Help with root rot on Phal

[cassie.g]

Hello!

I got the phal in question back in March. I repotted it right away into a glazed ceramic orchid pot in bark and cut back the rotting roots. Since then, it's seemed to do pretty well. It's putting out a new leaf which is a little over half the size of the others as of today, and has lots of new roots. It's also putting out what I'm pretty sure is a root up where a spike would come out.

However, I noticed some rot today on it's roots going into the media that I don't think was there before. The aerial roots seem okay, but I'm not sure about the other ones. I cut off the rotting roots that I could see without pulling the plant out of the pot (I'm not sure if that was the best idea, but that's what happened).

I'm wondering if anyone could clue me into what caused this and what I should do. I have a feeling it's due to overwatering (I was watering around every 3 days). I started using the skewer method recently so hopefully that will help my watering "schedule." Should I wait to repot it and risk that the roots are continuing to rot, or should I repot now (probably into a clear pot) even though it's only been a few months?

Thanks in advance.

---Also---

Some of the aerials roots have little touches of brown on them (I can post a picture tomorrow). They seem to be fine, but I'm not sure. Also, the root tips occasionally turn partially brownish. Could this also be attributed to overwatering? I also read that salt buildup could cause this.

[james mickelso]

Difficult to give a good answer without some pics. 2-3 days between watering is not good unless you live in a desert. Should be when it gets dry. That could be 5-7 days or even more. How large was the bark in which this was planted? The rotting roots? How old were they? Older than the current crop of roots? Old roots tend to get rot more easily especially when repotted. But with new roots coming, I wouldn't be too concerned. Pics please.

[cassie.g]

here are some photos I took today. The plant was watered yesterday. The bark is fairly large, though I'm not sure what size to call it. I was watering so often because it seemed dry but I'm fairly certain it wasn't, so I'll definitely be waiting longer between waterings from now on.

The second and third photo show where I found the rotting roots that I cut. I think they might have been a little older, but still fairly new. They were bright green other than the rot.

[james mickelso]

The plant looks to be in good shape. With the medium size bark in which it is planted, water it every 5 days. If it gets hot, water every 4 days. When it is cool and cloudy water every 5 days. If it won't disturb the roots too much I would repot this into the same pot but try carefully to fit the roots down into the pot. It can be down. It's not imperative but would help the plant by keeping the roots down in the more humid environment of the pot.

[cassie.g]

Thank you very much, James. I'll probably repot next weekend or maybe just try to shift the plant to get more roots into the medium.

[WhiteRabbit]

I use a skewer in the media to tell me when it's dry. Or if the Phal is in a clear plastic pot, water when the roots are whitish / cream / silverish in color.

[silken]

Are there any breathing holes on this pot other than a hole at the bottom for drainage? If not, It likely can't get enough air to the roots. Phals grow in nature with their roots completely exposed to the elements while they cling to a tree. So the roots need to breath. It's a glazed pot so the ceramic won't breath as in an unglazed one.

[cassie.g]

Silken: There are more breathing holes in the sides!

White Rabbit: I just recently put a skewer in so that should definitely help next watering. And I'll definitely be using a clear pot next time. That just seems so much easier.

[james mickelso]

Cassie, I just posted this today on another thread but here is how dry you can let your phal become. The biggest complaint I hear on OB is "my phal still gets root rot" or "my phal doesn't do very well." So here is how dry you can let your phal get and not hurt it a bit.