Oh no! My phal roots!!

[sii]

Well I had my 2 bigger orchids repotted in sequoia bark and I placed them on the side of my bathtub because that's the only eastern window in my house. I hadn't watered them much so I decided to take a look at the roots to see if things were progressing with the new medium even though they are in clear pots. I found the tips of some of the roots were moldy?!?! So I took them both out of their pot and the rest of the roots were in very poor shape. The roots that were once green, now are black and some were brown. I did my clean up, aired out the medium (which wasn't very damp) washed the bottom of the orchids and let it air dry before I repotted it and returned it to my office (southern window) What did I do wrong? If I leave it by my southern window, how close should it be? I could really use a wish right now.....

[Judi]

Well, I never used sequoia bark, so I don't know anything about it. How often do you water? Were the roots soft and mushy or dried out? Do the clear pots have good drainage? Sometimes the roots can get discolored from the planting medium, but if they were moldy, that's not a good thing; I personally wouldn't use the same medium once I had a mold issue. I use a bark mix for phals and water once or twice a week depending on weather conditions. This summer was very hot and dry and some weeks I watered 3 times. As for a southern window, I would place the phals so they aren't getting direct sunlight. Hope this helps a little!

[WhiteRabbit]

Was the bark specified for orchids? I think conifer bark has resins that "resist" growth of "foreigners" ... Usually the bark specified for orchids has been "treated" (? sorry I don't know what is actually done to it) to remove/decrease the amounts of the resins ...
If I am mistaken, I am sure someone will correct me ... But I do know that the bark should be specified for orchids generally ... And redwood bark, while durable, seems it might retain a lot of moisture, tho I don't actually have experience with it and could be wrong ...

A southern window this time of year is probably good - tho as the sun moves south in the sky the light may become too intense later

[sii]

WhiteRabbit I just checked the package the bark came in and it says Can-Gro Orchid Media, sequoia bark. Maybe if I put them back by my southern window they'll like that. I found that the orchids by this window would send out leaves but no blooms, that's why I changed the location, but a slow death is not an option either. Should I just leave them as is? I'm worried about the roots. Without the roots I'll surely not see any blooms.

[WhiteRabbit]

Ok - just checking about the bark ...
I use bamboo skewers - like for kabobs - in all my orchid pots to help me determine when to water - tho with Phals I learned to water by the color of the roots - they should be silvery or white before watering - which at that point I have found the media is just about dry/

The east bathroom window - is that thick frosted glass? Or regular? Is the plant right on a sill?
Depending on the glass, and if that window gets any shade ... could be fine there ...

[sii]

I'll keep watching those roots. ;-)

My bathroom is at one of the corners of my house (southeastern) There's no window ledge in this room. The tub sits below 2 east windows and 2 south windows (no frosted windows), but it's low (2 feet below the window) I had the blinds turned facing down on all 4 windows, so it was getting indirect light. Maybe not enough?

[WhiteRabbit]

hard for me to say whether or not that's sufficient light for blooming - I always have my indoor orchids on the ledges very close to the glass - but most of my windows are also shaded, so idk ...
Hopefully someone else can chime in with advice

[sii]

I also live in Ontario so I'm sure my southern exposure would be different than someone else's. I don't know what zone I live in. I guess for now I'll leave them by the southern window with the blinds facing down so they're getting filtered light. Any other suggestions would be great. :-)