can this phal survive or is it the start of the end?

[AshleighJade]

I swear you guys will be sick of me soon!!
I adopted a phal from my mum and moved it into more light as the leaves are very dark and of course asked you guys what you thought and you confirmed my thoughts that it was getting too little light.

It didn't take long for this poor phal to deteriorate, my mum said she repotted it just before she gave it to me and cut of all the dead roots leaving very few. I took her word for it and put it into more light and hoped it would survive. But since its deteriorated I knew I had to check out the roots myself. . . .

This is what I found. . .

Is it past the point of recovery or can I rescue it, and if so, how?!?! I don't want this poor phal to die, please help.

[SlipperGirl]

I think your phal still has a chance I would try sphag n bag.

[MattWoelfsen]

I agree, your rescue does have a chance to survive. What I would do, is to pot in an adequate sized pot--3" at the most. Potting media, I would use a mix of medium sized bark, charcoal, perlite, chunks of sphagnum moss--I think you can find this mixture in most garden centers--it is sometimes called Phalaenopsis mix." Soak the media so that it is very moist or pour boiling water over the new media and let it cool down before you pot your plant. It is okay if your plant is left bareroot for a day. Pot your plant. And let it alone for a week. And then water.

The biggest lesson I have learned about growing Phalaenopsis is if I think a plant needs watering, I would wait a day before I actually water it. I have lost more plants due to overwatering versus not watering enough.

[leslieann79]

My phal was worse off then that one I think. It only had one root. I used a little plant tie to tie it to a stake and sat it in some bark/charcoal/perlite mix and misted it everyday. I didn't water it like I did the other orchids. Other than that I left it alone. It took a bit but it started putting out new roots and now its growing a spike. I read a lot and thought about sphag and bag, but that seemed tricky to me. I'm no expert just my experience.

[Orchid Whisperer]

I would skip the sphag and bag. This plant has enough roots to keep the plant going. I would follow Matt's advice above.

[AshleighJade]

Thanks for all the advice, Ive left it bareroot overnight as I wasnt sure what to do with it, when I took it out of the pot I could see where the potting media had collected around the roots - I dont think the media was chunky enough to be honest. Im still undecided on what to do. At least when its out of any potting media I can see the roots and know nothing bad is happening (Its currently above a plastic container of water in the bathroom for the humidity) Im scacred that f I repot it the roots are still going to rot and I wont know! At least with it how it is I can keep an eye on the roots and any possible root growth. Oh I dont know, Im so confused! HAHA

[SlipperGirl]

Originally Posted by AshleighJade

Thanks for all the advice, Ive left it bareroot overnight as I wasnt sure what to do with it, when I took it out of the pot I could see where the potting media had collected around the roots - I dont think the media was chunky enough to be honest. Im still undecided on what to do. At least when its out of any potting media I can see the roots and know nothing bad is happening (Its currently above a plastic container of water in the bathroom for the humidity) Im scacred that f I repot it the roots are still going to rot and I wont know! At least with it how it is I can keep an eye on the roots and any possible root growth. Oh I dont know, Im so confused! HAHA

I know that I had said to use sphag n bag but you do still have a few nice roots so you should try potting it. I would use a small clear pot so you can see the roots. Like MattWoelfsen said when you think a phal needs to be watered wait a day, I find that phals would rather be to dry then to wet.

Anyway I hope your phal makes it

[silken]

I agree with the others. Pot it in a small pot that fits the roots. I like clear pots. Let it get almost dry right thru before watering. You could use some seaweed in your water to help promote more root growth. And before potting it I like to soak the roots in seaweed solution for half an hour. A wooden kebab skewer placed deep into the pot and left there will help you know when the media at the bottom is approaching dry. Just pull the skewer out and test it.