Help with Phal- what should I be doing?

[NewGal]

I have had 2 orchids for the last 9 months or so. The first one in question is very small. I believe both are Phals.

The first, smaller orchid has flowered a number of times, however, the leaves have been pretty wrinkled all this time. I've tried more water, I've tried less water. I've tried to make sure it dries out, I've tried to make sure it doesnt dry out. Nothing really helps. What the heck?
Ive included photos of the roots, leaves, and bud. This plant does not have any bloomed flowers. IMG1287-1289

Second plant: It seems like it's a more mature plant. It's also flowered a number of times. It's getting very, very tall. I water it the same as the other plant (obviously I give the smaller plant less volume of water...) and this plant seems to have happier leaves.
Should I be cutting back this plant once it drops its flowers? Is that new root growth (the little nub by the stem)? Should I cut it back to the second node? Seems scary to do so.
Ive included photos of this one too- this one has the pink flowers- IMG1288 and onward.

[estación seca]

Welcome, NewGal!

The plant with wrinkled leaves has visible roots that are all dead. I would worry the rest of the roots are dead, too. The commonest cause of this is being too wet for too long. Are there drainage holes in the pots?

The other plant has healthy roots visible above the medium, but I would worry about the condition of the roots below the medium.

I would repot both into fresh medium. Take them out of the pot and remove all the old medium. Cut off the dead roots. Live roots are white, green or light brown, and thick. Dead roots are squishy, black, slimy, flat, or very thin.

Repot into fresh medium. Some people use sphagnum moss but many people use large-chunk bark. You can also use lava rock from a landscape section. Water the plant when the medium is just dry.

There is good information here and here.

[NewGal]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Welcome, NewGal!

The plant with wrinkled leaves has visible roots that are all dead. I would worry the rest of the roots are dead, too. The commonest cause of this is being too wet for too long. Are there drainage holes in the pots?

The other plant has healthy roots visible above the medium, but I would worry about the condition of the roots below the medium.

I would repot both into fresh medium. Take them out of the pot and remove all the old medium. Cut off the dead roots. Live roots are white, green or light brown, and thick. Dead roots are squishy, black, slimy, flat, or very thin.

Repot into fresh medium. Some people use sphagnum moss but many people use large-chunk bark. You can also....

Hmm. Maybe I need better photos. The little one does have some dry, grey roots sticking out but when I take it out of the decorative pot, the rest are green. None are mushy or black though. Can I cut off the dry roots that are sticking out?
Same for the larger plant. I'll upload better pics tomorrow. I'm scared to repot them. Is repotting necessary at a certain point? I'm really new to Orchid keeping so... Sorry if I'm asking anything that seems obvious.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Originally Posted by NewGal

Hmm. Maybe I need better photos. The little one does have some dry, grey roots sticking out but when I take it out of the decorative pot, the rest are green. None are mushy or black though. Can I cut off the dry roots that are sticking out?
Same for the larger plant. I'll upload better pics tomorrow. I'm scared to repot them. Is repotting necessary at a certain point? I'm really new to Orchid keeping so... Sorry if I'm asking anything that seems obvious.

Hello Newgal welcome to the board. Yes you do have to re-pot eventually. You can do it. Read the threads that es has given you. This I keep trying to make my sister learn as she thinks she can go on for ever not re-potting. I was afraid to re-pot and lost several really nice orchids because of it. That's when I found this forum and it has helped so very much.

One thing to keep in mind is when you do re-pot if you use bark you will have to up the water for a bit. That's why it's good to use clear pots, then you can see the roots. Good luck.

[estación seca]

Green roots are OK. You can always cut off dead roots.

Are your plants in pure sphagnum moss, or is it mixed with something else? Most people repot orchids every 2 years, or when the medium isn't good. Bark breaks down into powdery mush with time. Sphagnum becomes squishy stringy mush. The problem with this is it doesn't allow air to get to the roots. Volcanic rock doesn't break down, but if your water has a fair amount of dissolved minerals, they form a white crusty layer on the rock.

Many people repot every orchid as soon as they get it. This lets them look at the roots and replace the medium with something they are accustomed to. Others leave them in the pot until the medium starts breaking down.

[NewGal]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Green roots are OK. You can always cut off dead roots.

Are your plants in pure sphagnum moss, or is it mixed with something else? Most people repot orchids every 2 years, or when the medium isn't good. Bark breaks down into powdery mush with time. Sphagnum becomes squishy stringy mush. The problem with this is it doesn't allow air to get to the roots. Volcanic rock doesn't break down, but if your water has a fair amount of dissolved minerals, they form a white crusty layer on the rock.

Many people repot every orchid as soon as they get it. This lets them look at the roots and replace the medium with something they are accustomed to. Others leave them in the pot until the medium starts breaking down.

The small orchid looks like it has moss. The large one has bark and other such things?

I cut off the dead roots that were sticking out. Here are photos of the roots. Healthy? No? Should I be repotting? Should I trim the larger orchid? It can no longer support the weight of the flowers, it almost tips over. I use the string of the blinds to hold it up!

First two pics are the small orchid (as you can see it in my hand). The last two are of the larger one.

[campchi]

I think your phal still in good shape, i can see the top root start to grow root tip, which is a good sign. Just repot it anf don't water until it's dry, let it dry between watering and your phal will be in good shape. If it's still in bloom, i say, remove some moss and give it more ventilation, enjoy the bloom and then repot.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

[rbarata]

The small orchid looks like it has moss. The large one has bark and other such things?

I think this is the key factor why one seems better than the other. You need to increase drainage so repot using something like bark or a mix of bark+leca (for ex.)

[NewGal]

I repotted the little guy! I used a bark mix. Lets see if that helps those wrinkly leaves! Oh, and that moss was very tightly packed around the roots!

[catherinecarney]

Hi Newgal and welcome to orchidboard!

I noticed you asked about cutting back your larger orchid. Short answer is don't. Phals grow from the top of the plant and (usually) won't send a basal keiki out if they lose the growing point. Also, if you were asking about cutting the spike, again, don't. Many phals will continue to grow and flower off the old spike, so as long as it's green I'd leave it.

However, that doesn't do anything to help you with the whole "plant tipping over issue" but there are some things that will help....If the spike is pulling the plant over, see if staking up the spike helps you. Also, many phals naturally grow "sideways," and plastic pots don't have a lot of weight to them--I usually end up putting my plastic pots inside a heavier clay pot (decorative or plain) to help keep them from tipping over (works for other top heavy orchids like dendrobiums and epidendrums, too). I would think you could also add a layer of coarse gravel/small rocks to the bottom of the plastic pot, though I've never done this myself.

Hope this helps a bit! Keep asking questions!

Catherine