The Phal abuse ends here.

[DweamGoiL]

Rosie you have no idea how much you have put my mind at ease. I have had the same issue and thought the roots that were exposed to air were rotting. I just couldn't figure out WHY. I do know my water has lots of iron deposits from changing out previous filters and such...that makes so much sense!

I also know it is pretty dry for the most part in my apartment and I have started using a humidifier for the 'chids at night.

Thanks a million!!!

[jim_julian]

Two years ago I was given two Phals as part of sympathy for a family tragedy. Of course they were both beautiful when given. The largest started looking unwell after 6 months so I unpotted it to find an obviously unsuitable mess of moss and plastic wrap designed to sustain in a supermarket. The bottom was mush, I thanked the plant for looking so beautiful in its prime and trashed it.

I immediately unpotted the second plant and found that it was essentially in moss and heading south. After some reading on the web I repotted in a Home Depot bark chip/stone mix and left a few fragment of moss, but none in contact with roots. The pot is a glazed ceramic pot (which may be part of the ensuing problem).

It now sits indoors (SoCal) in a NW exposure behind state of the art IV reducing windows. I open the windows for a few hours most days to get some breeze and a little more light exposure. I water once a week with luke warm water with a tiny bit of MiracleGrow orchid food dissolved. I pour it thru the pot 4-5 times until about half of the water is gone. I make sure to hit the air roots.

I was rewarded with a nice bloom after a few months and it also threw a pup from the base. Lately the leaves have begun to look desiccated. The two base leaves on the main plant turned yellow and came off but plenty of other leaves remain. Today I unpotted it and found that all of the below bark roots were rotten and I trimmed them off. The base seems OK and I have it upside down drying out. In the unpotting process I was surprised to see that the bark chips in the bottom of the pot were still quite moist even though it had been a week since watering.

I'd like to save this plant and learn in the process.

1. It has a number of healthy (white with green tips) air roots. Can it be repotted with the air roots under the bark chips?
2. I've probably watered it too often and will switch from once a week to every other week ... good move?
3. Do I need to move to a different pot?
4. What am I forgetting to ask?

Thanks so much ...

Jim

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by jim_julian

1. It has a number of healthy (white with green tips) air roots. Can it be repotted with the air roots under the bark chips?

Yes, you can.

Train the roots into the pot by watering the roots thoroughly first. A wet root that has soaked in moisture will be pliable and will not break as easily when they are bent.

Originally Posted by jim_julian

2. I've probably watered it too often and will switch from once a week to every other week ... good move?

I recommend not timing the watering. Just watch to see when the roots and the potting media are drying out.

The easiest way to do it is...

Originally Posted by jim_julian

3. Do I need to move to a different pot?

Use a clear plastic pot.

You can either buy one or make one out of clear plastic bottles.

If you're making one, make sure to give the pot lots of holes one the bottom of the pot and the sides of the pot.

Originally Posted by jim_julian

4. What am I forgetting to ask?

It depends on what other things you want to know.

[jim_julian]

Thank you King Phillip ... of course I will do as you suggest and report back.

[Priya_H]

I need suggestions on homemade fertilizers. I recently found out that using boiled potato will give the plants a nice dose of potassium they need to flower (mine are growing lots of roots and leaves and I'm getting ready to see spikes soon) and crushed eggshells give them calcium. I have 1 large and 2 mini Phals. My questions:

1. How often should I fertilize them using these?

2. Can the potato and eggshells be used together, and in what quantity?

3. What are other things can I use as fertilizer? (I currently feed all my houseplants a weak dose of Miracle Gro
water soluble fertilizer but would like to go all-natural)

[Greenmarkut]

I have two questions about using root hormone. The first one is: If I have a plant that has perhaps one good root on it, would it be o.k. to put root hormone on it to help produce more roots? The second question is: Is it worth it to try and start roots with root hormone from a leaf or stem cutting of a Phal. plant? Should I just bite the bullet and buy a new one? I have plant that I like very much and I would like to get some babies off from it.
That was three questions- sorry.

[GregorK]

Hello!

So here is my problem.
I have two phals and they both have very soft dropping leaves. One had a root rot, so i repoted it and the other one i forgot to water it last week.

Now the question is. Is it true that once the leaves become soft and dropping they never get hard again?

Regards Gregor

[sweetjblue]

Gregor, in short, it depends.

The one with root rot may lose the bottom leaves as it may not have enough roots to take up enough water to keep them all hydrated. How many roots does it have left to support the plant?

The one you forgot to water should perk up again with a good watering, however depending on how long it went without water it may also lose a bottom leaf or two or they may remain alittle limp for a time.

Hope that helps answer your question.

Judi

[GregorK]

Thanks for the reply. The firts one has about 4 viable roots. It is better now. and the leaves are geting stronger. The other one is just like you mentioned above. It looks great now that i gave her a good amount of water. but the bottom 2 leaves are still a litle limp. I hope Both plants will be just fine in a few days

I guess that the theory about the soft leaves never get hard again is wrong And thanks god sometimes wrong is good

regards
Gregor

[gingersmommy]

Hi, one of my phalps put out what I thought was going to be a flower spike. It was very thick and right at the center of one of the lower leaves, although not the lowest leaf. After several weeks now, it is not a spike. It has it's own leaf (!). I have heard of kokopelia's, however, I thought they grew from a flower spite. I think it is a new plant. I don't know if I should leave it, or if I want to make a new plant, how to dissect it from the mother plant. Any ideas? Thank you!