Some confusion on winter time and watering

[littleone]

I will just keep an eye on them and water them once they are dry or just almost dry completely.

I can't see my roots very well at all I have the big one in a black basket and the little ones in black too but also they are surrounded completely by the bark since their roots are tiny. Next time I repot I'll see if I can find clear ones. Thanks for all the explanation and some ideas so far!

[littleone]

Update :

It seems like I have been watering a little too mcuh or it'sj ust colder than I think it is for the plants. My generic phal from the store only has one tiny root now , I inspected it since the leaves were drooping and the roots were rotted and so I cut those off and cleaned it up, repotted. Now I am not sure what to do except just water it less and give it time to see if it recovers? Will misting help since the Lone root is near the surface?

I am going to look at my other plants today as well to see how they are doing - they seem fine leaf-wise though.

edit:



To me this one (NOT the phal I referred to above the photo, this is one of my other orchids) has some dried out roots but there many smaller roots that look like they are just starting? I really am not sure if this looks more good or more bad - any one have any comments for me?

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[Leafmite]

Where there are new roots, there is recovery. When new roots are starting, it is a good time to re-pot the orchids if they need it.
Good luck!

---------- Post added at 07:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:05 PM ----------

If you have trouble with watering while using bark, you might want to try LECA as a medium. I never could get the watering right with bark and my orchids struggled along until I switched to red lava rock (which is all I could find before the internet became what it is today). LECA works very well as a medium and, with a basket pot, you never really need to worry too much about watering too often.

[WhiteRabbit]

You may want to try using skewers to determine when to water http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ad.php?t=81484

[tarev]

Sometimes with Phals, if that plant has just recently bloomed, it will go on a rest mode afterwards. I still water the plant, maybe once a week. I try to wait for an indication that it is ready for more, like a new leaf or new root forming. Till then, I do not force it to get more water than it wants. So I just continue being careful not to wet the crown, make the water drain out properly, run the fan for overall ventilation. Once I see new growth then I resume fertilizing.