Phal with Root Rot No Idea What to Do

[Gettinfit07]

I am in dire need of some assistance. I have 2 Phals that I got in February from online. They had 2 large beautiful spikes, each with 2 sets of blooms. Everything was fine until 2 weeks ago when I noticed the leaves withering. One Phal was done blooming in March and has sprouted a new spike and was growing a leaf and the other still had its spike. On Saturday when I went to water it I noticed the sphagnum moss that was covering the top of the plants was completely soaked through. I soaked up some water with a towel but didn’t attempt to repot the plant. Today I noticed the leaves were even more withered and some were developing spots.
I removed the phals from the pot and found 3 inches of standing water and it smelled horrible. Apparently, the grower in San Diego wrapped the roots in moss and the whole thing became water- logged.
Please help, I’m so upset and am praying to God that I didn’t kill my plants. I’ve attached pictures of the roots, can they be saved? If so, can anyone offer advice on the best way to proceed? I’ve read everything from letting the roots air out to repotting right away….
I’m an orchid newbie so I really could use any assistance/advice you can offer.

[OdessaOrchid]

Hi, Sorry to hear about the plant. Here is a link to a discussion that had some really good feedback that should help you. http://www.orchidboard.com/community...dire-need.html

[Zoi2]

Welcome to the OB, Getinfit07.
I'm sorry you learned the hard way about watering and spagh moss. It does retain the water.
I would trim off the brown squishy roots, soak what's left of the roots in hydrogen peroxide or brown listerine for a couple of minutes and repot in a good orchid mix. If no roots are left, try the spag-n-bag method.
Good Luck.
Joann

[RosieC]

Did the pot have holes in the bottom? If not you really need to get a pot with holes in the bottom and while you are at it, get a clear pot.

Far too many orchids are sold in pots which will just doom a novice in to killing the plant ... not your fault.

It looks like there are SOME good roots or sections of root. First cut away any roots which are soft and squishy, then see what you have left. Post a pic here if you want to get more advise.

If you have SOME good roots left (they could be green/white/silver/tan) then pot it back up in a suitible pot. In my view (and if you are prone to overwatering) it would be best to use orchid bark. You COULD use moss again (but get fresh stuff) but then you would still need to be very careful about how much you water it.

You need to try and make sure you don't 'overpot'. You need your pot to be just the right size for the remaining roots.

If there are no roots left you may need to try something like Sphag-n-bag to rescue it.

[Gettinfit07]

RosieC - thank you so much for your advice. The pot unfortunately did not have any holes and the roots where completely wrapped/stuffed with moss. I ended up drying the roots out overnight (before everything was soaking wet and smelled horrible). Now the roots look grey/silvery and they've become crunchy. I took them this morning and wrapped them in a moist paper towel and put them back in the pot because I had to go to work.

There's still some of roots that are black up near the crown of the plant. I'm not sure if that's crown rot or how to handle it. There's also still some rotten moss caught up in the roots, despite me rinsing everything.

I can post more pictures of the roots when I get home but I'm trying to develop a plan of attack for tonight to best help my 'twins'. I really can't tell what of the roots might be worth keeping - I've seen other pictures from the forum and none of my roots look that good. How harmful would it be to keep them? Should I instead just have the plant start over, cut anything that looks bad, and do the sphag-n-bag?

Also, some of the roots have black bands around them, I'm assuming that isn't healthy so should I just cut above it?

I apologize for all of the questions, but I really lack a green thumb.

[RosieC]

When you say the roots feel crunchy when dry, do they feel hollow, or are they firm and solid?

If they are firm and solid and and they are grey/silver then they sound like healthy roots.

If there are black roots which are mushy then you need to cut them off. Is there any black on the plant its self?

Lots of people say they use peroxide on rot. Apparently it fizzes when you put it on, but that is normal.

Once you have only good roots left you need to asses the next move. I would sugest that if you have even SOME roots you DON'T need ot try the sphag-n-bag rescue. In this case, pot it up in as small a pot as the roots will fit in to. Use a clear pot with holes in the bottom and I would advise orchid bark as the medium.

If you don't have the pot or medium yet, then you can keep the Phal out of the pot for a while, even for several days. If you do this you need to water the roots every day, or even twice a day, but you don't need to keep it wrapped in moist paper towel you can let the roots dry between watering but if it is out of the medium you need to water frequently.

[Gettinfit07]

Unfortunately, some of the leaves have developed black spots. One of the twins has it only on the underside of 1 leaf, the other has a black blemish that goes from the underside to the top of the leaf (all the way through). I'm assuming that this is some kind of fungus from the rotting of the roots. Should I use the fungicide? I haven't been able to find the Physan 20 so if you could provide any recommendations on where to get some or any alternative that I can use that would be really helpful. Thanks again for all of your advice!

[Cookiemonster]

hello,
Just wanted to provide some advice- I have to say sphagnum moss is not the greatest evil, it works in some growing environments and in others its completely inappropriate.
With what little I know- Moss can be used if the medium completely dries out in 2-3 days, COMPLETELY! If it retains more moisture than 2-3 days then moss is not recommended in your environment and will lead to rot!
With phals I put some white/green non bio degradable peanuts at the bottom of a clear pot (so i can see whats going on inside)- the ones with holes and slits on the side are great too for aeration! Anyhow I then take some moss which I've had sitting in warm water, squish out the excessive water and put it in between roots and plop the plant back in the pot and stuff more moss around and in the gaps till its full- I find the pot is like 1/4 peanuts and remaining pot is plant and roots ect.

I am not saying this will work for you but its a suggestion.
In your case- Take the plant look at the roots and any of them that are squishy and soft and sort of dessiated slide off the outer velamin and keep the stringy part that can still drink some water. You might need some Physan or Thiomyl to treat the rot, and maybe a rooting hormone like KLN to get new roots to kick in and save the plant.
I hope this helps!
Good luck

[William]

I use Ban-Rot or Thiomyl as a fungicide. I find here in Florida the sphagnum breaks down too quickly and I use orchid bark or similar. Since I have my plants outdoors and since I'm rather new as well, I found out about rot quickly last year. I was told to apply the fungicide once a week for a month and then once a month. Lets see what happens this year when the rains come. I have orchids that I'm still trying to save from last year. I don't give up!

[William]

Actually one of my favorite mediums is a mixture of coconut husks charcoal and lava rock. It works pretty good for me and it seems to last.