Beginner needs help! Sad orchid :(

[Etrever]

Hello,

So I have these two orchids that I have had for a while. They haven't had any flowers in a really long time. So I finally pulled them out to the plastic and the root system was really wet and all the roots looked in really bad shape. So I started cutting. I went to Home Depot and got some new moss and dampened the moss and put the plants back in the pots. I am worried that the container I put them in isn't good and that these plants will not survive. One the leaves have started to droop more.

[WhiteRabbit]

Does that pot drain?

There's not much by way of good roots, so it will take some time. Repotting was good, but the plant needs to grow roots to support itself, so it won't immediately turn around, and may lose more foliage.

[Orchidsoutdoors]

That's looks like root rot, which Phalaenopsis get if their roots are in wet medium. Whilst they love humidity, they're epiphytic which means in nature they get drenched then dry out again fairly quickly. I tend to err on the side of dry caution with Phals, I let their medium dry completely before watering again.

If your location is a bit on the cold and damp side, you might want to try growing it in coarse bark chips rather than sphagnum which can hold too much moisture in wet climates.

[Leafmite]

Yeah, I have to grow phals in lava rock or the roots suffer a swift death.

[Etrever]

Thank you for the replies. I went to Home Depot and got some orchid mix to repot instead of the moss. They suggested some root starter powder.
What are your thoughts?

---------- Post added at 11:38 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:37 AM ----------

It is cool and damp here. I live near Seattle, WA.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

The powdered rooting hormones don't work so well with orchids in general.

The hormones are supposed to be bound to the powder. And the powder is supposed to get onto the roots and help make it grow.

In orchids, the powder has a difficult time sticking to the roots because of how the roots are and because the potting media drains so freely, that the powder just drains right out the pot.

Now, The Home Depot sells lots of "orchid mixes", I'm not exactly sure how yours looks. If it has fine particles in it, that's going to kill the orchid off even faster!

Most Phalaenopsis grow on trees in the wild. Some grow on moist limestone cliffs in the wild. I have not heard of any Phalaenopsis orchids that are terrestrial at the moment, or rather I should more accurately say - science has not yet found a Phalaenopsis that grows as a terrestrial plant as of yet.

I highly recommend you read the sticky http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ends-here.html, you will find much more info that will give you some basic insight on Phals.

There are liquid plant hormones available to the hobbyist, but these lab grade chemicals cost more than the plant you bought. And not any old hormone will grow roots. At this point, the whole hormone thing is probably quite a bit too much information to handle in one go. The information you will be receiving on this subject matter can be quite technical and be filled with science lingo, it may be quite a bit to process. So when you feel you can handle more info on plant hormones, go ahead and ask.

For now, I suggest learning about how to properly grow your orchid 1st.