EMERGENCY! Need advice- Phal roots rot

[Ivana]

Two weeks ago I bought 3 beautiful Phals, brought them home, and decided to do everything by the book- re-pot them asap, knowing that no matter how healthy they might look on the outside, there might be hidden problems. So I took them out of the pots, washed pots, cleared old media, put in the new one (bark+ coconut 50-50) but with this one I did something differently- I made the medium wet before I put the plant in. Plant had some mushy roots which I cut off, sprinkled with cinnamon, but when I was putting it back, I didn't really do a good job, I had to repeat it till the plant was able to stand, so I probably damaged few roots. Few days later, the poor things looks the way you see on pics. Leaves are like somebody poured boiling water over it, and I took it out to find that almost all roots are rotten! I cut them off, put cinnamon again, waited a a bit for it to dry then watered it. And my question is : is there something else I can do? She still has some roots, but they are not enough to support the whole plant, I believe I should cut down the stem? Bottom two flowers are whitering, and the stem is like 50cm or so. To cut it or not? And what else I could do? I also moved her to the west window, no direct sun for her, but it is very bright. How often to water it? I was also thinking of making wholes on the sides of the plastic pot she is in (the white one is "nice pot" but it has stones on the bottom so the plastic one is elevated) to give her more air.... Im desperate and I am asking what was asked million times but I just can't search forum, as I hear tic-tac on my plant! I don't want it to die, my first one was MURDERED by my neighbour while I was at vacation last month... and she was growing third stem and a second leaf this year... I hope the pics are clear enough and that you can see the bottom leaves have lines, they are not plump as they were, but the tops are holding.. not the way I would like but still, they look bit better.

[RosieC]

First off I would cut off the spike. If there are not many roots left then remove the spike and let the plant concentrate on it's leaves.

Second, if there were rotten roots when you repotted it could be that all the roots were in trouble already and it wasn't your fault. I've had ones I've had to re-seat a few times to get it right and I know I've broken roots, but it didn't cause them them to rot. It's more likely they were already rotting when you bought it.

If it's really short on roots I would get it into as small a pot as the remaining roots will fit into. That may be WAY too small for the size of the leaves, but that's still what you want to do. I've used old yogurt pots when I can't get small enough pots. Make sure there are plenty of holes in the side to allow air flow. You could use the outer pot to help it stand if the pot is so small it can't stand up. I've packed outer pots with stones then sat the tiny pot inside to help it stand with the large leaves.

You then need to keep a close eye on it. Hopefully with a tiny pot the medium will dry in just a couple of days, but then you need to water it once it is dry, possibly every couple of days but only if it's drying fast like that.

When I had a plant with almost no roots I found that very frequent watering BUT with it drying in between (hence the tiny pot to allow it to dry quickly) really helped.

Another tip is to use luke warm water when watering it, that helps to promote root growth.

Good Luck. It can be tricky to rescue a plant with root loss, but it is possible to do with careful care.

[Ivana]

Oh, thank you so much for your fast reply! Going to cut off the spike right now!
As for putting it in smaller pot, I am scarred to do it, as it would be her 3 moving in less then two weeks, and I am bad with dealing with those naughty roots. And what she has left is actually close to the surface and the media is getting dry pretty fast. I will make holes to the sides of the pot... everything I love gives me headache!
Once again- THANK YOU!

[Ivana]

Stem is off, and I without it the plant wasn't able to stand... so I took it out, there was no more rotten roots, but what is left doesn't look very promising, but I will give my best to save it. The medium was still moist, so I think one or two more days before next watering. I placed stones into the pot, since it is too large for the plant now, and then I put some media, roots and the plant with elastic rubber over the crown which I put over the stick to help it stand. I also added new dose of cinnamon over the roots. It is standing, and I will probably have to watch its sad leaves for some time... I hope it starts growing new roots faster now. Keep fingers crossed for my baby everybody!

[RosieC]

Rocks in the pot is a good idea. I've done that as well to reduce the amount of medium in a pot which is too large for the roots. I've also used old yogurt pots inside the pot to reduce the volume.

Helping it stay stable is also good, they seem to grow roots better when they are not wobbling arround.

The only thing I would say is that cinnamon on the roots is not always a good thing. It's a desiccant and dries them too much. I did the same with the first one I was trying to save, and I sort of think it caused more problems. I DID save that one though, so I don't want to worry you too much by saying that.

[Ivana]

How long till it starts getting better? I am not thinking about new stem, I would be happy if the leaves got plump and nice again, and if it grew few new roots... I use 3-1-4 fertilizer on a weakly weekly regime, 3 weeks in a row, then I use plain water, and then new cycle of fertilizer.

[RosieC]

It can vary. Spring is the best time for growth, but it's still warm enough that you may get some good growth straight away. I've had them sulk for a long time when they had problems late in the year.

[Ivana]

With a bit of luck she will confuse Danish summer with spring and grow some roots fast! Thank you!

[Ivana]

I just wanted to share some good news with you Rosie- the leaves are looking good, they are not leathery anymore, and there is some new roots growing... Guess I will save her!
Thank you once again!

[RosieC]

Excellent news