Repotting problem (or opportunity)?
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.
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