i can keep everything alive amd growing, except the phals.....

[inle]

I have several orchids of several different species. I received several as gifts back on my birthday last September. My friends did this collective orchid buying thing.....anyway since then I have acquired a few more. I have several oncidiums, a miltonia, several tolumnias, two paphs, a cattleya, B.nodosa, two dendrobiums, a cymbidium that was given to me as a Christmas present and a vanda I bought on impulse which I probably need to improve the care of, but other than that all of my orchids are doing pretty awesome.

Several of the orchids I have received or gotten have been phalaenopsis, and it seems inevitable that I will kill them. Every other orchid? They have new spikes or leaves or growth or pbulbs or roots. My catt and one of the dens are bothabout to bloom. But phalaenopsis, it seems I will inevitably kill. and I know what happens root rot, or crown rot, or some other kind of rot.

this is how it has gone: I get a new phal. it is packed tightly in moss and wet. the first, I treated with physan and repotted, because things were looking sad. I transferred to some fir bark. they died. so next one, that really needs repotting, I buy some fresh moss and give it just enough to not be soggy but to cover. it dies. so the 3rd one, I leave it in its pot until the flower are all falling off. I wait two days and the formerly six-leaved plant is down to four. it is packed tightly and the roots are rotten, green and slimy. physan, repot, light and water and love. it dies. okay well, not yet, this one is still alive. two others, the pots get knocked over and broken, so I have to repot. one dies from crown rot about two weeks later. the other seems to be hanging on. it has a spike but I don't know if I should cut it......

one I received as a anniversary plant, with oodles of healthy roots, I move it to a pot with holes and unpack some of the moss. it's still alive and I checked on the roots yesterday, and they're pretty healthy. same thing for my V-day phal.

it seems as though when one root goes bad the rest will follow in this horrible snowball of phalaenopsis death.

there is also a particular smell the media gets when this happens, if that helps.....


so far I have 3 alive...I have killed 4 of the gift-phals......my other non-phals are doing awesome. apparently i'm great with oncidiums! I repotted several of those after they bloomed, too, because they were really overpotted. each has new growth, and lots of light, and happiness. I actually brought one unhealthy one (unhealthy before I got it) basically back from the dead, and it has a new pbulb emerging. my miltonia, which apparently is supposed to be hard, is growing like a weed, and I hope to see flowers soon....


so why is it I can't keep the "easy" orchids in good health????????? help!

[mattryan]

Hello I feel your pain..my problems is standard cyms. I don't know where in the states that you live and that can make a huge difference as to an orchids care. I alyays as soon as I got home re-potted all my orchids, now that I have had them and getting better with their care I leave some of them until after blooming. The most important thing is not to over-water. I use the skewer method and if the orchid is in moss I try to remove as much as I can from the middle of the pot. I usually just pull it out from the bottom of the pot. Most of phals have a flimsy plastic pot inside a decorative 1. I just slip it off and pull out the excess moss. Then don't water too much..check the skewer for moistness. Now if roots are suspect I re-pot into bark mix and will cut the spike right off. Read up on the sticky phal abuse ends here. As I said different locations require different watering, fert and light schedules. It would be good to post what area in the states that you live and peeps in your area can narrow down your requirements better. Goodluck

Cheryl

[tucker85]

I'll just throw out a couple of suggestions. I like to plant phals in clear plastic pots. Use the smallest pot that you can comfortably fit the roots in. Either bark or coconut husk chips work for me. Allow the media to get almost completely dry between waterings. If in doubt, wait another day to water. Put the phal in the sink and water it thouroughly. Invest in a small bottle of Maxicrop Liquid Seaweed and use it on your phals at a strength of 1 ounce per gallon of water. Or mix a quart of water with a quarter ounce. I use it twice a month. It's dark and nasty but it really helps. You also need to fertilize though. Give your phals a little more light if possible. They like bright shade with maybe a little direct sun in the morning or evening.

[The Orchid Boy]

If your paphiopedilums are doing well or ok, treat the phals the same as them.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by inle

I have several orchids of several different species. I received several as gifts back on my birthday last September. My friends did this collective orchid buying thing.....anyway since then I have acquired a few more. I have several oncidiums, a miltonia, several tolumnias, two paphs, a cattleya, B.nodosa, two dendrobiums, a cymbidium that was given to me as a Christmas present and a vanda I bought on impulse which I probably need to improve the care of, but other than that all of my orchids are doing pretty awesome.

Several of the orchids I have received or gotten have been phalaenopsis, and it seems inevitable that I will kill them. Every other orchid? They have new spikes or leaves or growth or pbulbs or roots. My catt and one of the dens are bothabout to bloom. But phalaenopsis, it seems I will inevitably kill. and I know what happens root rot, or crown rot, or some other kind of rot.

this is how it has gone: I get a new phal. it is packed tightly in moss and wet. the first, I treated with physan and repotted, because things were looking sad. I transferred to some fir bark. they died. so next one, that really needs repotting, I buy some fresh moss and give it just enough to not be soggy but to cover. it dies. so the 3rd one, I leave it in its pot until the flower are all falling off. I wait two days and the formerly six-leaved plant is down to four. it is packed tightly and the roots are rotten, green and slimy. physan, repot, light and water and love. it dies. okay well, not yet, this one is still alive. two others, the pots get knocked over and broken, so I have to repot. one dies from crown rot about two weeks later. the other seems to be hanging on. it has a spike but I don't know if I should cut it......

one I received as a anniversary plant, with oodles of healthy roots, I move it to a pot with holes and unpack some of the moss. it's still alive and I checked on the roots yesterday, and they're pretty healthy. same thing for my V-day phal.

it seems as though when one root goes bad the rest will follow in this horrible snowball of phalaenopsis death.

there is also a particular smell the media gets when this happens, if that helps.....


so far I have 3 alive...I have killed 4 of the gift-phals......my other non-phals are doing awesome. apparently i'm great with oncidiums! I repotted several of those after they bloomed, too, because they were really overpotted. each has new growth, and lots of light, and happiness. I actually brought one unhealthy one (unhealthy before I got it) basically back from the dead, and it has a new pbulb emerging. my miltonia, which apparently is supposed to be hard, is growing like a weed, and I hope to see flowers soon....

so why is it I can't keep the "easy" orchids in good health????????? help!

The problem you described is akin to what my past experiences were with Phals. This is why I don't say that Phals are easy to grow.

I don't know if you've read the sticky "The Phal abuse ends here." or not, but I think it would be worth your time to read from the very beginning.

If you really like Phals, try growing Phalaenopsis schilleriana, Phal stuartiana, Phal philippinensis, Phal sanderiana, Phal amabilis, Phal aphrodite, Phal equestris, or Phal lindenii. These should prove to be far easier to grow than the store bought hybrids you've tried so far.

Should you be looking for Phals with more color, you could try Phal amboinensis, Phal bastianii, Phal mannii, Phal (Doritis) pulcherrhima, or Phal cornu-cevi. These are not quite as easy as the ones I mentioned in the previous paragraph, but they're still fairly easy.

[inle]

I live in Louisiana, but my orchids are set up inside. I have a plant stand which is in a room that gets a lot of light, but I supplement with additional gro lamps. The oncidiums are on the top nearest to the lamps and the phals and paph are on bottom. The paphs are doing pretty well. The phals are varied. I forgot about one, a big yellow one, that's doing okay. I wonder if perhaps i should just repot immediately when getting my orchid rather than waiting for blooms to finish.....

[JerseyGirlBecky]

I went through a lot of phals in the beginning, but have got it good now. Of course when I started I got bad ones with no good roots to begin with. Now, I check roots BEFORE I buy. No matter how they are potted, even if in bloom, I repot as soon as I get them. I use the clear pots with the slits in the sides and med. bark. If they came in the moss, I add a little to the bark, as they don't like the big change. I keep them in an east window and water about every two weeks. I do use the seaweed extract about once a month really watered down. I also use the Schultz fertilizer half strength every other watering. I have ten of them now and eight of them are blooming or in spike. I know everyone does it a different way. But this is really working for me.
I also have about 9 Catts that have me worried. They are beautiful, but will not bloom for me. I have them in a southwest window and use two grow lights also to make the days longer. Leaves are great with lots of new p bulbs. Just won't bloom so far for me. so I can feel for you. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by inle

I live in Louisiana, but my orchids are set up inside. I have a plant stand which is in a room that gets a lot of light, but I supplement with additional gro lamps. The oncidiums are on the top nearest to the lamps and the phals and paph are on bottom. The paphs are doing pretty well. The phals are varied. I forgot about one, a big yellow one, that's doing okay. I wonder if perhaps i should just repot immediately when getting my orchid rather than waiting for blooms to finish.....

If you live in Louisiana, then the following videos showing how a Phal grows in the wild should be something you might be able to comprehend when it comes to understanding what the conditions are like in those kinds of environments, as these kinds of habitats are present in your state.

Phalaenopsis in natural habitat ( in situ) - YouTube

Visiting Phalaenopsis cornucervi (orchid) habitat in the swamp of Borneo-part 3 - YouTube

And yes, I would repot as soon as you get the plants. Waiting increases the chances of the plants getting really severe root rot problems.

Checking roots prior to purchase also helps a great deal with your success.

I would also seriously consider the Phal species I have recommended should you continue to have a frustrating experience with those store bought Phals. Like I said before, the ones I mentioned in the first paragraph are much, much easier to grow. These are the ones that get people to say that Phals are easy.

If you really like the hybrids, maybe purchasing some from an actual orchid vendor might help some.

[JerseyGirlBecky]

And one thing I forgot to mention. You say they get crown rot and leaf rot. You must water them on the sides being careful not to get water in the leaves. If you do dry them with q tips or whatever. Also do not pot so deep that water goes between the leaves.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

It's probably from the water dripping from the orchids in the top row of the rack down into the crowns of the Phals...