Phal, Wedding Promenade with leaves drooping

[Maree]

Hello, I'm new to the Orchid world and just purchased my first Phal, Wedding Promenade. It's beautiful, but the leaves have drooped since I purchased it. Orchid pot, newly repotted with bark. Southern exposure. I submerge in tepid water every 5 days when the flowers appear less perky. It's hard to tell when the bark is dry. I would love to attach a picture, but not sure how. Any advice greatly appreciated.

[naturalgirl]

It's difficult to say without knowing all your conditions (how much light it gets, temperature, humidity, etc.), but a note on watering: Rather than submerging it every 5 days, wait until the media is almost dry, then water thoroughly (get it nice and wet in there) then just wait until it's almost dry again. You can tell when it needs watering by using a pencil or a toothpick or something to stick down in the media about to the middle-- if it's wet when it comes out, wait a few days before watering. If it's dry, go ahead and water! I think dunking it every 6 days may be too much.
BTW, congrats! My first Phal was labelled Wedding Promenade as well - I got it at a big box store. I'm not quite sure it actually is that hybrid or not, I think they just labelled all thier orchids the same way! LOL.

[Maree]

[naturalgirl]

It's very pretty
How close is it to a window? Looks like it might not be getting enough light.

[Sandy4453]

Hi Maree. A few things could be going on. First, let me address the droopy leaves. I've got a few Wedding Promenade Phals and one thing I've noticed with them is that their top leaves randomly will droop and then, perk up again. Don't know why this happens but it does.

Being that yours is in bloom and all of a sudden these leaves have become sluggish, I would highly suspect that something is going on with the roots. You just repotted this in bark so my first question is, did you soak the bark for at least 24 hours before using it? If not, it's probably not retaining enough water to keep the plant nourished. One thing about Phals...you can overwater or underwater and the results will be the same.....you'll end up with roots that are either rotted or hardened, both ruined and making it incapable of receiving the water it needs.

You've got to be very careful with the watering techniques as well. I would not submerge it in water. You've got to also be careful to avoid getting water in the crown of the plant otherwise, you'll end up losing the plant. You can buy at any grocery store wooden barbecue skewers. They come 100 to a package for about $1.00. Stick a skewer in the pot after you water and DON'T water again until that stick is barely dry. Make sure when you put the skewer in that you don't stab any roots and start checking your plant about 4 days after you last watered. Depending on what size pot this Phal is in, the general guidelines would be about once a week for a 4" pot, 8-10 days for 6" (this time of year. Summer, more often). The stick will show whether it's wet, barely wet, almost dry and will also feel mildly cool to the touch when it's time to water. When in doubt, wait a day longer. It's better to err on the dry side than wet.

Now, if you do (and I recommend you do) check the roots on this plant and find that they're all mushy and not silvery and firm, the first thing you'll need to do is cut away all the dead roots and pot it again using new bark. If you do this, don't water the plant for a couple of weeks. Keep it dry and allow it to re-establish itself. What a lot of people do at this point when the roots have been compromised is cut the entire spike off so to allow the plant to gain the strength it needs to start growing these roots instead of it putting all it's energy (which it's doing now) in keeping the flowers bloomed.

Check the roots first. If the roots look good, forget everything I said above It may be just acclimating itself to it's new environment!!

Best of luck.

[Lagoon]

Hi Maree, Welcome aboard

Please let us know about your location et zone.
Southern exposure isn't that great this time of year even for a phal. Looks like you orchid needs brighter lights, atlease 12hrs per day.

You say ... It has been repotted - Was this in sphag before?
How did the roots look?

"Happy Holidays"

[Maree]

Thanks so much for all the responses.
Natural Girl - I just put the orchid there for pictures
SRF - thanks for all the great info. No I did not soak the bark first -DARN - should I sit the plant in a few inches of water? When I do submerge I only sit it in tepid water an inch from the top of pot. Careful not to get the crown wet. Roots feel OK
Lagoon - Northern East Coast US, Pennsylvania. The orchid sits in direct southern sun ~ 8 hrs a day. Was in sphag first, rooted looked OK

[Maree]

Actually when I look throught the holes in the pot I think the bark looks bone dry. I just sat it in water on Friday for 5 mins - does it need more time in water? Especially sitting in the direct sun?

[Sandy4453]

[QUOTE=Maree;71483]
SRF - thanks for all the great info. No I did not soak the bark first -DARN - should I sit the plant in a few inches of water? When I do submerge I only sit it in tepid water an inch from the top of pot. Careful not to get the crown wet. Roots feel OK

Is your plant indoors? Direct southern sun this time of year, indoors shouldn't hurt the plant but you still should be careful with this exposure. The reflection of the snow on your windows can cause very bright light, possibly too much.

I would first soak the bark overnight and then unpot the plant. Check the roots and make sure they're green/silvery and firm, not hard, brown and almost fossilized looking. If they're in good shape, put some styrofoam peanuts on the bottom of your pot and gently place the plant inside the pot without pushing down and breaking any roots and begin filling the pot with the bark. Also, make sure you're using the right sized pot. Phals. do best in tight surroundings, the bigger the pot, the wetter and longer the bark remains which can be bad. Try to keep the pot as small as possible, let it dry out between watering and it's probably a better idea to water it instead of submerge it. If you've got a cup with a spout like a measuring cup, it's a great way to water and eliminate getting the crown wet.

[Maree]

Styrofoam is better than a layer of bark? I have a few cubes of styrofoam, can I cut them up and use them?