Help! new phalaenopsis doing strange things

[mattryan]

oh and spike tuiring brown is ok!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

In my opinion, it would've been easier for you to use the clear plastic pot instead of the clay pot, for multiple reasons...

1. Yes, you can easily see what is happening with the roots.

2. Yes, you can also easily see how wet the media is staying.

But...

3. The roots on many epiphytical orchids are green for a reason...

They can photosynthesize.


As was mentioned, try to avoid watering the leaves when using pot culture. Unlike what many people who are first starting out with Phalaenopsis believe, they do not grow upright in the wild. They either grow perpendicularly off the tree trunks/branches or pendulously off the tree trunks/branches.

This is why when people grow their plants upright, and water gets trapped in the crown, you gotta blow the water out.

To further point things out. The water usually doesn't get trapped in the crown in the wild as a result of the plants hanging perpendicularly or pendulously off their mounts. When it rains, water dribbles down the leaves and away from the crown.

I highly, highly recommend you check out this video:

Video: Phalaenopsis in situ on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Remember this video well, because it may not last much longer.

The person used to have lots of pics of Phals in the wild. They're not up on his Flickr page anymore. But the video still remains. In my opinion, it is perhaps one of the best representations of how a Phalaenopsis grows.

Humidity is also something not to be neglected. If the humidity is too low, the plant may still continue to grow, but when it comes time to bloom, the buds may blast.

BTW, I've never been an advocate of using full on moss to grow Phalaenopsis. One of the reasons is that photos of them in the wild have proven time and time again that many of them do not grow on trees or rocks that are covered with moss. If there is moss, there isn't much of it on the trees or rocks. The other reason is that, more often than not, many people do not succeed with growing Phalaenopsis in full on moss.

[BobInBonita]

This may be a bit of the blind leading the blind since I'm new to O.B. also, and there is so much great advice here. Unfortunately, I've killed my share of orchids over the years - usually by overwatering or keeping roots too wet. I really sympathize with you, since most of my orchids have been purchased as gifts for my wife.

When I lived in Minnesota, I used a mix with more moss because our indoor humidities were so low. When I moved to Florida, what had worked so well was deadly - root rot reigned supreme. Your mix should change with the environment and the frequency of care/watering.

Plastic pots reduce evaporation over a large percentage of the surface area, so moss with plastic is a much wetter environment than moss in a clay pot. The clay pot is still wetter than a redwood/cedar basket, which in turn is wetter than a surface mount. All work, but the care and frequency of watering changes with the planting media and the container. I have best luck with most orchids (and my care-giving style) towards the middle of the spectrum.

In nature, most orchids grow with their roots exposed to air. When we expect them to grow like beans with their roots in the media we are stretching their limits of tolerance. The media just makes it easier for us to care for them, since we often can't give them a tropical rainshower every afternoon.

Orchids seem to be able to adapt to their conditions (within reason) but don't seem to do well with great changes. If yours was used to getting pretty dry and you're now keeping it wetter (or vice versa) it may react poorly for a while.

An orchid that looks dry may be dry, or it may have just lost function in a portion of its root structure and not be able to absorb as much water. If it's really dry more watering may help, but if its roots are damaged/dying more water may kill it. Knowing the root condition is key - many of my phals have climbed out of their pots (probably to avoid my mistreatment) so it's easy to assess their roots.

You seem to be doing the right things - just be consistent so it can learn your "style" of care and adapt.

Sorry for going on so long, and good luck. If this one doesn't make it, at least it's an excuse to buy your GF another.

[CTB]

Enjoy! and Welcome to the orchid board!

[orchidsamore]

No one mentioned your question about the white moss like growth in the pot,

This is called snow mold. It is an indication that your potting medium has gone bad and should have been replaced last year.

Re-potting is the correct course and while the mold takes a long time to kill a plant. There is no immediate danger of death but orchids should be re-potted at the first sign of snow mold, especially since the mold grows first toward the bottom of the plant. It has been growing a long time to be visible at the surface. This is one reason for re-pottting on a regular schedule at least every other year.

[hrothgar]

Ok, so i started placing the orchid over a pan of water to add humidity, and things seem to be going well, I've noticed a few new roots beginning to sprout!

Today I noticed my leaves were shriveled, which I heard was an indication that I could have a hydration problem tied to poor root health, so I pulled the thing back out of the pot to have a look. . . I found several more dead roots that I feel were probably on their way out at my re-potting about 5 weeks ago, also, all of my healthy roots had about a half inch of fresh white growth on the ends.

Could I be out of the woods?

Three specific questions:

Anything I can do for my shriveled leaves but wait for new roots?

How often should I be watering with my new potting mix (mainly bark) as opposed to my original (all moss).

Can anyone recommend a good fertilizer to get this thing back on its feet?


Any other recommendations or pointers are welcome, and thanks for all the help!

[hrothgar]

oh yeah, those leaves that were turning yellow last time all fell off within a week or so

[RosieC]

The white root tips on the healthy roots are a very good signs, and I agree that it's quite likely some more roots died which were on their way out anyway.

How often you water depends on your pot size and how quickly it dries. For a recovering plant I like the pot to be as tiny as possible so that the bark dries quickly and I can water more often. Recovering plants seem to apreciate more water, but at the same time still need to dry out. Slits in the sides of the pot may also help speed drying time to allow you to water more often.