Phal Problems following emergency repotting

[mexicowpants]

So, here's that giant Phal that I discovered bathing in 2 inches of water thanks to the over-zealous watering of my cleaning lady.

Following this incident, I decided it was best to repot, as it was in pretty tightly packed sphagnum, and a couple of visible roots were looking very black and mushy. I trimmed off the rotten roots (around 25% of the total root mass), treated the rest of the roots with a Captan solution, and repotted in coarse bark (pre-soaked). I left it without watering for a couple of days so the roots could dry out and any lesions caused by the repotting could heal over, then gave it a good soak (submerged for around 15 minutes), as the roots were looking very dry. I've since been misting the leaves and aerial roots 2 or 3 times daily, and submerging in water for 10 minutes or so every time the potted roots look dry.

This is how the plant looks now:



As you can see, the leaves look really wrinkly and dehydrated.

Here's the current condition of the roots:


The ones up near the top seem to be fine, but the darkened one down the bottom and the woody-looking ones running vertically are a little concerning.

Several of the blooms are wilting:


They've been like this for several days now, but the stems of the blooms are not drying, and the blooms are showing no signs of falling, they're just very floppy.

Other info: the plant is inside in a reasonably good amount of indirect light (other blooming Phals in the same area are doing fantastically). Humidity is on the low side (30%-ish) , hence the misting. Ventilation is very good.

What should I do? I'm worried that removing it from its pot again could be too much of a shock to it, but that blackened root down the bottom looks pretty ominous. Never had problems following repotting before... :eek:

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

	Mistking Looking for a misting system? Look no further. Automated misting systems from MistKing are used by multitude of plant enthusiasts and are perfect for Orchids. Systems feature run dry pumps, ZipDrip valve, adjustable black nozzles, per second control! Automatically mist one growing shelf or a greenhouse full of Orchids. See MistKing testimonials

[rbarata]

My reference for watering when I look at the roots are the aerial roots and not the ones buried in the medium.
When the plant needs water the aerial roots start to shrink.
But my main reference is the dryness of the medium. When it is dry from the top down to half of the pot, it's safe to water.
The humidity here in summer is somewhere between 15 to 25 % and usually I water them once per week. Maybe you should cut your watering.

The "incident" happend how long ago?

[mexicowpants]

Originally Posted by rbarata

The "incident" happend how long ago?

Just over 2 weeks ago. It's been watered twice during that time. The bark is very coarse, and so has been draining and drying out really quickly, despite the mistings.

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

[estación seca]

Cut off the bloom stem now. The plant in its current state can't supply enough water to the leaves plus flowers.

It takes Phals a few days to over a week to recover from that degree of dessication. It is possible the wrinkling may never go away completely.

Your repotting is fine; don't be tempted to overwater by the wrinkled leaves. Water when the medium is just about dry. It should recover.

[mexicowpants]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Cut off the bloom stem now. The plant in its current state can't supply enough water to the leaves plus flowers.

It takes Phals a few days to over a week to recover from that degree of dessication. It is possible the wrinkling may never go away completely.

Your repotting is fine; don't be tempted to overwater by the wrinkled leaves. Water when the medium is just about dry. It should recover.

That's pretty much the news I was expecting (but not wanting) to hear regarding the blooms... Good to know the repotting is OK, though. Thanks!

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

[Ray]

Summing up a bit, then expanding the discussion, what you have there is a plant whose root system is incapable or supplying sufficient water to the plant.

The plant would likely do better if kept a maximum RH, to slow the ongoing desiccation, so I'd invert a plastic bag over it to act as a mini greenhouse. Also, in that very open, coarse medium, I believe you are underwatering it, and in fact, likely cannot overwater it. Rather than using the moisture content of the medium as the guideline, look at the velamen on the roots. It'll be green when watered, and when it had turned back to the silvery-white color, then is the time to water again.

[mexicowpants]

Originally Posted by Ray

Summing up a bit, then expanding the discussion, what you have there is a plant whose root system is incapable or supplying sufficient water to the plant.

The plant would likely do better if kept a maximum RH, to slow the ongoing desiccation, so I'd invert a plastic bag over it to act as a mini greenhouse. Also, in that very open, coarse medium, I believe you are underwatering it, and in fact, likely cannot overwater it. Rather than using the moisture content of the medium as the guideline, look at the velamen on the roots. It'll be green when watered, and when it had turned back to the silvery-white color, then is the time to water again.

OK, thanks for the input, Ray. That's pretty much how I've been watering it, going on the colour of the roots.

I'll be taking the flower spikes off when I get home this morning, so a clear plastic bag should fit over it then.

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk