Phal is loosing roots

[awach]

Hello, so my phal which is still having flowers since November last year, has beautiful leaves but her roots are almost gone. How should I save it. Most of the roots rotted, I had it in bathroom with good humidity but luck of ventilation. Now, I'm afraid it won't survive without healthy root system.

[jcec1]

I would take it out of the moss and repot it in a pot that can barely accommodate the roots, in bark. Keep it drier than you do at the moment, as I suspect the roots rotted as it was over watered. The plants are fairly resilient, so by keeping it drier it should bounce back.

[Orchidgirl83]

I would also suggest cutting the spikes so the plant will redirect the energy from blooming to growing roots.

[bil]

My question is this. What benefit is gained by stuffing the roots of a phal into the smallest pot vailable?

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by bil

My question is this. What benefit is gained by stuffing the roots of a phal into the smallest pot vailable?

Avoiding soggy media, especially at the center.

[bil]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

Avoiding soggy media, especially at the center.

As an experiment, I potted my phals up in very large pots to allow the roots to spread out more naturally. They are all doing well and all spiking away like crazy.

The ppots are 35 cm in diam, (at least a foot in diameter).. They are potted in large fir bark chunks and they drain very freely with air easily able to penetrate. Probing in there tells me that they do not retain moisture enough to go soggy. Now, if they were packed in Sphagnum, you'd be right.

Every phal I have bought was crammmed into those tiny orchid pots. Their roots were stunted, twisted, and there were always some trying to get out thru the pot air holes, which always resulted in some damage during repotting..
Again,my question is, what benefit is there to take a plant that in nature has its roots growing unconfined, and force it into a tight fitting pot?

[jcec1]

Originally Posted by bil

My question is this. What benefit is gained by stuffing the roots of a phal into the smallest pot vailable?

As already stated, to avoid soggy media. The plant has most likely lost its roots through overwatering. Smaller pots will dry more quickly, so if the grower is prone to giving too much water, then this will balance this habit by drying out more quickly.

[bil]

Originally Posted by jcec1

As already stated, to avoid soggy media. The plant has most likely lost its roots through overwatering. Smaller pots will dry more quickly, so if the grower is prone to giving too much water, then this will balance this habit by drying out more quickly.

So you have to balance torturing the roots against overwatering? I can't help thinking that it would be better if people used the proper medium, watered correctly and gave the plants a bit more room.

Fair enough, I suppose. Now the other question is this. I know that in sme plants, if you don't restrict their roots, you don't get flowers. Are there any orchids that will only bloom if their roots are restricted?