phal with purple and wrinkly leaves

[chelsw]

Hi my name is Chelsea. This is my first post but I love orchids and I have 3 of them, two are very healthy and one I'm just not sure about. A few months ago It started losing leaves rapidly, and the new leaves it put out are about 1/4 the size of the previous healthy leaves.
I knew something was wrong, so I pulled it out of its pot and it had root rot pretty bad. I think it was in too large of a contianer, I cleaned him up and got rid of all the dead roots (there were still some healthy ones). I re potted it in a much smaller container and it has put out one new leaf since then. I use an orchid potting blend of bark. I re potted it over 2 months ago and at first the new leaf grew very strong and very green. But it got to the size shown in the pictures that are attached and has just shriveled from there. (my sister's cat taking a bite into one of leaves didn't help it either)

I water them once a week alternating from just a few ice cubes to running water through them every other week. I fertilize them about once a month and I just don't see any progress on this plant. Any suggestions someone has for how to make it healthy again would be greatly appreciated!!
Thank you!

[campchi]

Originally Posted by chelsw

Hi my name is Chelsea. This is my first post but I love orchids and I have 3 of them, two are very healthy and one I'm just not sure about. A few months ago It started losing leaves rapidly, and the new leaves it put out are about 1/4 the size of the previous healthy leaves.
I knew something was wrong, so I pulled it out of its pot and it had root rot pretty bad. I think it was in too large of a contianer, I cleaned him up and got rid of all the dead roots (there were still some healthy ones). I re potted it in a much smaller container and it has put out one new leaf since then. I use an orchid potting blend of bark. I re potted it over 2 months ago and at first the new leaf grew very strong and very green. But it got to the size shown in the pictures that are attached and has just shriveled from there. (my sister's cat taking a bite into one of leaves didn't help it either)

I water them once a week alternating from just a few ice cubes to running water through them every other week. I fertilize them about once a month and I just don't see any progress on this plant. Any suggestions someone has for how to make it healthy again would be greatly appreciated!!
Thank you!

Looking at your photos? It looks like it's severely dehydrated. Also, the decorative pot you've used. Decorative pots not good for orchid roots. You might want to use clear plastic pot, terracotta pots or clat pot and put it in the decorative pot. One more note, water orchid with ice is not a good practice, you don't like to take icy shower, neither does your orchids. Sudden change in temperature will cause a shock to the roots. Others will tell you the same about putting ice on your orchid.

Now, depend on your temperature and humidity, to save this orcid, there are many ways, one way is potted with 25% sphagnum moss mix with bark. Another way, potted in barks, but add about half an inch moss ontop to raise the humidity. These are just a couple suggestions, there are other method.

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[Optimist]

Many phals have a purple coloration to the leaves. The leaves may be this way because they are not getting moisture from the roots because the roots are rotten. So I would say check the roots. Pots (plastic pots) should be drained before putting them in these cash pots. Always dump any water in the cash pots.

[silken]

I agree. Ice on a tropical plant just isn't meant to be. Flushing the pot with tepid water and then draining well and letting approach near dryness before watering would work better. And yes, those decorative pots are not the best on their own for potting. Does it have any drainage? A clear plastic pot with bottom and side holes or unglazed terra cotta with side slits would be better. Clear is nice because you can see what is going on in the root zone and the roots like the light. In nature they get sunlight too while they cling to trees. Read up on Phal care here: The Phal abuse ends here.
And welcome to Orchid Board!