Shrinking aerial roots and yellow leaves- Is my Phal dying?

[Margy_11]

Hi everyone,

I received a white Phal (my first orchid) 3 days ago- it was packed in a densely-packed mixture of crumbled bark and little stones. Some of the aerial roots have brown tips and wrinkles- so I did the water and drain.

Then, in my (perhaps premature) enthusiasm, I "repoted" the orchid by removing some of the dirt to make more air space in the plastic pot it was given in. The roots were not green, but they were plump and solid.

However, I now notice that the leaves are turning slightly more yellow than they were and the aerial roots are still wrinkly---- I'm just scared I have killed the plant by repoting it while it is still in bloom (so far the bloom and buds seem fine).

Please advice me on what to do- it is a very special present and I'd hate to see it in the compost bin!

Thanks

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

1. If the "little stones" are white or whitish, look very porous and crumble very easily, they are most likely what people call "sponge rock"; or more accurately they are called perlite.

The simplest description of perlite is that it is a rock that is made up of volcanic glass and the pores are made from gases during the formation of the material.

In horticulture, people love using perlite because it is lightweight, does not degrade as quickly as organic matter does, and because it is porous, it has water retentive properties as well as provides some air circulation to the plants roots.

2. "Crumbled bark" is no good for an orchid that grows on living trees. The debris from the crumbling bark will suffocate the roots by severely reducing the amount of air that gets to the orchid's roots and by retaining too much water (too much water = drowning the roots = suffocation).

Repotting was really a great idea. Good job!

3. The yellowing leaves may be physical signs of damage done to the plant long before you obtained it.

4. Reducing the pot size may be another thing that might be needed, particularly if root system was severely damaged.

5. Check the condition of the roots in the pot, don't just pay attention to the "aerial roots".

6. Let your plant dry out a bit between waterings.

7. I highly recommend understanding how a Phalaenopsis really grows in nature. I think it will help solve some basic issues with problems associated with growing Phals.

Any further questions, just ask.

[Margy_11]

Thanks so much for the reply Phillip!

The roots in the pot were pale- I'd say most of it was white/brownish with green tips. I checked them for decay/ hollow parts but they seem to be pretty good.

I found a tiny white bug on one of the roots- I killed it, but I don't see any eggs/clusters.

Should I just wait it out and let the plant dry for a week or two?

[Rowangreen]

Copying what I put in the other thread:

It doesn't look too bad so far from what I can see in the pics.

You were right to loosen the medium, but changing it completely would probably be a good idea.

There's some red pigment on the edges of the leaves: that could indicate it's getting the maximum light it can stand. If you've got it somewhere bright you might want to pull it back a bit. But this could also be due to the treatment it got in the shop, and some phals naturally have more pigment in the leaves.

The roots might react a bit to change in environment. Better too dry than too wet in my experience, so don't worry too much. Keep a watch on the roots inside the pot: they should be going from green to silver before you water again. Don't worry too much about the arial ones.

The spots on the leaves could be due to it being watered and left wet when cold. They look quite old so I think that's probably down to the shop. Try and avoid watering in the evening.

[james mickelso]

This phal is fine. Y
The color you see is the normal color for the hybrid. Just a tad too pale from it's environment where it's been grown recently. Rowan is right. I would repot this carefully in new media. A commercially prepared mix would be fine. Fine (1/4 to 1/2 inch fir bark with sponge rock) media would be a good choice although I have mine in a courser mix (1/2 ihch bark, sponge rock, and lava cinder). If the flowers fall don't worry. That is usually from a change in environment. Just be very gentle when you handle the plant. Washing off the old mix would be safe and help hydrate the roots which would lessen the shock. If you are very careful the plant won't evebn notice the change. Keep it in the pot it is in. It looks like a clear plastic pot. No matter what you do the plant will show some drooping of the leAVES DUE TO THE CHANGE IN ENVIRONMENT. But this is normal. I would give it good but diffuse light. Pull it back from the window a littl3e. But no direct light .After you water the plant, lift it and feel how heavy it is. When it is light weight when it is dry, water again. Do not keep it soaked. And above all use good water low in salts. I use bottled water from the water machine outside the grocery stores.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

A 1 week dry out period is fine. Any longer than that and it may get too stressed out. It'll be difficult to not water the plant unless you really preoccupy yourself to the point of serious distraction though.

James Mickelso mentioned the use of clear plastic pots. I too like the use of clear plastic pots for many of my epiphytes, btw. It's mostly because the roots photosynthesize. It also has the added advantage of being able to see through so that some of the roots can be seen. Be aware that just because you have the plant in a clear plastic pot, doesn't mean you'll be able to see all the roots. Sometimes when diagnosing a problem, you may need to see the condition of the plant in its entirety, which may mean pulling the plant out of a clear plastic pot to inspect the entire root system, not just the ones you can see clearly through the pot.

[james mickelso]

Don't be afraid to pull the plant from the pot at most anytime. They are normally epiphytes and therefore don't need to be grown in a media like bark or moss. We just grow them in these media to facilitate growing them in less than ideal conditions. Just take care when you pull them out of the pot and try not to damage the roots. You can even repot them in the same pot with the media that was in the pot. Just scoop it up and put it back in. If the roots adhere to the sides of the pot, just carefully shake out the media with the pot upside down and inspect the roots as need be. But if you grow the orchid in a mix that is somewhat more course than normal then you shouldn't need to inspect the roots because the plant will grow well though you might need to water it a little more. I'll have to take a few more pictures to illustrate this point as I now have far fewer plants than I had previously. I would say that watering correctly (with good water low dissolved solids) for the media that most plants are grown in by most people is the one most crucial to good culture. Most people growing orchids kill them by watering too much for the media the orchid is in with too little light and no air movement being the second most detrimental to good culture.

[jen.kirsten]

I re-potted my Phal when I first got it as well (mine was tightly packed in water logged moss-yuck!). That was about 3 weeks ago and so far the blooms are doing well (I even have two new buds growing) and everything looks good. I removed a bunch of roots from mine that were yellow and fragile so my plants are surviving with only a few good roots at this time. I just keep an eye on the root system and try not to over water. Time and patience will pay off. On my second Phal I noticed a new root starting to grow so all is not lost! Good luck!