I'm sure you've heard it before...

[Mellee]

I once had a NoID orchid that thrived on inattention and infrequent waterings. When I moved out of my home state, I had to give it away. Finally after several years, I bought another from a big box store. (Appears to be a Phael.) It was planted in a small clay pot with a single drain hole and in a west window that has sunlight filtering film on it. It did well, though it hasn't flowered in over a year. I went away for a month and my husband gave it water every Friday. When I came back the leaves were looking a little puny so I decided to repot. I found a great perforated pot, and used a commercial orchid bark mix. I soaked the bark, cleaned off the few bad roots and put it into the same window. It has declined every day. So tonight I decided to try something else. I bought a brick of moss. When I removed the plant from the bark I saw that almost all of the roots are rotted. I have about 4 healthy looking leaves left. I went ahead and seated it into the moss, but I am very worried about this plant. Can it be saved? How can I minimize the shock? Thanks for reading my long post.

[Carpe Diem]

Welcome to the OB! I am still a newbie, but I am fairly certain that anything with root rot should not be planted in moss, it stays wet too long. How often did you water when your plant was in bark? Watering on a set schedule, like every Sunday or every Wednesday does not work, at least not for me. If it is hot the medium will dry faster, if it is humid or cold it will stay wet/moist longer. Also if the pot is too large for the amount of roots, the medium does not dry fast enough. The pot should be just big enough so the roots fit in without force.
I hope this helps some. Good luck!

[kindrag23]

Welcome, I will say it could be saved but I will leave the hows to a much better pro on here. Welcome aboard. Everyone is super friendly! Will almost definitely answer any questions you may have. Good luck good growing.

And when I say could be its because you got on here in enough time!

[Mellee]

Originally Posted by Carpe Diem

Welcome to the OB! I am still a newbie, but I am fairly certain that anything with root rot should not be planted in moss, it stays wet too long. How often did you water when your plant was in bark? Watering on a set schedule, like every Sunday or every Wednesday does not work, at least not for me. If it is hot the medium will dry faster, if it is humid or cold it will stay wet/moist longer. Also if the pot is too large for the amount of roots, the medium does not dry fast enough. The pot should be just big enough so the roots fit in without force.
I hope this helps some. Good luck!

Yes, I thought, after reading many postings, that it looked wrong so I took it apart a few minutes ago, and layered bark with moss. It is indoors in A/C so moderate humidity. I guess I don't really understand how it rotted AFTER being transplanted into the bark. I feel so guilty! I have some "air roots" that are really healthy, but anything that was below the soil looks pretty dank. Can it revive and if so, how do I help it? I saw someone post something about hanging the remaining plant upside down to let it dry out?? Thanks for the tips.

[kindrag23]

Don't beat yourself up! It happens to the best of us and we all had to begin somewhere. I killed my first 2 due to over watering and bad bad bad advice online before I found orchid board.

[Mellee]

Kindrag23 - Thanks for the encouragement. I'm glad to have found y'all!

---------- Post added at 11:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:28 PM ----------

This plant was in the worst of potting mediums at Lowe's when I bought it and yet it was in much better shape than it is right now. Against all odds. I actually have a degree in Soils, so I'm taking this whole rotting situation very personally! ;]

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

What kind of potting medium was this orchid in when you first purchased it?

Did you remove the orchid from the pot and check the roots upon first purchasing the plant and bringing it home?

What's the air circulation like?

What are the temperatures of the growing area, (day/night)?

As an aside note, at least it seems like you understand that Phals grow on trees and are not terrestrial orchids, so soil science is not exactly playing a role in this at all because soil is not even involved in this.

If you could post a pic, or post a link to a pic of the plant, that'd be helpful.

Once I can see what's going on, maybe we can have a game plan on what to do next.

[Dendy83]

To echo another poster, just because it was planted in bark doesn't mean you'll never get rot. The changes go down, yes. If the pot was too big or if waterings happened before the middle dried out then yes, the rot can happen in a bark medium. A cheap way to figure out if it's time to water is buy cheap bamboo skewers from the grocery store and put it in the bark. Check the tip once in a while and if it feels moist then wait another day or two. If it's dry then water.

I think the one thing I've learned from orchids is that they tell us what they want, and thankfully they are slow growers so there is still hope for your phal. Definitely answer/consider what KingofOrchidGrowing said and we can try to help you out. Once you reach 5 posts you'll be able to post pictures so I recommend taking a photo of your phal.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Dendy83

To echo another poster, just because it was planted in bark doesn't mean you'll never get rot. The changes go down, yes. If the pot was too big or if waterings happened before the middle dried out then yes, the rot can happen in a bark medium. A cheap way to figure out if it's time to water is buy cheap bamboo skewers from the grocery store and put it in the bark. Check the tip once in a while and if it feels moist then wait another day or two. If it's dry then water.

I think the one thing I've learned from orchids is that they tell us what they want, and thankfully they are slow growers so there is still hope for your phal. Definitely answer/consider what KingofOrchidGrowing said and we can try to help you out. Once you reach 5 posts you'll be able to post pictures so I recommend taking a photo of your phal.

I'll agree about the pot size thing. It could be a problem if the incorrect pot size was chosen.

Yes, it is true, roots can even rot in bark medium under certain situations.

Understanding the properties of your pot can also make a difference. I tend to like growing Phals in clear plastic pots rather than opaque plastic pots or clay pots/terra cotta pots for a number of reasons.

1. Visibility of the root area, which allows limited ability to see what is going on with the root system. It also allows you to have a better handle of when you'll need to water again visually.

2. Allows some of the roots to photosynthesize.

3. Dries out faster than opaque pots.

[james mickelso]

It will be fine in the moss for now. With those roots in the air it will take some time for them to begin to absorb water readily so with the moss very loosely layered around the air roots, give it water every few days. Feel the moss with your fingers. If it is still damp, don't water. If it is dry water. I would use bottled water since I don't know how good your water is from the tap. Don't feed it until it gets better. You asre trying to give the root area on the plant a micro climate with decent humidity, warmth, and some light. No direct sun at all. The reason your plant declined was it was already declining when you got it at the Big Box Store. Orchids are notoriously slow growers and declining well before we notice it. Just cover the air roots lightly with layers of moss. Not too deeply. Then water when dry.