Massive root rot on my Phals

[Najsha]

Hi everyone!

I'm noob about orchids but I love to tend them as a hobby of mine. Everything was perfect for some time, I had two orchids which were blooming for six months and they were very healthy and happy. A month before I bought four more from a discount sale. They finished blooming but they had healthy roots and new leaves were slowly emerging.

Everything was perfect, until I decided to repot them. Silly me..
In our stores in Slovenia is very difficult to find a very good substrate (with bigger particles) but I found a great looking coconut chunks. It was a package, prepared specifically for orchids, it required only a soak and repot. I've happily repotted all my orchids.
And then the nightmare begins... All of my orchids started dying very quickly! The roots started getting brown and black and some of the leaves started wrinkling and yellowing. Now I'm devastated and I really don't know what to do. Are they dying beacuse they were planted in a different substrate? I was searching for possible anwsers and I learned that the coconut chunks must be soaked and washed thoroughly to remove excessive salt which is hiding inside... But on chunks package this isn't listed, it just says it's already prepared for use.

What do you proffessionals think, what is killing my plants and how can I rescue them? It's healthy to repot them again?
I'm attaching pics of my sick friends..

[Najsha]

[estación seca]

I have bought other plants potted in this medium. Coco chunks hold a lot of water for a long time. For this reason I have not used them for orchids that don't like to stay wet. It is likely your roots are rotting from too much water.

You can compensate by putting your plants in very shallow, wide containers, something with a diameter more than twice the height. This way the layer of coco chunks is thin and it will dry out faster. You can cut holes in clean plastic food containers if you can't buy a plant container like this. You can also cut a standard plastic plant container down to a lower height.

For now, unpot your plants. Cut off the dead roots. They will be soft and brown, not firm. Leave the good roots. It is possible you will have to cut off all the roots from some plants. Treat the scissors with 70% - 90% alcohol from the drug store between each cut. You might consider treating with an anti-fungus chemical if you can get one at a garden store.

Repot into dry medium. Put them in a place with the highest humidity you can give them. Wait for 2 days before watering after you cut the roots. Water them carefully until they start making new roots - water when the medium is almost dry.

Learn how to use the wooden skewer method. You can read about it in this thread:

Using skewers to determine when to water

The thread is devoted to saving Phals in trouble:

The Phal abuse ends here.

Good luck.

[bil]

Question. That pot you have it in. Are there drainage holes in the bottom?

[Najsha]

Wow thanks both for your reply! I never thought that the orchids may be overwatered..
I forgot to mention that after repot I watered them only twice in a month. My phals have holes at the bottom and after repot I also made side holes in the pot for some of them.. And the chunks seem to dry out in this time... I guess the devil lies with the ones at the center of the pot which supposedly never dries out and I can't see it. I will repot all of the problematic orchids into shallower pots and see what's going on. I hope they will recover soon...

[Najsha]

Reporting on my Phal friends.. Well, I think that they don't feel the same way for me

I have finished repotting phase, three of them have lost all of the roots (it's been a sad moment seeing this) but the rest of them weren't affected that much. The best one has been forming new green root tips. Yaay

The ones without roots I mounted above the water level in a vase because I couldn't stabilize them in potting media. The other three I potted in a shallow container with a bamboo skewer as you suggested and I gently covered them with a loose plastic bag. Now I'm waiting for the first watering and I'm wondering: does plants in coconut husks need to be soaked in water or I have to water them quicker to prevent the over-soaking of coconut chunks?

[Nexogen]

Coconut chunks 50% mixed with polystyrene foam cut to about same size.

[Najsha]

Hey all! I'm writing again with some great news! All of my orchids finally started to grow roots! Last month I bought a mini greenhouse in Ikea and it has probably elevated the moisture enough to cheer my phals up. I'm attaching pictures with my sucess and I'm wondering, how long should the roots be to plant them in pots again? Thank you for support!

[estación seca]

You could repot them at any time now. Very important will be:
- Stake them so they are stable; if they move in the container that can damage the new roots;
- Keep humidity as high as possible while developing new roots;
- Water regularly but don't let the medium stay wet too long
- Fertilize regularly with low doses of fertilizer. There are no nutrients in bark nor coco media.

[Najsha]

Woohoo I'm happy to say that the painful rescuing of my poor phals really paid off! They are in pots now with growing leaves and roots. One of them decided to go a little further aaaand we have my first spike ever!
I've never seen this one blooming because it was without flowers when I got it so I'm double excited! Who knows what color it is.
Thanks for your help! I'll post some pictures when it blooms.