Introduction + some questions

[Anee]

Hi there ^.^

My name is Anique, and I have just recently taken on an interest in Phalaenopsis orchids (hoping to find other kinds in my location: Ottawa Ontario). I started working at the Canadian Superstore (in Floral and Bulk departments) in December and since then I've bought 5 Phals. I'll show pics and underneath will be their story and my questions.

Hippy::




Now there's not anything to ask about Hippy. It's one of the most unique I've seen. I've yet to see another with petals like that. Looks like tie-dye; hence the name. It's still in really great shape, roots look healthy and I can only spot one rotted root. I would like to repot it in something with more circulation but it's likely the flowers will wither 'cause it's happened with:

Freckles::




I didn't know enough when I started buying orchids. So roots went unchecked. Unfortunately in the Floral department there isn't always enough time to water all the orchids properly since we have soo many of them along with other flowers and plants. It takes major delicacy taking each one out of its pot and plastic wrap, watering over a bucket to drain and slowly slipping it back into the plastic. Since I started it's been done that way but before most often they just stayed in their pots and got enough water so they won't dry out/won't rot.

But some did rot. Freckles did. I realized a couple weeks after I got it and repotted about a week ago. The flowers are starting to wither now... they're going to fall off. Which sucks, I wanted them to last much longer. I just had to make sure the rotting roots were gone. Maybe I should've waited.

This brings me to my main question. I was told that the Phals my store receive are grown through some tissue process that is a form of cloning. I don't remember what process it is that sets it apart, I can call to clarify. But I was wondering if anyone knows whether or not a cloned orchid can rebloom?? Does it matter *how* it was cloned? Or will it just stay dormant no matter what the process was?

& moving on,
Butter & Veins::



These two MINI Phals where potted in moss. So my question is: will is completely shock them if I repot them in Schultz medium bark? Should I use that Miracle Grow mix instead?

&& lastly,

I have an orchid that has been cut, later on one of the leaves started to yellow/brown::



What happened??

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

1. You were right to repot "Freckles" asap. If you had left it be, you would've lost it for certain.

2. The cloning process you're referring to is called mericloning. It's a combination of the words meristem (which is where the "meri" part of the word comes from), and cloning.

Mericloning of Phals is usually done by in-vitro methods and should ideally be done in a lab setting.

Home style mericloning is to date, still a bit of a challenge, but is not impossible. But make no mistake about it, when I say it's difficult, I mean it. There are lots of complications involved in this process.

3. The leaf tip is showing signs of rotting. This is normally one of the signs of over watering. If left unresolved, the Phal would've died.

As for the leaf itself, it may or may not make it. However, as long as the plant makes it, one leaf doesn't matter.

In fact, all the leaves can fall off and leave you with nothing but roots, and the Phal can still recover if it is grown properly, strong enough, and healthy enough.

4. The transition from moss to bark can sometimes work just fine. Other times not so much.

You may also try CHC (coconut husk chips). It is a happy medium between bark and moss, should bark be a problematic media for you to use.

If you haven't already, I recommend checking out the sticky "The Phal abuse ends here."

Good luck.

[Zoi2]

Hello and welcome!
Your phals are lovely.
Joann

[Merlyn]

Nice Phals ! The tip turning yellow looks like it's on the bottom leaf which will eventually turn completely yellow and fall off. It's normal for Phals to lose their bottom leaves, one at a time as long as they are growing new ones it's nothing unusual.

[camille1585]

Hi, and welcome!! You sure gets nice Phals at your store!
Cloning, or mericloning as it's called, it the standard procedure for commercial mass propagation of many orchids. To explain in a nut shell, all plants have clusters of undifferenticiated cells (similar to stem cells) where new growth comes from. Basically the meristem is harvested, cut into pieces, and cultured in vitro to have new plants. The advantage is that all the babies are identical to the mother, and they take less time to produce than from seed. Mericloned plants bloom and grow no differently from seed grown plants, so there is nothing to worry about.

For your question about repotting, yes, you can transfer from sphag to bark. Make sure to soak the bark overnight before using it. Usually Phals make the transition quite well, although I find that it's helpful to water more frequently in the beginning until the bark starts to hold water longer. If it's pure bark the Schultz mix, you can add some sphag in it so that it holds more water. I think I've heard that the Miracle Grow mix is not very good because there are too many fine particles in it.

For the rotting leaf, does that rot feel mushy and is is spreading quickly? The quickest course of action would be to cut off the bad part, including the section that's yellowing.

I hope that answers your questions!

[Anee]

Thanks for all the informative replies

So this cloning business... this means I can rebloom my Phals by cutting the stem or do I actually have to clone them again?

&& I was hoping the leaf problem wasn't overwatering. When I repotted I didn't soak the bark so I assumed watering again a little earlier would be a good idea since the bark is so much drier than it's previous bark mix. Damn I feel like I failed. Should I cut just the rotting part or the entire leaf??

When should I repot the minis in the moss? I'm afraid I'll lose flowers and buds if I do it now. Their roots look healthy but it's also a really tight fit in there...

[camille1585]

Mericloning can only be done in highly sterile conditions, usually meaning specialized labs. You don't need to do anything of the sort to rebloom Phals. Mericloning is simply an alternative to sowing seeds, that's all. If you grow Phals correctly then they usually put out new stems in the fall, year after year (although this depends on the plant's genetics, some can start new stems at any time of year).

For the rotting leaf, cut off a section that includes the rotten part, the yellow halo around it, and a quarter to half inch margin of healthy green leaf.

For repotting to bark, if you don't want to do it now, I recommend that you at least remove some of that tightly packed sphag, and then pot them back up in it much looser. If you leave it so tight you will likely get root rot. It works well at the growers, but not so well at home.

[silken]

You never have to take up cloning and most of us don't. That's left to major labs that produce all these Phals for the market. Just grow your plant normally and when the flowers are done, you can cut the flower stem down to about an inch from the base. Or you can leave it and cut it back a bit to just above one of the little nodes on the stem and it may re-bloom from there. Many do, but not all. If it doesn't (and it might take a while) just cut it down and next year with luck and good growing, it will send up another bloom stem (spike) and bloom again for you!

Phals tolerate re-potting very well and many of us have learned to do it as soon as we get them. The blooms last so long on them that if you wait till its done blooming, the roots may have rotted. It's best to slide it from its pot and either remove a good portion of the moss so the roots can breath, or completely re-pot it. Most of them don't even skip a beat! When you are re-potting, find a pot that will only nicely fit the healthy roots. They never should be over-potted as this also leads to root rot. Sometimes the same pot will work for you. Cut off all dead or mushy roots. Healthy roots usually are a silver colour when dry and turn green when wet.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

If you keep a level head and just work the problems out, there's nothing to worry about. There're tons of proper info on how to grow Phals here.

[Anee]

Alright well, one last question: when you cut the stem, is it okay to put sulphur dust on the cut? That's the procedure I used, just assumed it'd be like any other fungicide...