Worried! How to care for likely overwatered Phalaenopsis?

[HiOrcDen]

I think I've overwatered one of my phals. It's a plant with small, succulent dark purple flowers, which my grower calls "chocolate drops". Of the roots visible through the plastic pot, over half appear grey and soft. The plant has dropped about ten blooms of about fifty blooms, as well as buds and spikes which are neither dropping nor opening. What has me particularly worried is that one bottom leaf is starting to take on a yellow tinge.

My question is, how should I help this orchid recover? I am thinking I should water lightly and allow it to dry between watering. Is there anything in addition I should do? For example, should I pull it from its pot and trim away the dead roots, to keep rot from spreading? Should I continue to provide the same light levels?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

[Leafmite]

I would take the entire thing out of the pot, see if it has any good roots, remove all the ones that are soft, and then let the roots dry for a few days to help kill off the fungus that is rotting the roots. If you tend to water too often, find a medium that dries quickly (that is why I use LECA and basket pots) and use that instead of bark or NZ moss. If it is entirely rootless, add a bit of moss on top of the medium and set the base (with the bad roots removed) on top and stake it well so that it doesn't wiggle. The NZ moss will help encourage rooting. Good luck!

[HiOrcDen]

So how long can a phal survive in a dry medium? And to trim off the dead roots, do I need to sterilize my scissors with rubbing alcohol? I think about half the roots are still healthy. Also, I'm assuming I should toss the moss the orchid is currently in and replace it with fresh moss...
I've learned how much to water, so for the moment I'd like to continue with moss as all my orchids are growing in it...
And thanks!

[Leafmite]

Yes, I would toss the old medium and use fresh. When used properly NZ moss does very well with Phals. I have left new Phals in moss for a few months to a year until the moss broke down and had no ill results.
If you can, use bleach to sterilize scissors. Unlike most human viruses, most plant viruses are not killed by alcohol. Just rinse the bleach solution off very quickly as it will corrode steel.
I would just let the Phal air out for a day or two before putting it in the new moss. You want the light and air to kill off the fungus so that the roots won't continue to rot. It will not hurt your orchid to do this. Then, before potting, give it a good soak and pot it up. Good luck!

[bil]

Hmmmm. Phals are pretty robust, unless you cut off the air supply to the roots. Then they are toast.

In your shoes, my first question would be, is this crown rot? Has the orchid got chilled? if it is, then I would bin it instantly. Unless it is an expensive, rare, or treasured plant, few phals are worth the trouble, unless you wish to learn about treatment.

Second question. What's it in? If it is in a water retaining medium with few pores, I would repot. I am not a great one for hacking roots off.

Once out of the medium, I would ditch the old medium, and spray the whole plant roots, leaves et al with a good fungicide solution, I use Mancozeb. I also use the powdered Mancozeb to dust cut ends of spikes etc.

I would then repot in a decent size pot using sieved coarse bark. That stuff lets lots of air thru. I'd hold the plant steady if needs be with three rocks around it, and to reduce the moisture drain I would simply put a plastic bag over the top, but without sealing it. Like it has a burka.

Every day, or every other day, I would mist the whole plant with an ultra weak solution of fertiliser and distilled or RO water. Keep the mister standing by the plant so that the water is at the same temp.

The idea here is to have the plant grow roots into the proper medium to start with, and not grow it in wet moss, and then hve it change medium.

It is quite a lot of trouble, and like I say, if the plant wasn't special to begin with, then why not learn the lesson and move on?

[estación seca]

In low-humidity southern California, you don't have to worry much about rot and fungus, unless you're growing them in a very humid enclosed space. Is your new greenhouse up and running, or are you growing them in the house?

I don't bother sterilizing the blade between root cuts on the same plant unless I think I have a fungus attack going. It sounds like your roots simply drowned, and I doubt you have a fungus problem.

Then reroot as others have suggested here. I would add that I always use kelp products to soak plants I'm rerooting. They contain growth hormones that many people believe help form new roots. You can get some at a local hydroponics shop, or online. I use the product KelpMax from First Ray's. You can learn a lot more on this board if you search on kelp.

Many people grow Phals bare-root with roots hanging in a vase. Look up posts by Helene and see how she does it in Norway. So, don't worry too much about the roots drying out, so long as you water them from time to time.

Also, Phal are warmth-loving plants. They just barely tolerate typical winter house temperatures. They do much better with warm, humid conditions. If you can keep them humid and 80-85 degrees F / 27-29C while rerooting they will be much happier.

[HiOrcDen]

Thanks again to everyone, for the techniques you've imparted, and I will check out the threads and websites you've suggested.

Its actually a somewhat pricey plant, which I couldn't resist buying, as I was in love with the color! I do live near the coast in SoCal, so humidity is usually not so low as it has been recently.

Yes, I'm growing our orchids in the house, which is ok as we have a couple good grow spaces. The greenhouse hasn't worked out yet, as we have to go through the neighborhood association, which is probably for the best, as I now think I should gain more experience before considering one.

I'm not sure that there is any fungus, as the roots just look gray wnd wrinkled, not like anything is growing on them. So I gather that if its not fungus that I'm dealing with, and rather drowned roots, that I may not have to trim the roots or even repot? Should I consider just carefully nursing this orchid back to health? Or should I at least repot?

My biggest concern is as I mentioned, that one leaf has turned a bit yellow, though it's not gotten worse in the last couple days

[bil]

Originally Posted by HiOrcDen

Thanks again to everyone, for the techniques you've imparted, and I will check out the threads and websites you've suggested.

Its actually a somewhat pricey plant, which I couldn't resist buying, as I was in love with the color! I do live near the coast in SoCal, so humidity is usually not so low as it has been recently.

Yes, I'm growing our orchids in the house, which is ok as we have a couple good grow spaces. The greenhouse hasn't worked out yet, as we have to go through the neighborhood association, which is probably for the best, as I now think I should gain more experience before considering one.

I'm not sure that there is any fungus, as the roots just look gray wnd wrinkled, not like anything is growing on them. So I gather that if its not fungus that I'm dealing with, and rather drowned roots, that I may not have to trim the roots or even repot? Should I consider just carefully nursing this orchid back to health? Or should I at least repot?

My biggest concern is as I mentioned, that one leaf has turned a bit yellow, though it's not gotten worse in the last couple days

I would leave the roots intact, douse them in fungicide if you are really worried, but do the whole plant, leaves and all. I'd pot it in bark, give it some kelp extract to try and encourage the roots, but otherwise treat it as you would a healthy plant. ie enough water to stop it from drying.

Providing it is getting the right temps and light, it ought to bounce back.

If I had to bet money on it, it's the moss. I simply wouldn't use moss with phals. as for watering, it is far better with a serious epiphyte like a phal, to water frequently, with ultra weak fertiliser in the open kind of medium that allows for fast drying. Fast drying, open media just doesn't support fungus and mold like a wet, mossy one does.

I appreciate it is a fag having to water frequently, but stagnant wet media is a killer.