Embarrasing disaster, I overloved the little buddy...

[stillinkansas]

Ok, so I know I asked about some possibly bad looking leaves on my Phal the other day. Well, the leaves fell off. The FTD place that I got the orchid through (sent through mail) potted it rather poorly in some sphagnum moss. This would not have been so evil if they had left a note saying "Please dont overwater, this moss is deceivingly water retentive." The problem was that I did not know that the moss was there at all so in all of the month that I have had the plant, it has been dying slowly. So I rescued it and put it in another pot with new bark/charcoal mixed medium and snipped off all the dead or dead-looking roots (which was alot) and now I am getting ready to cut back the post-bloom spike to promote root/leaf growth. My question is should I cut it down to right above the very bottom spike or should i just cut the main spike (the only one that flowered) past the first flower? I also know to treat the slice with cinnamon or sulfur or another similar thing. How about watering...fertilizer? What can I do to improve my chances? My beautiful anniversary gift to my girlfriend of "undying love" appears almost dead...I knew I'd lose one or two plants but I am going to fight this one to the last breath. It's the principle. Overwatering? root rot? I would have laughed a month ago...

Any ideas on how I can save face and a phalaenopsis, come and share.

embarrassed thanks,
-alex

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

You could try mounting your plant. It could help solve a very frustrating mistake. I also gather your plant may not have a whole lot of roots left, so mounting is another reason it'd be to your advantage. Hypothetically if your plant has two good roots that are pretty short, the Phal can still live provided you mount the plant on wood, but if you tried potting it there's a chance you'll overpot and rot the remaining roots out. The reason is, it's hard to find small pots, and if you managed to find one, the plant is going to be top heavy.

And cut the entire spike down to as close to the plant as possible.

However if you decide to purchase another Phalaenopsis and grow it in a pot, my recommendation is to keep it potbound. Grow it in bright shade. Water approximately once a week. The media of choice would be large grade fir bark.

[stillinkansas]

Thanks, King. I cut the spike and i'll keep an eye on it. New leaves should develop within a few weeks/months, right? Should I water it or fertilize it or anything?

Thanks,
-alex

[jkofferdahl]

I would agree with cutting the spike down all of the way. As far as watering is concerned, the plant, after repotting, does need to settle a bit. Keep it humid, but let it dry pretty well before you water it the first time. It shouldn't take long for you to see new root development, maybe a month or so at the most. Phals only grow one or two leaves a year, typically, so it may take longer before you see a new leaf. Be patient!

[camille1585]

How many roots are there left? If it still has a few, pot it up in the smallest pot the roots will fit. Too big of a pot and the medium won't dry properly, leading to more rot. Try to use a clear pot if possible (I cut a soda bottle and add lots of holes a the bottom, works well as a makeshift pot) and if you can see the roots, water only when they are silver. (green means they have enough moisture) It's better to keep it on the dryish side, as it helps promote root growth. If the humidity is low in your home and there are very few roots, you can tent it with a clear plastic bag. Air can still go in and out, but some moisture is contained. I managed to revive an orchid my mother partially killed. Took a while to see some growth.
Luckily this is the time of year for growing, so hopefully you should see some new roots or leaves soon!

[RosieC]

I've tried (and it seems to be working) a slightly different aproach to potting up a Phal with only a couple of roots.

I've taken a standard size pot and put an upturned yougurt pot inside it. The yogurt pot has had the lip cut off and slits cut in the sides. I then have packing peanuts arround the yogurt pot. There is only bark in a shallow layer at the very top of the pot.

There is still a problem that the medium does not dry quickly enough and the few roots get dry and the plant goes limp before it has dried out. I have overcome this by removing the Phal from the pot/medium once a week (sometimes once every two weeks). I lay out the bark on a tray to dry for about 8 hours and meanwhile I dunk the Phals roots in water for maybe an hour. After the medium is dry I pot it back up and water it (medium and plant).

It's not the simplest way of ensuring the medium dries while the Phal still gets enough water, but it's been working for the last 6-7 months or so. What is more this Phal is growing roots quite fast at the momment (I put that down to a mixture of KLN and luke warm water for watering).

[camille1585]

I would be a bit hesitant to unpot and repot a phal every week. By doing that you are not giving it a chance to settle in and it's just getting stressed over and over. If you use the smallest pot possible the mix should dry out fine. For my near death orchid that meant putting it in a ridiculously small pot for the size of the plant ( the bottom of a 1L soda bottle with lots of holes cut in the bottom) with an inverted net pot at the bottom. Using fresh barkalso helps since it dries out really quick.