what to do with sick phal. - Orchid Board

playtime8978 · #1 03-29-2009, 03:52 AM

I posted some time ago that I managed to give one of my first Phals. root rot and it was rather poorly all the leaves are floppy and there was only one really viable root left and two aerial roots which is tucked into the new bark. My question is what should I do with it, a month on it has done nothing, it has not died it is still holding on to its floppy leaves but neither is it showing any signs of new roots its in low light and watered infrequently. I was thinking of semi - hydro but have read that that might not be the best plan for a sick plant, sooo I am open to suggestions this guy obviously wants to survive as it is not dead yet so there must be something I can do to give him a fighting chance. Thank you in advance for your help.

camille1585 · #2 03-29-2009, 07:46 AM

Right now what you need to do it to keep the leaves from losing too much moisture while the plant tries to grow more roots. You can try tenting the pot to raise the humidity level, by putting a clear bag over the plant. Don't close it at the bottom, air still needs to circulate. If you do this, make sure that the plant is not getting an direct sunlight, or else it will fry!
On my phals, I noticed that misting the base of the plant (where roots would appear) about twice a day seems to help with root growth. I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but it might be worth the try.

RosieC · #3 03-29-2009, 08:03 AM

I didn't have much luck with tenting one of mine. That's not to say it's not a good idea but it did not seem to help for me.

I have found that watering with slightly warm water has helped prompt root growth. I have also got hold of some KLN to try and prompt root growth. You can get it in the UK from...

http://www.orchidaccessories.co.uk/catalog/

(... but if that's all you want to buy from him give him a ring on the number at the bottom of the site because he charges actual postage for phone orders rather than a set value for web orders. It works out cheeper for small orders to phone.)

As for keeping the leaves from going floppy, that's difficult, especially if tenting is not working. I keep a close eye on watering, but I am careful not to overwater.

I don't know if it's a good idea, but I take mine out the pot arround once a week, and let the roots dry for a couple of hours (as well as spreading out the bark and letting that dry) then I put it back in and water again. I probably water my sick one several times a week as aposed to once a week like my other Phals, but drying out the medium and roots regularly seems to have stopped any rot.

playtime8978 · #4 03-29-2009, 08:51 AM

Thank you Camile and Rosie, I will try tenting first and misting the surface of the medium and see if that help I will give it a couple of weeks to 3 weeks and if nothing happens we will go to plan B, I will also water with warmed water, I normally do but not always and I will look into the cost of the KLN. Thank you so much for the help.