Good morning, everyone! I am still new to orchids, and I have a NoID Phal which I bought and she was in DESPERATE need of repotting. So I moved her out of her tightly compacted moss, cut all of her dead and rotted roots and stuck her in some Better-Gro orchid mix with bark and charcoal in it. She was in full bloom when I did so, so I didn't expect the flowers to live (somehow they haven't dropped yet), but this morning when I checked, her new buds were all shriveled up and two of her bottom leaves are starting to get wrinkly. She also has an aerial root that is white and kind of shriveled looking.
I have spent the last two days trying to get through "The Phal Abuse Ends Here" thread in my spare time and I haven't seen a question like this yet (I think - I'm only on Page 39..It's midterms week, so it's slow going.):
I know the phal needs water, but since repotting can be such a shock to them, especially while they're in bloom, I assume it's not possible to remove her and give her a good soak? What should I do to help her get more hydrated? I do not have bamboo skewers but I do have a couple of smaller dowel rods stuck down in the bark of this phal and another that I recently repotted in the same mix. The other one I repotted is doing pretty well, but that one was in better shape to begin with. I checked both dowel rods this morning and they are only very very slightly damp. Should I water them? (I just watered on Monday so I'm paranoid) I have read so many things about overwatering I am scared to do so...but I do think my one phal definitely needs some water. I have also read that new bark (I soaked it for 24 hours first) dries out fairly quickly and requires more watering up front. I have also read that you can lightly mist the underside of their leaves? But I'm hesitant to do that too after reading some controversy about it.
The phals are in a south facing window that gets lots of bright filtered (blinds are down) light throughout the day. They are also about 5-6 feet under a vent that is only very
slightly open for a little bit of airflow.
I attached a couple pictures of the leaf and the root. Advice? Thanks so much!
Advice About Newly Potted Phal
Threaded Mode
