Phalaenopsis Orchid (in sphagnum moss) leaves turning yellow and flowers dying.

[RosieC]

Good luck, you have a good lot of healthy root there so hopefully it will do OK.

Just a word of warning and I don't mean to by glum... but I have only ever bought 4 orchids in those polythene pots packed tight with moss (just like in your earlier pic) and all 4 died despite my best efforts and all within a couple of months (I usually have no problem with Phals and have loads of healthy ones both before then and since).

On 2 of them I repotted as soon as I got them home (into bark) on 1 of them I pulled out some of the moss so it had more room to breath and the last I repotted in fresh moss... all of them lost their roots and then died. The one I repotted in fresh moss lasted longest but even that died.

I now never buy them in those polythene pots. I still buy NoID's sometimes in the supermarket but only when they are in bark, I avoid the polythene pots however much I like the flowers.

I think the problem is that the roots are not adapted to the drier conditions of bark, or even moss drier and airier than they are used to. It comes down (I think) to what Ray talks about which is that roots grow to their conditions and sometimes don't do well when those are changed. The problem you have is that the roots aren't doing well in their current conditions either.

Again I'm not meaning to depress you, and I encourage you to do all you can for this guy, because maybe I've just had bad luck, or maybe the ones sold this way in Europe are already in worse condition than those sold this way in Canada. I just want to warn you that if you do find this guy fails don't blame yourself!

One thought I have though... how about using Lecca and S/H growing. This method keeps the roots a lot wetter and so roots used to very hight moisture would possible adapt better to it. because I'm only just experimenting with S/H myself.

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by RosieC

Good luck, you have a good lot of healthy root there so hopefully it will do OK.

Just a word of warning and I don't mean to by glum... but I have only ever bought 4 orchids in those polythene pots packed tight with moss (just like in your earlier pic) and all 4 died despite my best efforts and all within a couple of months (I usually have no problem with Phals and have loads of healthy ones both before then and since).

On 2 of them I repotted as soon as I got them home (into bark) on 1 of them I pulled out some of the moss so it had more room to breath and the last I repotted in fresh moss... all of them lost their roots and then died. The one I repotted in fresh moss lasted longest but even that died.

I now never buy them in those polythene pots. I still buy NoID's sometimes in the supermarket but only when they are in bark, I avoid the polythene pots however much I like the flowers.

I think the problem is that the roots are not adapted to the drier conditions of bark, or even moss drier and airier than they are used to. It comes down (I think) to what Ray talks about which is that roots grow to their conditions and sometimes don't do well when those are changed. The problem you have is that the roots aren't doing well in their current conditions either.

Again I'm not meaning to depress you, and I encourage you to do all you can for this guy, because maybe I've just had bad luck, or maybe the ones sold this way in Europe are already in worse condition than those sold this way in Canada. I just want to warn you that if you do find this guy fails don't blame yourself!

One thought I have though... how about using Lecca and S/H growing. This method keeps the roots a lot wetter and so roots used to very hight moisture would possible adapt better to it. because I'm only just experimenting with S/H myself.

what are polythene pots? those clear plastic ones?

[Rachelle-lapensee]

Originally Posted by help

what are polythene pots? those clear plastic ones?

Yes those clear plastic pots are Polythene pots. If I were to guess they are probably used to either keep moisture in the roots, or allow you to see the roots so you know when to water...

[Rachelle-lapensee]

Originally Posted by Rachelle-lapensee

Yes those clear plastic pots are Polythene pots. If I were to guess they are probably used to either keep moisture in the roots, or allow you to see the roots so you know when to water...

I just went on a web site and found out that Polythene pots are used to allow the orchids roots to get light like they would in their natural habitat.

Check out Orchid Pots and Orchid Mixes for more info on orchid pots and uses.

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by Rachelle-lapensee

I just went on a web site and found out that Polythene pots are used to allow the orchids roots to get light like they would in their natural habitat.

Check out Orchid Pots and Orchid Mixes for more info on orchid pots and uses.

I use clear rigid pots all the time, any buy orchids in clear rigid pots all the time. By polythene I actually meant the flexible soft pots like the one yours was in.

I would strongly advise the use of clear rigid pots for Phalaenopsis orchids. They allow light to the roots, they allow you to see the roots and whether it's time to water yet or not. :tup:

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by help

what are polythene pots? those clear plastic ones?

Clear plastic rigid pots are fine and they are what I use all the time... but what I can see in the pic is a polythene pot which is a soft maliable pot, not the hard plastic.

The only time I've seen these are on plants being sold with soooo much moss packed in to the polythene pot that it's almost about to burst open.

I don't think there is a problem as such with these soft pots, but it seems they are used in conjunction with too much moss (often already smelly and rotting). At least that's the case in Europe and it looks pretty packed in the pic above.