Thought I was doing good until.....

[NeoOrchid]

Hello all!
Well! One of my orphans has given me a lovely bloom and I am sooo proud! My spotted paph has endured and struggled through my newness!
However,I thought my other orphans ( 5 phals and one dendrobium) were doing well I found out otherwise! Boo hoo
I water my plants once a week with filtered water, tepid or slightly cooler. Weakly feed monthly. They are all in clay pots in medium bark with volcanic rock and charcoal. As I prepared to water my plants I noticed yucky roots in one pot....yucky roots there too...and as Harry Potter says "What the!"
I quickly removed potting medium from a plant and root rot! Yikes!
HELP! Why am I seeing root rot with weekly watering? I did notice the medium appears broken down already. Is my problem the medium? pots? heat? light?
Please help! pray:

[SP2340]

You got me... how's the air movement?

[RosieC]

OK, first things first. If you have root rot you should cut away the rotten roots. If there are not many/any good roots left you may want to try Sphag and Bag (Sphag-n-Bag). If there are lots of good roots left then repot into fresh medium.

Second, is watering. Watering weekly is not always the right frequency. It all depends on your enviroment and the medium it's self. I favour clear plastic pots because it makes it easy to judge watering.

Rather than just watering on a set time-frame you should water when the plant needs it. For Phals you should let them fully dry between waterings. With a clear pot you can check if the medium is dry all the way down. Phal roots will turn silvery when they are dry and go green when they still have enough water. Another way to test is to use a wooden stake which can be pushed down into the medium for at least a few hours and then pulled out. If it is damp you know it is not dry yet.

If the medium is broken down then it will dry more slowly than you might exect. Also it may cause suffocation of the roots because it is so packed arround the roots.

How old is the medium. It may break down quicker if it is kept too damp, but I'm not sure what other reasons it may break down too quickly.

[learning2letgo]

Perhaps you should change your potting medium? I've found a good little critter for judging plant moisture in potted houseplants, of which, I am going to purchase several next weekend...

Lowe's and Home Depot (and I'm sure a few other retail garden centers) both carry these little hardened clay worms that you push into the potting medium of your houseplants and when it's dark, your plants are moist and well watered and as the medium dries out, so does Mr. Wormie... LOL... I know they're a little gaudy in some opinions, but who cares? I think they're a great idea!

[MuscleGirl'sHobby]

Good answers above.

I really like the clear pots for this exact reason. I recently averted disaster since the first signs of rot/fungus are usually deeper down in the pot where it stays wet longer. I was able to re-pot before the roots were affected.

It sounds like your media may have been a bit broken down. As was said above, watering frequency really depends on your growing conditions, i.e. humidity, air circulation, temperatures, type of media etc.

I'd certainly re-pot ASAP. It might not be a bad idea to take a peek at your other plants just to make sure they're not in early stages of rot as well.

Hope you get it tackled! Good luck

[quiltergal]

I've discovered that some of the pre-mixed bags of orchid bark are already half decomposed before you ever use it. It gets bagged up damp and goodness knows how long it sits around cooking away in it's sealed plastic bag. I prefer to mix my own from scratch. That way I know what I'm getting and how long it will generally last. There are lots of places to order potting media online. rePotme Orchid Supplies - Orchid Mix - Orchid Pots - Orchid Fertilizer comes to mind. You can also get the clear pots there as well. http://calwesttropical.com/ has good stuff also.

[learning2letgo]

Clear pots are definitely a good suggestion, but I drop my clear pots inside a clay pot and others only see the clay pot! Grand idea and you can push your finger through the hole on the bottom of the clay orchid pots and lift your plant right out in the clear plastic pot with no problem!

I have started making my own medium from the bagged bark at Home Depot, plain charcoal (which I've crushed myself) and packing peanuts (which I've crumbled).... You just have to play around with your mediums... There's really no right or wrong medium form your 'chids as long as you keep a constant check on the moisture level to your roots... After all, these are epiphytic creatures whose roots are normally suspended in air on the side of something in their natural habitats

Best of luck in assessing your problem and finding a solution!

[Lagoon]

What about lighting & tempts???

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by learning2letgo

Clear pots are definitely a good suggestion, but I drop my clear pots inside a clay pot and others only see the clay pot!

I do something similar but use decorative outer pots designed for 'chids. No hole in the bottom but they have either a buldge in the bottom which holds the inner pot off the bottom, or a lip which the inner pot stands on. This means the inner pot does not sit in any water which drips out.