Are we dying? NoID mini Phal.

[LoveOscar]

Alright, I have a NoID mini Phal. that I've had for several months now. The flowers fell off, which I expected to happen at some point. I bought it from a box store, pre bloomed, it had to have happened eventually. So the stems discoloring I expected. I was going to leave them, however all of the sudden one leaf turned yellow and fell off, and then another, so I cut off the stems when they started yellowing. This phal. I'm sort of experimenting with, as you can see from my set up in the last photo (which is a recent change), they have lights, they have fans, but the little guys are not sitting in any medium. They're naked roots sitting in their pots, they get soaked once a week for any where from 15 to 30 minutes,and every couple of days they get a light spritzing from a spray bottle. I use a 7-7-7 fertilizer (lightly, when they're soaking). The big planter bottom they're sitting in with the rocks has water in it too. His roots were looking sorry a couple of weeks ago, and I clipped the bad ones off and applied some cinnamon to the ends. I don't know if I have induced root rot or not. The other mini's are doing fine.

Can anyone tell me what is going on with this little guy?

[RandomGemini]

Cinnamon on roots is a no no. On leaves only.

I'd say there's some sort of rot happening here. Not a lot of good roots left. Losing leaves is a bad sign.

[RandomGemini]

On closer inspection of the pictures, I'd say there's some kind of crown rot happening here. If it were me, I'd toss this plant and start over with another one. Phals don't generally come back from crown rot.

[tarev]

I think they call that collar rot
Images of Collar Rot / Southern Blight on Orchids

[RandomGemini]

I hadn't heard of collar rot before, but this does look exactly like it.

[NYCorchidman]

It's actually much more common than crown rot on phals.

The chance of your phal surviving is not too high, but even then, you are risking the infectious organisms spreading to your other plants and the affect plant may take a loooong time to recover if ever.

This being a cheap NOID mini phal, I would totally toss it and start over with a nice healthier plant.

[Optimist]

Sadly when learning anything there is going to be some breakage. I gave up on phals, though I am still trying, but have not put my eggs in the same basket, so to speak. I do not know how it got out that phals were the everyman orchid. Vandacious orchids are hard to keep happy. Oncidiums, dendrobiums, cattleyas are way better for a beginner. Even paphs and masdavalias and cimbidiums are easier in my book. The difference is that those are all sympodial orchids and if one leaf of part of the plant goes bad, you just slice I off like an old potato, and it keeps growing.

---------- Post added at 04:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:06 PM ----------

Paphs are not sympodial, but they have multiple leads.

[RandomGemini]

Mine are doing decent, but I agree, they are not for everyone. My idea of Phalaenopsis culture is pretty much stick 'em in a pot with some bark, and other than weekly watering, once I find a spot where they grow well, I leave them the heck alone.

If anything goes wrong, they go downhill fast.

I agree, oncidiums and paphs are easier. Water twice weekly. Give them the light they need and they pretty much grow.