orchid turned for worse :(

[Tim P.]

As some of you know a while back I purchased a phal with roots rotted, repotted into bark to try to save it ( it was in sphag) and now the leafs are dying. They are not falling off like one would with crown rot, but none the less dying. starting from the bottom. Even the very newest one has seemingly terminal road maps scrawled all over its underside... here is my plethora of pictures... what do you suggest!!! Thank you for all your help...

it appears that the picture of the underside of the leaf did not turn out as bad as it really is.... my camera does not do wel with close ups. but as you can see the bases of some of the leaves are brown and drying. thanks again... any insructions will help me! im a newbie yet... this is orchid number 2... number one is doing well!!! thanks

[Phal grower]

From my view it looks thirsty. Does it have roots?

[Junebug]

Hi Tim,

Your probably not going to like my suggestion but I'd remove the spike and put it in a vase of water. If you don't remove it your plant will continue to weaken. I can see some nice looking roots but there probably isn't enough of them yet to support healthy leaves and blooms at the same time. Chances are you will loose the lower leaves even if you remove the spike. The upper leaves aren't too far gone yet and they'll likely plump back up within a few days to a few weeks with proper watering.

[Phal grower]

Ok, your post says roots rotted, sorry. I would get that plant in a bag with indirect light. Keep humidity high. Good luck.

[Tim P.]

Originally Posted by Phal grower

From my view it looks thirsty. Does it have roots?

Ya... it does have roots left.... not a TON, but i would definately think enough to support the plant... after all it is not a large plant... do you think that i should possibly water more often?

[ezil]

from what I can see, it has at least 1 good root growing into the medium. That's a good start. The leaves look dessicated, but that can be because the plant did not have enough root mass to sustain them (and there are not enough healthy roots even now). The plant is still stressed. You could try to help it by increasing the humidity around the plant (create a tent, put it in an enclosed area) and put it on a heat mat to stimulate root growth. It's going to take time. Good luck

[Junebug]

Trust me, your spike is robbing energy from your plant that it needs for suvival. It really needs more roots to support the spike and flowers. If the spike remains the plant will continue to weaken and it could even die. Removing the spike at this stage will encourage growth of roots and leaves.

[Paul Mc]

Junebug took the words right out of my mouth. For a plant to bloom and hold it's flowers, it takes a lot of energy. I second Junebug's motion of cutting off the spike.

When watering, you might try luke-warm water (not hot or cold) to help stimulate more root growth. In addition, you might try getting some KLN Root Stimulator and use just a little bit with each watering. Another good item is Dyna-Gro ProTekt Silicon Supplement. It helps to eleviate stress symptoms caused by various environmental stresses. Again, just a teensy dab each watering.

You're not going to like the next thing I have to say though, lol... Right up there with Junebug's suggestion of the flower spike. But first, a quick question - how many healthy roots do you have left? If you have only a handful, then you should consider cutting off the bottom 2 to 4 leaves, leaving only a few at the top. Dust the cuts lightly with cinnamon to prevent opportunistic infections.

The reason for this? Even leaves need roots to give them energy to live. If you don't have enough roots and those few roots are attempting to gather enough water and nutrition for too many leaves, then of course it's out of balance. By reducing the number of leaves you have (only the bottom older ones though), you are signaling to the plant that it can now focus on root growth even more now that there are not so many leaves to feed and sustain.

[Wrebbitrocks]

is this juihbao fairy?

anyways, yes, the spike robs nutrients the plant could be sending to growing roots. increasing humidity and the tempurature at the root zone could help, ive heard. using a seedling mat to make the root zone warm. i do recommend a hormone like superthrive because it seemed to help my plants make roots

[silken]

I agree, cut the spike. That plant will live with the roots that are showing. It will just need a bit of extra care for a while. I know lots of people are against misting Phals because of the risk of crown rot. But I'm sure that's what saved a rescue I had with less roots than yours. Or put it in a terrarium. If you do mist it, just make sure no water sits in the crown where the leaves join in the centre. If you take care of that, no harm will come to it.

	Mistking Looking for a misting system? Look no further. Automated misting systems from MistKing are used by multitude of plant enthusiasts and are perfect for Orchids. Systems feature run dry pumps, ZipDrip valve, adjustable black nozzles, per second control! Automatically mist one growing shelf or a greenhouse full of Orchids. See MistKing testimonials