Leaf issues

[Suzanne17]

I have two mini Dtps plants that both have just two leaves and are on the wimpy side. I sacrificed the spike to the sunkist a while back when I noticed the leaves struggling. They are still not doing great and no signs of new growth. Wondering if I should repot into a finer mix or maybe sphagnum. The Sogo berry leaves are firm and seemed to be doing fine but I noticed this under one leaf today when I was checking the plants over. Have not noticed it before today. It only has two leaves so I'm a bit worried about removing one! No signs of new growth here either. Will do some research on my own as well but any advice welcomed. First pic is Sogo berry and second is both plants, sunkist on bottom.





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[james mickelso]

Normally when there are issues with phals, it is an issue with the roots. These look dehydrated so I would suspect the roots being stressed. When was the last time you looked at the roots? You have these potted in very open coarse media and in very open pots. They may be dehydrated due to such an open environment but I still suspect root issues. The tissue necrosis is another issue. Sometimes the cells start to collapse due to dehydration but it can also be fungal or bacterial issues. Difficult to diagnose without actually seeing it better. Try an antifungal treatment. With such an open media you can water much more often without fear of fungal rot but if it has already taken hold, it must be dealt with quickly before you lose the plants.

[Suzanne17]

The roots appear to be dehydrated- they did last week and I have been watering more frequently. I'm not happy about the medium either. The choices I have handy are sphagnum (but it's from Lowe's- not high quality), a finer bark, coco husk, and perlite. The mix they are in is my standard medium mix- coarser bark, medium grade charcoal, perlite. I don't have antifungal at home but I can see if Lowe's has some. So I would do a dip with an antifungal, let dry, then repot with something finer?

[Suzanne17]

My local place has daconil and my other option is bayer but that's a huge lawn size container.


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[MattWoelfsen]

I would take what you have--"sphagnum, finer bark, coco husk, and perlite", mix together 1/4 per noted media, soak all for an hour or so, and report in a good ventilated pot--or what you have them in now. When you have every thing in place, water throughly to remove any dust that is left behind. Let the plant dry out completely. The roots should be a dark greek color, when they are dry, they should be a silvery white color. When you notice the change, then water again. Try to avoid getting water in the plants' crown or leaf connection as this can cause root rot. Put plants in bright shade, warmth, and fresh air. That should rescue them.

The leaves may not firm up, and remain 'wimpy' but I think these will come back for you. NOTE: this is how I would do it. Adjust your watering according to your environment. I think James lives in southern California and I live in Fort Wayne Indiana.

Finally, the reason Phalaenopsis are readily available in grocery stores and big box retail giants is that they are considered 'easy' to grow. The are not. I find Phalaenopsis difficult to grow after they arrive home--they like heat, but need a cool down in winter to re-bloom. If you get them too wet, they die. If you allow water to stand in the crown or leaf connections, they develop crown rot, etc, etc!

[Cntry]

Originally Posted by Suzanne17

The roots appear to be dehydrated- they did last week and I have been watering more frequently. I'm not happy about the medium either. The choices I have handy are sphagnum (but it's from Lowe's- not high quality), a finer bark, coco husk, and perlite. The mix they are in is my standard medium mix- coarser bark, medium grade charcoal, perlite. I don't have antifungal at home but I can see if Lowe's has some. So I would do a dip with an antifungal, let dry, then repot with something finer?

Suzanne also do you have these 2 orchids always on the same tray you took a picture with? There is no stones or water for humidity under the pots. You can find some fine bark if you need in a pet store also if you have one around you its a little more expensive but much better quality then lowes.

[Suzanne17]

I'm in South Central PA- need to update my profile. Not super experienced yet but I've been doing well with my other larger rescue phals and dtps with lots of new root and leaf growth. These two are the ones I'm struggling with. Humidity is around 60% where they are and they are in oxygen core pots. I won't do humidity trays- it doesn't work for me with the algae and my cat, etc. I have humidifiers to use if I need to increase the RH.

Regarding my media- I get it from Little Brook Orchids- the sphag is from Lowe's but I got it a few months ago and haven't used it. I'm not a fan of it because I find I do much better judging when to water with bark blends. These two are just not happy with me and their media...argh. It's so aggravating when these two, which were from a nursery (not LBO) and were $$, are being troublesome, and my $3 clearance rack minis are all thriving and have 3-4 new roots each.

[tarev]

In my area I have to increase watering a bit, actually dunking the root zone area for about 10 to 15 minutes, let it drain, then running the ceiling fan. The plants really like it, sometimes I have the fan running all day long, since it is so hot and dry here, I guess it helps the plants cool down. So far all of them are doing okay.


Got to give them good air circulation apart from watering, they like that a lot. And adjusting watering frequency as season changes. I find in summer these plants can take it frequent, as long as there is good air circulation around them. Then when it starts to get colder, lessen it, since media is taking much longer to dry. They like that feeling of moisture then going near dry.

Phals are epiphytes so these are accustomed to getting moist then air dried a lot. They can grow mounted and it is just that for our convenience in watering we put them in bark or other moisture retentive media. Oftentimes what I see most problems occur when they become overwatered and not much provision for overall air circulation is given.

[Suzanne17]

Originally Posted by tarev

In my area I have to increase watering a bit, actually dunking the root zone area for about 10 to 15 minutes, let it drain, then running the ceiling fan. The plants really like it, sometimes I have the fan running all day long, since it is so hot and dry here, I guess it helps the plants cool down. So far all of them are doing okay.

Yeah, I think I need to get a bit more aggressive with these two and watering. I'm going to repot them to get a better look at their roots- I can see the outer ones with the net pots but not the inner ones and I want to evaluate if there is any rot or fungal stuff happening like James said above. I know the leaves probably won't ever really come back but I just don't want to lose the plants. I'll go pick up the Daconil after work just in case.

[judith_arquette]

Good luck!