Not sure what to think...

[KaylaC]

So i recieved a big phal orchid for my birthday a month ago, and i got the fever. I went and rescued this poor phal that had lots of aerial roots but was very poorly taken care of. I'm new at growing these, and i did alot of research before doing anything to it. But it had outgrown its tiny pot and i repotted it, the roots for the most part were okay, some were rotted but i expected that. and its been doing ok for the past month. But i recently noticed that two of the bottom leaves have turned yellow, shriveled up and fell off. Everything else on this orchid looks relatively ok. But i'm wondering if something may be wrong with it. Please give some insight, i've looked everywhere but not really gotten answers.

[dounoharm]

one picture is worth a thousand words.....sounds like maybe you repotted into too large a pot?? it may be staying too wet in the center of the pot, and not drying out quickly enuf....please post a pic soon as you can so we can have alooksee....gl

[Zoi2]

Hello and welcome.
Your bottom leaves could be falling off due to normal leaf die off or you could have a root problem.
What is your phal potted in and how large is the pot? How often are you watering and what kind of light are you giving the plant? Can you post a picture of your plant?
Joann

[KaylaC]

thank you for replying so quickly. I did a mixture of orchid medium sized bark i did put a small amount of sphag moss, because that is what it was bound tightly in. I have it in an E facing window, that has filtered light both by normal blinds and sheer curtains. i water about once a week, or until thoroughly dry. i always check it before. i have a humidity tray that is sitting next to it for the humidity.

[Captainjohn]

The plant looks healthy to me. The lower, older, leaves dying was probably normal. I try to mist the aerial roots once a day, being careful to keep the center, growing point dry.

[Discus]

I generally tend to get rid of any sphagnum around phalaenopsis roots and replace with a bark mix; some people swear by moss around the roots, but I've only ever found it kills them off - may be I water a little too much to have success in moss.

It is normal for the old leaves to turn brown and die at some stage - as long as you see new leaves emerging from the top every so often, and there's nothing otherwise obviously wrong with the plant, it's part of it's natural growth cycle. In the picture, it looks very healthy.

As the previous poster says, the aerial roots to seem to enjoy a good mist from time to time - as they note, keep water well clear of the central "crown".

[silken]

I can't tell from the photo so does the pot have good drainage holes? I'm assuming so if it dries out in a week. I use a mix of moss and medium bark with very good results for phals, but everyone's conditions are different. The plant looks healthy and it may have just been due to drop a leaf or two, although they usually drop one at a time. 4 is a good number to remain for a phal.

I should add, to me, the pot is bordering on being a bit large. However it depends on the amount of roots the plant had. It should just be big enough to hold the roots. You could use a kebab skewer left in the media and pull it out to test how wet it is near the centre and bottom of the pot. Sometimes, it may seem dry on top but still be pretty wet down below. I like clear pots to see whats happening down there.

[KaylaC]

Okay thanks so much for the feedback. I'll try and see how it goes and if i think it needs to repot i may do it. The roots were for the most part okay, it was just in a very small pot for the size of the plant when i first got it. And thats what i had on hand. Thanks again for the great responses.