Rootless Phal with spike - how can I save it?

[maiargz]

My 3 yr old phalaenopsis orchid's roots are rotten and the base of the leaves are becoming black. I cut the rotten roots, removed the lower leaves and is currently in a plastic container with very little water trying to get it to grow some roots.

It was just earlier this week that I decided to re-pot this orchid and I discovered that the roots were rotten and had some tiny bugs crawling on it. It was in a glazed pot for 3 years that had no drainage and I was lucky that it bloomed for the first time under my care (or lack thereof) in Jan 2013 (I'm a newbie with plants and just got into gardening as a hobby). It's blooms recently just fell off it's spike and there is one green bud still yet to grow/bloom. I noticed that there is yellowing around the top leaves and blackish pigmentation around the edges of the lower leaves. Anyone know what that is? Also, the new leaf ripped somehow.

I'm hoping that it will grow some roots in the water but is
there a way to encourage the roots to grow? Should I replant it in moss/bark? Should I cut off the spike or leave it alone? Or is it a lost cause?

Any advise/suggestions/comments are greatly appreciated.

[Orchidgirl83]

Well, first I would go on and cut the spike so that the plant will focus on growing roots and that new leaf. I think it has a good chance of living since I see a couple of new roots starting.

To help keep the plant from getting too dehydrated I would suggest suspending it over a cup of water, and then putting a large clear ziplock type bag over it. That will create a greenhouse like environment.
You can soak the rootzone in some seaweed, superthrive, or rooting hormone to help promote root growth.

[birdybrain]

That's great advice from orchidgirl83!

I did something similar & you can read a recent post about how I've gotten some roots to grow on a rootless phal here:
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...remaining.html

Best wishes!

[maiargz]

Thanks orchidgirl83! My orchy is now sitting on top of a plastic bowl (not touching the water) and in a clear bag with two little holes in a spot where it gets indirect sunlight. I'll make a run to the store this weekend for some superthrive/KLN and maybe pick out an orchid to take home.

Way to go, birdybrain! That took a lot of patience and TLC. It must feel amazing to be able to revive such a plant.

Thanks for both your advise. Will do an update soon.

[TyronSA]

Looks like your lucky! I Had a phal that got knocked off my orchid table by the dog and fell on a new growing leaf and broke it off.. From there on it was all down hill for it.. What i did was i let it rest in some root growing hormone for about 10 min and then rinsed it. Tie it to a kebab stick and set it in a bottle of water that the water is just a few mils beneath the Crown. I left it there for about 6 weeks now it has 2 new leaves and 5 roots of atleast 1cm each. Granted it will take time for it to get back to origional but i think its past the worst.. Thats what worked for me.. Think i did something wrong with the bagging method because it had mold growing on it haha

[maiargz]

Ahh, mold problem here, too.
I actually have found mold growing on the bottom of the orchid and the spike (where I cut it off) several times even after I cleaned it so I'm ditching the bag but leaving the humidity tray. No growth development so far but I noticed that the leaves have become really soft but its not wrinkled, not sure what that means. I really gotta get on the ball and buy that superthrive/root hormone.

My husband surprised me with phalaenopsis with 2 spikes and a mini phal which he got from Home Depot. They were both in bloom but I had to repot because the moss had a lot of algae. I put them both in bark medium and both of the orchids' bottom leaf are shriveling up and turning yellow. I read online that when you repot when in bloom this tends to happen.

It just makes me feel awful that I may have possibly damage/kill the plant.

[WhiteRabbit]

The foliage is wilting because there are no roots, and so the plant can't take up water. Phals don't have pbulbs that have stored water and food, so being rootless is harder on them than on orchids with pbulbs.

[SJF]

Originally Posted by TyronSA

Looks like your lucky! I Had a phal that got knocked off my orchid table by the dog and fell on a new growing leaf and broke it off.. From there on it was all down hill for it.. What i did was i let it rest in some root growing hormone for about 10 min and then rinsed it. Tie it to a kebab stick and set it in a bottle of water that the water is just a few mils beneath the Crown. I left it there for about 6 weeks now it has 2 new leaves and 5 roots of atleast 1cm each. Granted it will take time for it to get back to origional but i think its past the worst.. Thats what worked for me.. Think i did something wrong with the bagging method because it had mold growing on it haha

I have sprayed Physan 20 on a plant prior to bagging it. It seemed to help the mold issue

[maiargz]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

The foliage is wilting because there are no roots, and so the plant can't take up water. Phals don't have pbulbs that have stored water and food, so being rootless is harder on them than on orchids with pbulbs.

It's the newly repotted orchids that each have a leaf that wilted. I guess they don't like the new medium. The rootless phal's leaves are doing well. I took the bag off but still sits on a humidity tray and just soak it every two days. Since I took the bag off, no more mold.

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by maiargz

It's the newly repotted orchids that each have a leaf that wilted. I guess they don't like the new medium. The rootless phal's leaves are doing well. I took the bag off but still sits on a humidity tray and just soak it every two days. Since I took the bag off, no more mold.

I see ... sorry 'bout that

New bark doesn't retain moisture well at all, and likely needs more frequent watering the first few weeks. Is it the lowest leaves on these that are wilting?