Is my Phal dying?

[plantPotter05]

Hi guys,
I'm sure this question has been asked before. My fiance and I bought a phal... from a grocery store. Shortly after we bought it, i got a little preemptive and decided i wanted to repot it. I bought some Better Gro orchid mix western fir bark, hardwood charcoal, and sponge rock and a 5inch selft watering pot. I removed all the old media, washed the roots, snipped off the rotting roots and began repotting. filled the new pot about a 3rd of the way with the new potting media added the plant and filled the voids with new potting media. The next morning i watered it.

After a couple weeks, i've noticed the leaves are dark green and very droopy, they used to be perky and bright green. The flowers are getting brown spots and the potting media looks dry all the time! Is my phal dying? did i use the wrong type of media? wrong pot?

I haven't looked at the roots yet. the aerial roots have shriveled as well.

Thanks for any advice

[Tim C.]

I suspect it's a case of dehydration. Aside from semi-hydro, I've never heard of self-watering pots being used for orchids - and semi-hydro doesn't use standard self-watering pots. If it's one of those glazed clay pots that has an unglazed clay insert (commonly called "African violet" pots) then you're drying your orchid to death. Remove the plant from the self-watering pot, cut off any and all dead roots, and put it in a normal plastic or terracotta pot. Phals require consistently moist medium, and shouldn't dry out completely.

-Tim

[plantPotter05]

I was worried about dehydration, or overhydration. Its a black plastic pot that has a built in lower "tray" that holds excess water in attempts to promote the roots to grow in search of the water. I'll head to the store and buy a plastic pot later today. I was also wondering about the potting medium, will it hold water fine, it's mostly comprised of bark, just wasn't sure if i should mix some sphagnum moss in there or anything??

[Tim C.]

The potting medium is really up to you. If your growing area is really dry, then use a mix that holds water more - like pure sphagnum, placed loosely around the roots (don't pack it in like you would with bark). Phals roots are exposed to a lot of air in nature, so bark mixes help keep the roots healthy, and the mix stays fresher, longer. That's not to say, however, that sphagnum moss is a bad medium to use. It just all depends on how often you want to water, and how dry the air is around your phal.

If you worry about overwatering, then I'd say plant in the bark mix and keep vigilant with watering. Stick your finger in the top two inches or so of mix - if it feels moist, don't water, and if it's getting dry, then water. Soon, you'll know how long it takes the mix to dry out, and that will tell you how often to water.

-Tim

[plantPotter05]

Great info, Thanks for all the help!