The Phal abuse ends here.

[kaarthiik]

Originally Posted by Johnnyb

I am some what new to growing orchids. I have been playing with them for a few years, recently I have become quite an avid grower with the room I have available. I seem to have a devil of a hard time growing phals except in my basement where I keep them under my growing light. With that being said, the condition of the orchids upon my recieving them is not always the best. I get them from a friend who is a florist. She buys them to cut the blooms, she use to throw them away, untill I discovered what she was doing. Now I have enough orchids to choke a horse. The best growing windows in my house seem to be my west windows. I live in the city, our neighbors house is quite close to ours; so the sun is only direct for 30-50 mins at most in this window. Otherwise it is very indirect. My phals just dont like it at all. We keep our house around 69 durring the day, and 67 at night. As it warms up our house will get up to 74 or 75 durring the day, and back down to 68 at night. I fertilize every other time I water with extremely diluted fertilizer. My phals do amazing in my basement! Not good at all upstairs. I have 25 different types of orchids upstairs, they do great up there. I know this is a lot of info, and somewhat of a loaded question.

Thanks,

John

Thanks fir the info.. Lucky man.. getting Phals for free.... Bit Jealous...

[OrchidMolly]

Hi all,

i am a COMPLETE novice and have no clue about any plants, so please bear with me.

I know i have a phal. I bought it for our new flat as it was so pretty, but when we went away for hols i think the in law over watered it as it died. Completely. Anyway, it ended up outside and i had given up hope for it. THere were a few times i thought it a bit sad as it was getting battered by the weather so i put it under some shelter outside. One day i thought i saw something poking out of the pot. A shoot! So i brought it indoors and it has now started to sprout a few....shoots. However, my excitement came to an end when after being a healthy green, they have begun to get dry and brown and withering. There are some still healthy ones though and inside some of the dry and brown stuff there are green shoots. Im confused! I water every few days with a sprinkle of water. The soil is dry but i know not to let that trick me. i know that soil is not the best to use but that was what i bought the plant in. The roots are thread like and white. Far from the green healthy things that it used to be... i cant find what it is MEANT to look like when its starting from scratch. Iv changed the soil now, and iv put pebbles at the bottom of the pot to allow drainage. It doesnt sit in direct light. Im not sure if its cos im not giving it water, or perhaps its meant to look like that. PLease help and forgive an amateur! I want to ressurect it!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by OrchidMolly

Hi all,

i am a COMPLETE novice and have no clue about any plants, so please bear with me.

It's fine. Everyone starts somewhere.

Originally Posted by OrchidMolly

I know i have a phal.

Good start.

Originally Posted by OrchidMolly

I bought it for our new flat as it was so pretty, but when we went away for hols i think the in law over watered it as it died. Completely. Anyway, it ended up outside and i had given up hope for it. There were a few times i thought it a bit sad as it was getting battered by the weather so i put it under some shelter outside.

Originally Posted by OrchidMolly

One day i thought i saw something poking out of the pot. A shoot! So i brought it indoors and it has now started to sprout a few....shoots. However, my excitement came to an end when after being a healthy green, they have begun to get dry and brown and withering.

They're dying because there most likely are no roots to support their continued growth.

Originally Posted by OrchidMolly

There are some still healthy ones though and inside some of the dry and brown stuff there are green shoots.

The "dry and brown stuff" you are referring to may be the dried up remnants of the petioles, (please look up the definition of the word "petiole"), perhaps even a few dead roots.

Originally Posted by OrchidMolly

Im confused! I water every few days with a sprinkle of water.

The problem may not just be related to the watering regimen...

Originally Posted by OrchidMolly

The soil is dry but i know not to let that trick me. i know that soil is not the best to use but that was what i bought the plant in.

...This is the other part of the problem - soil. If you're referring to potting soil, it is bad because Phals are not terrestrial plants, they grow on trees. Try using bark as a potting media instead, they're readily accessible at a lot of local hardware stores in the gardening section, or you may purchase some online.

Under no circumstances whatsoever should an orchid that grows strictly as an epiphyte be grown in potting soil and be treated as a terrestrial plant.

Originally Posted by OrchidMolly

The roots are thread like and white. Far from the green healthy things that it used to be...

Ok, you figured out how to tell the difference between living and dead epiphytical orchid roots, again, good start.

Originally Posted by OrchidMolly

i cant find what it is MEANT to look like when its starting from scratch.

I'm not sure what you mean by this statement. Can you rephrase it in a different manner so I can better understand what you're trying to say?

Originally Posted by OrchidMolly

Iv changed the soil now, and iv put pebbles at the bottom of the pot to allow drainage. It doesnt sit in direct light. Im not sure if its cos im not giving it water, or perhaps its meant to look like that.

It is not supposed to look like that.

The lighting might be ok, a pic would be of great help.

Using potting soil is part of the problem as I've mentioned earlier.

Improper watering regimens may also play into this, but this is not the major crux of the problem in your particular case.

Originally Posted by OrchidMolly

PLease help and forgive an amateur! I want to ressurect it!

If you can post a pic of your plant, maybe people on the OB can have a better idea of what to say in regards to whether your Phal is salvageable or not.

When you're ready to post up pics on the OB and ask further questions...

If I may, I'd like to suggest starting up your own thread, so you can get the attention you need to get started.

[OrchidMolly]

thank you for your patience!

I have attached a picture in my previous post. What i meant about what its meant to look like, is that when i research it online, they all tell me what it looks like when growing, but they all seem to be at later stages when they are flowering and have decent roots. They dont say much as to what they should be like when they are starting right at the start.

i will def get to buying some wood chips/bark. I bought the plant from a Tesco (kinda like Wal-Mart) so it was in soil but they sprinkled so chips on top to make it look like it was wood chips!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by OrchidMolly

thank you for your patience!

I have attached a picture in my previous post. What i meant about what its meant to look like, is that when i research it online, they all tell me what it looks like when growing, but they all seem to be at later stages when they are flowering and have decent roots. They dont say much as to what they should be like when they are starting right at the start.

Ok.

Originally Posted by OrchidMolly

i will def get to buying some wood chips/bark.

Cool.

Originally Posted by OrchidMolly

I bought the plant from a Tesco (kinda like Wal-Mart) so it was in soil but they sprinkled so chips on top to make it look like it was wood chips!

Bad form!



One of my Phals is throwing off a new side shoot, and it's still at the beginning stages. It may be difficult to see and the photo may not be all that great because the plant is a miniature Phal that gets no larger than 4" - 5" across.

I'll get a picture up soon.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by OrchidMolly

I have attached a picture in my previous post. What i meant about what its meant to look like, is that when i research it online, they all tell me what it looks like when growing, but they all seem to be at later stages when they are flowering and have decent roots. They dont say much as to what they should be like when they are starting right at the start.

Umm...

Are you sure they're orchids?

They don't look like Phalaenopsis to me...

The following is what Phalaenopsis look like:

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

If you're looking for a pic on how a new shoot on Phals should look like, here it is:

[silken]

Did you take a picture of what you bought when it looked nice? Maybe that would help, and possibly you bought a pot with a phal and other spring plants or bulbs? I've seen some potted up that way recently. Not sure what media they were actually in.

[OrchidMolly]

This is what the flower looked like...

Moth Orchid Plant - White

Silken -when i bought the plant, there was only orchid flower on it... there were nothing else...

This truly is strange! There is still hope as there are green shoots, though i dont remember there being so many before!

Once i put it in wood ships, perhaps it might be different?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

The plant in the link is a Phal, but the shoots in your photos are not Phals. They are not even remotely close.

Maybe you should investigate this further with the seller...