing in water.

Using clear pots as others have suggested has the great advantage that you can see when it needs watering. Water it thoroughly and then let it drain fully. The roots in the medium should turn green with the water, when they have gone back to silver and there are no beads of moisture on the inside of the pot it's time to water again.

Personally I only mist my Phals when I water them and they are doing well... but then my climate is probably different to yours and I don't really know what you are ment to do with misting.

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[Ray]

Johnny, how long has it been since the moss was replaced? If the sliver of a view of it, it looks pretty old, and that could be the source of the problem.