New phal orchid owner - droopy leaves

[Twinkly1216]

I recently acquired my first orchid - it was a gift and it was delivered. It was packed in moss.

When I first got it I checked for moisture and bc the moss still felt a bit damp I did not water it right away. I also checked the roots through the container (the little plastic one inside the decorative one), placed it in a window that gets bright but indirect light (I think it's east facing but I'm not positive) and left it for about 5 or so days before I watered it for the first time. Things were going fine until then.

Because it's so tightly packed in moss I did not want to risk compacting it by watering overhead so I filled a large bowl with water, used a knife to stab about 10 or so small holes all around the plastic container (in addition to the drainage hole already there at the bottom) and sat it in the water for about 10 minutes as was recommended in a youtube video I watched. Then I picked it up, let some water drain and then gently squeezed the container to release as much excess water as I could before putting it back into the decorative container. I did not fertilize for this watering.

A couple days later I checked the orchid and one of the bottom leaves felt a little softer than the other 3. Today I checked it again and the other bottom leaf feels soft now as well. They are both also drooping a bit. The top leaves are fine. I checked the roots again and they haven't changed since I looked last time.

So...too much water? Not enough light? Fertilizer? Container too small? Temperature? Please help!

I don't know if this is relevant or not but the day before I watered one of the buds opened up and that flower is currently in full bloom. I read on another thread that this could be using up nutrients for the leaves?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

I have pictures but can't figure out how to post them.

[kindrag23]

Phal bottom leaves will drop as they get older. You may need to take it out of the moss and pot to check that the roots are rotting. Sometimes they pack them so dang tightly that the roots can't breath.

Check the thread "Phal abuse Ends Here" read what King Of Orchid Growing posted read through the first say 12 pages it will be a huge help to you as well.

sounds like you are watering correctly, also need to fertilize weakly weekly when you soak the phal. that will help. I like the one by better gro, I know others use MSU(?) at least that is what I think it is called.

If you do decide to repot stay away from Miracle Gro for orchids it is not good. I also use better gro for Phalanopsis orchids, works really well, good luck good growing and BEWARE ORCHIDITIS is dangerous!!

[Dendy83]

I echo Kind's post. Sometimes the lower leaves just drop, especially after taking it home from the store. Some people advise against repotting when it is in bloom, I do anyway. I would rather check the root health than to wait weeks for the blooms to drop and let any possible rot get worse.

Otherwise, your watering habits seem ok. You'll get the hang of when to water and how much, the plant will tell you. Use the skewer method, and read up on orchid care in this thread - The Phal Abuse Ends Here.

It is a lot of info, but all very helpful. When you reach 5 posts you can post a photo, do that when you can.

[james mickelso]

Here is why your phal is so tightly packed in moss. Where they grow phals commercially, they get community flats of year old phals or start their own from seed and when these are taken out of the community flats they are placed on plugs of sphagnum moss and left to grow. After a year they are again put into larger plugs of moss in pots where they grow roots down into the moss. This moss comes ready packed and the phals push their roots down into this really packed sphagnum moss. They are grown in very warm conditions with very vigorous air movement and watered every few days with a bit of fertilizer at each watering. The growing houses are lit artificially so that the grower gets maximum growth in the shortest amount of time. So, tightly packed moss, long light lengths, food all the time, very windy, and warm. So now what are the environmental conditions in your house? Make sense? You can repot it now even in flower if you do it carefully. I take tweezers and slowly, carefully pull out as much of the moss as I can without damaging the roots. Just tweeze out small bits at a time. I start at the bottom and slowly work my way up until most of the moss is gone. Then I repot into the same size pot it came in. Lots of holes. Folks around here like clear plastic pots and that's ok. If you are careful you can repot it now without losing any flowers. Left as is, I will bet by the time the flowers drop, the roots will be toast. The droopy leaves started before you got the plant. Happens to most phals when they go from grower to us. No cause for alarm but I would toss the decorative pot or at least put something in the bottom to lift the inner pot up a ways for better air circulation.

[Twinkly1216]

Thanks for the responses. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something horribly wrong.

I've been checking the roots through the clear inner container every couple of days. They haven't changed since I've gotten it and all the ones I can see (there are a lot! But orchids like to be pot bound, right?) look healthy to me. I bought repotting stuff...moss and orchid mix (bark and perlite) since I plan to use a mix of moss and bark for water retention and air circulation. My lowes (the only place near me that sells orchid stuff) only had two kinds of fertilizer, a regular one and a bloom one so I bought both and might do a mix of it for the next watering. Both are orchid specific, don't worry, no miracle-gro!!

I'm hesitant to repot right now because I have more buds that are opening up! I know, I know...plant health is more important than the blooms...but...they're so pretty! my plan right now is to keep a close eye on the roots from the outside as well as the leaves and have the repotting materials ready if necessary. I have a temporary plastic container lifting up the orchid's to provide some more air circulation and I plan on getting something a bit more permanent.

Thanks for the help!!

[james mickelso]

The more air circulating around the roots, the better. Depending on where you live you may or may not need moss in your mix.

[Leafmite]

Good luck with your new phal!

[Twinkly1216]

Thanks!

I got the moss bc I read that orchids planted tightly in moss sometimes have a harder time adjusting when transferred to a bark medium? So I figured if I repot with some bark and mostly moss it might make the transition easier.

Who knows, I guess it will just be a bit of trial and error. Thanks for the feedback.

[kindrag23]

@^ I have done that myself just to help with the added moisture. But again it is so hot here I usually have to have something that retains water a little longer. I also do that with several of my other none phal plants. they seem happy. thus far.

[RandomGemini]

Twinkly, we're in the same grow zone. I just repot my orchids in the better gro phal mix. I've had a couple that I've taken out of moss that I got at Lowe's that have had significant root rot and I want them to dry out as much as possible before our temps drop.

The big worry for me is that because my orchids will be growing primarily under artificial light over the winter, it's already overcast and it's getting dark earlier every day, there won't be as much evaporation of the water in the pot over the winter months because my lights don't put out a ton of heat. Considering the amount of rot I've seen, I think bark is a better bet.

If you still want to use moss, I would mix in maybe 25% moss to 75% bark. Hope this helps!