My Phal repotting problems!

[glitchathon]

OK, just got back from the store next door. Brown Listerine in the house!!

OK, here are my options now. I do have good NZ AAA Sphag that was bone dry when I got it from Green Barn Orchid. AFAIK, this stuff is tip top and stored well.

I can throw out the Better Gro bark and salvage the charcoal and boil it.

So I can pure sphag it or do a sphag and charcoal mix for these 3 Phals. This eliminates the bark as a problem. I can adjust watering to account for the water retentiveness of the sphag.

OR, I can wait until the Primeagra comes in and S/H this. I have good root growth coming from Orchid 1 (the Trader Joe's one that had fungus) so it is not a bad time to go to S/H for that one.

OR, I can do nothing and watch. The Better Gro bark definitely was a bit damp when I got it, and the bark is definitely partially decomposed, but I kinda thought that was normal.

Either way, I think I will take out the Phals and spray with some brown listerine tonight.

Thanks so much for all the feedback. So glad the forum is back up!!

[BobInBonita]

I have several phals given to me by seasonal residents when they left for the summer. Most started with serious root rot (40-80% mush). I am less "attached" to these 'chids than my own, so I experiment a bit. My results may help (if your conditions are similar), or might not (if your conditions are different). Please take it with a large grain of (epsom) salt.

Before I came to my current "rescue regimen", I lost a good number. This year, on this regiment, I've gotten 7 or 8 rescue 'chids and (knock wood) have only lost one. Most are out of "intensive care" and into the FL outdoors with their step-family.

My two biggest errors have been over-watering and over-analyzing.

When dealing with rotten roots, I now always expect the damage to be way worse than it initially looks. More roots are going to die after cleaning and repotting. I don't use physan or Listerine, but I do leave the roots exposed after cleaning until their surfaces dry. After reading the posts above, I will probably try a parallel test with and without antiseptic next time I have two in similar condition.

Select a medium suited to YOUR growing conditions. Don't follow others advice about what is best unless you control your conditions to match theirs. Example - when I lived in MN with very low indoor humidity during most of the year (heat in winter and AC in summer to dry it), I could use a medium with quite a bit of sphagnum. Keeping the same watering frequency and medium after moving to FL resulted in major root rot. Here I use a bark mix without sphagnum for most, and add increasing amounts of LECA for orchids needing dryer conditions.

After repotting, the orchid will be re-adjusting to a totally different (and hopefully healthier) medium than the rotten bark or soggy sphag it was probably in. Some or many of the old roots will probably die before they begin to grow. Your orchid is now in intensive care.

Try to slow its metabolism a bit after repotting by moving to a cooler and slightly darker area. Help the plant retain moisture by increasing humidity if you can (it is living on very little root to feed its needs).

Try to control your watering. The natural impulse is to give it more water because it has so little root to absorb. You can easily recreate the conditions that caused the original damage by overwatering. In my opinion, you should water with less quantity each time, but much more often.

Roots are sensitive and tender. Once you repot LEAVE THEM ALONE. I'm confident that many of my 'chids were killed by over-anxiety in checking their roots. You've done your best, now they have to heal and grow.

I don't fertilize at this point, although I do soak bark in a weak fertilizer solution during prep for potting.

When new roots do start to grow, you have probably won the battle. Even if the leaves look a little dehydrated don't worry - if you're doing the right things most (but not all) orchids will come back from the very brink.

When a new leaf starts to grow, you can gradually start to give the plant more light and normal watering.

Again, please take these comments not as gospel, but as notes on what worked for me, my conditions, and my watering frequency, etc.. I wish I could add the disclaimer that no 'chids were injured during the documentation, but....

Hopefully next year will be better yet, but unless you try something new and live with the consequences, you stop learning.

[glitchathon]

BobinBonita, thanks for sharing your experiences. That was very helpful. I did end up doing a quick Listerine spray and repot into boiled media this evening. I vow not to touch or even look at these two Phals for a few days and just let it do its thing for awhile.

[glitchathon]

I noticed some black tips on the roots on the 3rd Phal (the one that seems to be doing OK). Is that indicative of a major problem that requires investigation?

[Izzie]

Most likely not- it's probably just that the growing tips have dried and died. The roots should branch from higher up if they don't die.

If it starts turning black farther up or if it spreads, then you might have a problem. But the solution would be the same as has been mentioned here- sanitation.

[glitchathon]

Thanks Izzie, I will keep an eye on it. It looks like another root extension died in the last day. This is a bit scary but no fungi have come back. I still smell some Listerine minty freshness from the plant!

Bad news is that I think my order from Ray's got lost by Fedex so no Physan for awhile.

[Izzie]

Sad about Fedex- what makes you think it was lost? Have you contacted them?

[glitchathon]

it was scheduled for delivery today but did not show up. and now there is no delivery date listed. In fact, there is no tracking update since the 13th, and last it shows it never left the last facility (tracking usually has arrival followed by departure a mere hours later) and that was nearly a week ago. I contacted Ray and hopefully he can deal with it. I am not going to go through Fedex's touchtone customer service just for the rep to tell me it's "in transit", lol!

[Izzie]

Originally Posted by glitchathon

it was scheduled for delivery today but did not show up. and now there is no delivery date listed. In fact, there is no tracking update since the 13th, and last it shows it never left the last facility (tracking usually has arrival followed by departure a mere hours later) and that was nearly a week ago. I contacted Ray and hopefully he can deal with it. I am not going to go through Fedex's touchtone customer service just for the rep to tell me it's "in transit", lol!

Gracious, hope it gets sorted out! At least Physan won't die if it has to wait!

[glitchathon]

Originally Posted by Izzie

Gracious, hope it gets sorted out! At least Physan won't die if it has to wait!

well there is a Cattleya seedling in the package so if the package is lost, there WILL be a casualty.