I think my medium is suboptimal - Orchid Board

Highland Fashionista · #1 12-06-2013, 08:06 PM

Hi everyone. I'm new here and new to orchids as well. I recently acquired 2 Phals after suffering a rather spectacular bit of "Phal Fail" recently. Totally my fault. So to avoid making the same mistakes again, I was wondering if I could get some pointers please.

I currently have two plants. Plant one was a gift, and when I got it home I repotted it (despite it being in bloom), as it looked like it had a degree of root rot. I was not wrong. I took away the old medium and snipped all of the roots that were brown and mushy, hollow, or black and put cinnamon on the cut ends. Many had roots that continued beyond where I had cut that were still green, but I am of the understanding that the rot has to go. I kept everything that felt turgid. Many roots appeared yellow but they were still turgid. Repotted in the only mix I had available, which is Westlands orchid mix that you can get at Homebase (like Home Depot only in the UK). I realise now that this medium is probably too fine and dense for my Phals. There seems to be a lot of soil in it, and it holds a lot of water. I live in Scotland, and we only have light about 7 hours a day during winter. I fear I may be dooming these poor Phals in this medium with such low light and potential for cool conditions. I have not watered since I repotted, nor do I intend to for a long, long time. Some of the roots on plant 1 actually look better today. But do I dare try to repot again once I get some better medium?

Here are some pics. I am less worried about plant 2 (the darker one) than plant 1. Sorry, I didn't have the foresight to take snaps while I was repotting, so you can only see the top bits of root.

Leafmite · #2 12-06-2013, 11:19 PM

I would take it out of the medium. If you don't have a different type of medium, you can always use vase culture until you find a good medium. Vase culture is when the orchid is hung over a vase, the roots in it, and the vase keeps the roots humid but lets air circulate around them. You fill the vase once a day with water, let it sit for a minute or two, then dump out the water once more.
When I first began growing orchids, I couldn't find any medium so I began using lava rocks because they looked similar to bark and I figured that they would provide humidity to the roots. It has worked out very well. The key is to have something around the roots that holds humidity (to mimic the air of the tropical rainforests where they grow, clinging onto trees, roots bare and uncovered) without being wet. You water them, certainly, but you don't want them to be kept too wet or the roots rot away. Hope this helps you.

Highland Fashionista · #3 12-07-2013, 04:40 AM

Yes, it helps very much Leafmite, thanks very much. Do you have any tips on mounting the plant over the vase? Plant 1 is quite large and top heavy.

Also, I travel quite a bit, and am always looking for consistent environments in which to place my plants while I am gone. Usually I leave them with someone who is willing to lend a non-leaky northwest window with instructions not to touch anything, just let them be. But I still fear I am stressing them by transporting them. Any tips on what is the best way to trasport them to minimize shock? It is cold here (cold and wet, as opposed to bitter cold and snowy....about 25-35 degrees F most days, although it does get bitter sometimes). right now I put the pots in a box, cover it with a plastic bag, and hold them on my lap to make "the drop".

I appreciate your help. Looks like you're in Ohio. I was at Wright PAtterson Air Force Base for 4 years in the Air Force band. (I'm American living overseas). Things grew so muich easier in Ohio!

Leafmite · #4 12-07-2013, 11:58 AM

I live in the eastern part of Ohio and it is rather cold at the moment.

For travelling in the bitter cold: a cooler. You can pack some paper around the base of the orchid, and, if you have to turn the cooler on its side to fit the orchid, tape the cooler shut. I don't think a few minutes as you have them packed would hurt either.
I don't actually use the vase method...I've only heard people mention it. I thought it might work until you found a better medium. Leaving it in a wet, soggy medium can kill roots quickly.
Anything will work for a medium that keeps the air around the roots humid without retaining too much water. Your medium will depend on your conditions.
I hope someone who lives in your vicinity can give you some advice on where to get a good medium.

Highland Fashionista · #5 12-07-2013, 12:02 PM

Me too, thanks for your help!

WhiteRabbit · #6 12-07-2013, 08:14 PM

I would think you can repot when you get better media. Use a skewer now to monitor the moisture in the media to make sure you don't overwater.

Use an ice chest for transporting (if you have one that will work. Or, line boxes with lots of newspaper.

Highland Fashionista · #7 12-08-2013, 08:34 AM

Thanks for the advice. I just started using skewers this week after I saw it posted somewhere else on here. It really educated me on just how much I had been overwatering, and that I was completely neglecting to take into account the center of the media, and how much wetter it seemed. I am away next week, and will leave them as they are until then, as they seem to be sort of static and stable at the moment, and will repot with the new Medium I ordered when I am back.

Have you seen pots like this before (photo)? I thik these might be good for me...

Ray · #8 12-08-2013, 09:13 AM

HF - keep in mind that the orchids must have free air flow to the root system, as that's where most of their gas exchange processes occur.

Your original repot medium may be awfully fine, allowing it to hold too much water and suffocate the roots, but if you carefully dampen it, rather than soaking it when you water, that issue goes away.

In your original pot, it may take forever to dry; in the green one, not at all, and another medium night not hold enough water, so you'd have to drench is daily.

The key is allowing the plant the moisture it needs, while maintaining the "breathability" of the mix.

Highland Fashionista · #9 01-01-2014, 11:25 AM

Hello again everyone, and thank you for all of your wonderful advice on here. After my first post about my suboptimal medium, I took the plants out of the medium yet again, rinsed off the roots, and clipped everything rotting, which on the large lighter coloured phal was quite a lot of the root system save for a few. Both plants did really well for a while, but in the last few weeks, the larger phal, the one that likely had root rot from before my husband brought it home, started to look unhappy. Blooms wilted; I figured this might happen as I had clipped back so many rotting roots I thought it would blast. surprised it took as long as it did to do so. leaves started getting dark and droopy, but we have very low light levels in Scotland at this time of year, so I put it down to that. I watered only once during this whole time, as my stick came out completely dry at that point. Unfortunately, then I started getting yellowing of the already sad leaves, which made me realise that the roots were probable still not happy. The yellowing was progressing quite quickly, so today, I had to take emergency measures. I cut the rapidly wilting flower spike, removed all the medium, washed the roots (there is still one decent one, several newbies, but a lot of old dead black where I had trimmed the old ones away.). The photos are of what I have done as my emergency resuscitation measure. Help please.

On a lighter note, the other phal seems to be doing just fine, low light notwithstanding. Pictured is my "setup". It is a west facing window, which I wouldn't use in summer as it gets hot, but with our overcast Scottish winters seems to be the best light I can provide. I have some hydroponic clay pellets and some higher-quality mix on order as we speak, but with shipping to the highlands, I just didn't feel I could wait with this poor phal. Your expertise, as always, is appreciated.

Vanda lover · #10 01-01-2014, 12:22 PM

I think the vase idea should work fine until you can get it potted. If the roots appear grey, they need misting but if the are green then they don't need water. If you mist, be careful to wipe away any water that gets on the crown of the plant. I have a vanda growing in a vase and it does so well that I am considering growing a phal this way. With the vanda, I just soak it once a week with a little fertilizer added and mist each day.