Phalaenopsis, special care? - Orchid Board

MT-Phal · #1 02-13-2009, 05:57 PM

Hi,

I'm new to the boards. Well, I have a phalaenopsis which I have owned for a handful of years now. I'm wondering about whether or not I should remove an old old stem that will now be partically underneath the medium. Will it rot? Also, b/c of it's age there is now a lengthy stem underneath the plant, from old leaves come and gone. Should I trim or remove this one as well? Last time I repotted, this stem was subject to white mold. I would include a picture of my current situation, but I don't yet know how to do that.

Well, any tips would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

nenella · #2 02-13-2009, 06:36 PM

Hi & welcome to the OB!
Well, without photos it's not easy to say...
for example I have a phal. which has been flowering from the same stem since 2006... and it's perfect (good root system and very turgid leaves) so I have no reason to cut the flower stems....
As for yours, It depends on a few things....
Is the stem still green? Has it got buds developing at the end of it? Why is the stem 'under' the medium ? Did that happen when you repotted it?
the other 2 important issues are : What do the roots look like? What do the leaves look like? Has it grown any new ones since you've had it? ...a photo or 2 would be very helpful..
I look forward to seeing photos so as to be more helpful to you.

MT-Phal · #3 02-13-2009, 07:29 PM

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MT-Phal · #4 02-13-2009, 07:33 PM

hey, sorry... i thought that it would stay rotated, but alas... it did not. The current roots are not doing too well, most of them have stopped growing. That long stem pointing upwards has been dead for sometime... and that stem on the bottom, showing the age of this plant, had issues with white mold. At one point there were roots growing out of it, but root rot took care of those pretty quickly.

As you can also see, there are new roots actively growing and there is currently a new leaf on it's way.

camille1585 · #5 02-13-2009, 07:38 PM

It's much clearer to understand with the pic! I would go ahead and remove the dried brown flower stem, it will not do anything more.
As for the 'stem' below the roots, I think it might be ok to cut some of it off. The roots above it look very good and healthy, and since you say there is white mold growing on it, cutting it might be a good idea. Then you can seal the wound with cinnamon. Wait and see what others will recommend, my phals are not yet old enough to have such underground 'stems' to deal with!

nenella · #6 02-13-2009, 07:54 PM

Wow! it looks good to me!!!
As Camille said, Cut the yellow 'dried ' up flower stem off as It's 'finished'...
The roots look perfectly OK to me!
If it was mine I would cut off (use a clean sterile tool) where line marked in red, Probably a bit 'higher' ...then be sure to dust with cinnamon on those parts and re-pot ..
just make sure that if you use bark you soak it before.. a clear plastic pot would be 'best' as you can watch the roots and water accordingly (there are many posts on the subject here on OB)
but as mentioned above your roots look very good and so does the plant !
Good luck !
hope this is helpful

MT-Phal · #7 02-13-2009, 08:03 PM

i'll do that, thanks a lot! now I guess I'll have to run to Home Depot...

kiki-do · #8 02-13-2009, 08:23 PM

MT I would dip the roots in listerine before repotting. That will help cleanse it from anything suspicious. Regular listerine, not minty. If you have any KLN root hormone, that might help it some also. Cut off anything black and mushy to the touch. The rest looks good. And I agree, that old stem should be cut also. Good luck.

RosieC · #9 02-14-2009, 05:29 AM

I would agree with Nenella about where to cut the lower stem. If there are no roots on that bit then it's probably best to remove it.

Dust the cut with cinnomon BUT avoid getting cinnomon on the good roots. It can dry them out too much and cause problems.

As Kiki said if you can get hold of something like KLN then that will also help.

MT-Phal · #10 02-19-2009, 08:45 PM

thanks guys, so i'm almost ready to repot. i removed the old stem, trimmed the lower stem and i actually dusted the whole thing with cinnamon just be safe, as i remember there being a little mold in that area before. i'm letting it sit for a couple hours, and i'm actually repotting into a small plastic container from the grocery store that held plums, b/c i couldn't find a pot small enough at Home Depot.