Phal help for a newbie...root problem :(

[KatP]

New Phal owner here....

I've recently repotted my Phalaenopsis Orchid, it was purchased from a grocery store (I now know better for next time!) and when I repotted there were many roots that had gone rotten and mushy, I cut the roots that were bad and cut the stem also since it was no longer blooming and then I repotted into a medium of bark and coconut husk (soaked for a few hours).

I checked the roots today and noticed they looked withered and brown, when I took it out of the planter more roots were rotten Please help! I really like my orchid and want to take care of it. I've attached (lots) of pictures.

Thank you!!

Kat

[judith_arquette]

Good luck, I have a lot of trouble growing Phals and am still trying to balance watering them correctly myself but the roots is has look pretty good (to me but most of mine are essentially rootless...). I highly recommend reading the sticky (here in the beginners forum) The Phal Abuse Ends Here. It's long but the info within is invaluable. Again, good luck and I'm sure members much more adept at growing Phals can help you further.

[campchi]

The black thing on the leaf close to the crown seems to be infected. I recommend u soak that thing in fungicide for an hour to over night and then hang dry. Then do the sphag and bag method (was never work for me)... so now what I do is stake it and let it sit ontop of a vase with water at the bottom without the root touching the water. This will provide moisture to keep it from drying. You can also soak it in seaweed to promote root growth or apply rooting hormone, depends on what you have. Good luck and keep us posted.

[My Green Pets]

It looks to me like the roots are mostly gone.

The plant will need to grow new ones. To do this, it will likely need to use the energy stored in the leaves, so you may see the bottom one or two leaves yellow, wither, and fall off.

Until the new roots grow, the plant has no way to take in water other than through its leaves, so you will need to keep the plant in a very humid environment.

This is tricky because very humid environments are also favorites for molds and other fungi that would love to eat your struggling plant.

It can be done, just use fungicide as suggested and keep your eye on it closely. With adequate moisture, light, and air flow, it may recover, but it will take a couple of months at least. Good luck!

[Leafmite]

While everyone else does very well in bark or CHC mixes, I must grow my orchids mounted or in basket/net pots with expanded clay pellets or red lava rock or my roots turn out the way yours are. I even have a phal mounted and the rest in net pots with expanded clay pellets. They are very happy, much happier then when I was trying to kill them in bark. As a plus, I can see the roots and that helps me know when to water.
Good luck! I hope it recovers for you!

[azredsand]

Leafmite, how often do you water your phals in the lava rocks and leca?

Thanks

[Ray]

Kat -

1. Cut off the flower spike at its base. The tip is yellowing, indicating the plant is dumping it.
2. Immerse the potting medium in tepid water, and let it become saturated.
3. Repot the plant, and inverst a plastic bag over the plant and pot to simulate a greenhouse. Keep it warm and shady, and it will likely recover just fine.

With a poor root system, it cannot adequately take up water, so keeping it very humid under the "mini-greenhouse" will slow the desiccation process that could otherwise lead to its demise.

AZ - How often leafmite has to water has absolutely no bearing on how often you might have to, as you likely have entirely different growing conditions that affect the evaporation rate.

[Leafmite]

As Ray indicates, the rate of watering depends on the environment. I am currently growing under lights for the first time and need to water much more often than when I grew in the windows or even outside.
I have always just watered my plants and orchids when they need it, no schedule.
With the net/basket pots or mounts, knowing when to water is very easy...I can see the roots. If the roots look dry, I water until they look happy again.
I like the expanded clay pellets better for orchids that need watered more often as they are more uniform in size and wick up water better than the red lava rock. I moved all my phals into this to save on the watering effort. Growing in the expanded clay pellets and the net/basket pots makes growing phals very easy. I set the pot in a clear container when the phals are indoors to help with humidity around the roots.
I hope this helps.