Watering question for newbie!! With Pics

[Fumi Lai]

First of all I want to thank the members who have helped me to try to safe my baby phal on death road. It is now in a bag and hope the keiki baby will hang in there.
Anyway, I have another phal which I got 2 weeks ago, still nice and healthy but I do have some concern about watering it.
When it first arrived at home the leaves were more stiff and pointing more upward, but now it is sagging down. I searched some forum and though I underwater it so I gave it another cup of water only 3 days after I last water it. According to the forum, if that was the problem, I should see immediate improvement. But this is day 5 now it is still down~~~~~ not getting worse I guess, but should I be concern?? Please see attached picture. Is it normal or it is sagging a bit?
Another question is, usually when I water it I just use a little cup and pour it over on the sink. But when I see some video and also some website, people are POURING like 2 liters of water or just let the tape run over the phal! Of course most water will drain but I am so afraid of overwater since what happened to my other baby phal. The potting medium of this Pahl is a mixture of bark and soil I think. So, what is the correct way to water it to make sure I am not under or overwatering it?
Thank you very much!!

[Orchid126]

A question, please. Does that white container have drainage holes? When you see/read about people pouring two litres of water over their plants, the pots they're in have excellent drainage. Orchid roots need to be watered, yes, but they also need air and like to dry out.

If you are worried about overwatering, use the skewer method. Get a shishkabob skewer, trim it down and keep it in the medium. The next time you think the plant needs water take out the skewer and touch it to your lip, cheek, or the back of your hand. If it's wet or very damp, don't water, wait. If it's nearly dry, water. How wet or dry the skewer is before you water will depend on the needs of the particular orchid.

[Fumi Lai]

Thank you Orchid126! The white (pink) container is a decorating pot. The phal is in a transparent plastic pot that I can see the roots and potting medium and I think it has excellent drainage too. So, should I water it like how other people do? And I make sure I leave in on the sink for 15 mins before putting it back in the deco pot. Is that correct?

I will try to use the skewer method to justify how often I need to water.

[calypsoB]

Hello!
I am following your keiki post as well! You said that you think it is in bark and soil? If there is soil in you will need to re-pot in orchid potting mediums or else you will probably get root rot etc. Also, from my experience, when leaves get droopy it may just want some more humidity. If that is what it is they will perk right up after a few days I have also been know to soak my orchids overnight if I let them get too dry. I just made sure that they were well drained after. I haven't ever had a problem with this.The worst that could be happening is root rot and that is why they are going limp, but it sounds like you may have caught it in time if it is. Anyway, beautiful plant you have!

[calypsoB]

I forgot to say it may just be the change of enviro

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by Fumi Lai

I searched some forum and though I underwater it so I gave it another cup of water only 3 days after I last water it. According to the forum, if that was the problem, I should see immediate improvement. But this is day 5 now it is still down~~~~~ not getting worse I guess, but should I be concern?? Please see attached picture. Is it normal or it is sagging a bit?

The problem is that over-watering can also cause this problem, and in many cases that's the cause. Over-watering causes roots to rot, then the plant can't absorb the water and shows all the symptoms of lack of water. It's always best to check the roots if you have this kind of problem because if they are rotting then watering more will only make it worse.

Leaves sometimes sag a bit if they shop had it in a bag which held them upright. After a few days of being out the bag they can turn more downwards. If they feel really limp then that is not right.

Originally Posted by Fumi Lai

Another question is, usually when I water it I just use a little cup and pour it over on the sink. But when I see some video and also some website, people are POURING like 2 liters of water or just let the tape run over the phal! Of course most water will drain but I am so afraid of overwater since what happened to my other baby phal.

Over-watering stems from sitting in water long term, not from a lot of water pouring over the roots. In nature Phals grow clinging to trees and when it rains water runs down the trunk and over their roots which are wrapped around the trunk. They can have a lot of water pouring over them at that time, but then also get a lot of air and so don't rot. It's when the roots don't get air because of too much water left around them (or broken down medium which clogs the gaps in the medium and stops air flow).

I water with either standing them up to the top of the pot in water for about 5min then draining completely, or I run a lot of water through them and then making sure they drain completely.

It is quite possible you are under-watering if you only use a cup full at a time. But if you leave even just that cup full sitting in the bottom of the pot after watering then you could be over-watering.

Phals like plenty of water when they are watered, but there then needs to be plenty of air around the roots, so we ensure they are not left standing in water so that the water can dry from the gaps in the medium and allow air in.

I advise that you water well, drain well, then wait until the roots at the bottom of the pot are silvery tinted (rather than bright green) before watering again. If you don't have a clear pot then use a skewer as advised above and wait until it comes out dry before watering again.

Originally Posted by Fumi Lai

The potting medium of this Pahl is a mixture of bark and soil I think. So, what is the correct way to water it to make sure I am not under or overwatering it?
Thank you very much!!

It should not have soil in. It may be that the bark has broken down to the point it looks like soil. As I've said above you need nice air gaps between the bark and if it's broken down that much it will be stopping that air flow (some of the stuff sold for orchids is no good for phals because it's too soil like, some of it even has a picture of phal flowers on the front, but it's no good if it's too soil like).

I would repot in something which is more bark chunks so that air can get around the roots.

[Fumi Lai]

Thank you Rosie,

I have been following your advice and the one week ago I watered a lot more but now I have a new problem, I think it is experiencing early stage of root rot.....

This first two pictures are one week ago and last three is today. You can see there are few roots that are rotting. What should I do?

Should I repot it? But you see it is at its peek of blooming...

Thank you for advice.

[jaxorchidman]

I would repot. I always repot every orchid I receive just to make sure. Most of the time the media is bad or the nursery has covered up old stuff by just wrapping some new sphagnum around it. If you're careful you shouldn't have any problems with the blooms. Good luck!

[Wjs2nd]

That clear pot doesn't look like it has enough venting/drainage. If you look up plastic orchid pots they have huge cut outs in them for air movement and drainage.

[Junebug]

Originally Posted by Wjs2nd

That clear pot doesn't look like it has enough venting/drainage. If you look up plastic orchid pots they have huge cut outs in them for air movement and drainage.

I agree. The pot must have adequate ventilation or multiple large holes down around the sides and base. This is really important. Clear orchid pots are available on-line but they're hard to find at nurseries. Terracotta orchid pots are readily available from many stores.

You could always add more holes to the pot you have. That would work. Once you have it potted in the proper pot it would be unwise to put that pot in any container that doesn't have vents...or the decorative planter needs to be large enough to allow ventilation between it and the vented pot your chid is planted in. I hope all that made sense. Ventilation is very, very important.