Root rot, hoping for tips on replanting and nursing back to health

[Roberta]

Thanks, Dolly - I'm far, far from an expert, I just try to learn a little from the casualties...

[Dollythehun]

Hey, Roberta...We used to joke that "an expert is someone who comes from out of town with a briefcase." You got that beat by a country mile!😂

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

Hey, Roberta...We used to joke that "an expert is someone who comes from out of town with a briefcase." You got that beat by a country mile!😂

A new one... I thought that an expert was someone who has killed 1,000 orchids... Except that I think that number is 'way too low... I have certainly had more casualties than that over the years, and consider myself only at the upper edge of "novice"

[estación seca]

Hi Kelsey1212, Welcome to the Orchid Board!

Many of us find it best to let our Phals in pots get completely dry before watering again. The roots turn white. We don't let them stay dry for very long, but we do let them get dry. Then we water them heavily, and the roots turn green. Then we wait some more.

We check with wooden cooking skewers, like testing a cake:
Using skewers to determine when to water

And this is a really good thread to read for Phal care:
The Phal abuse ends here.

Using too big a pot and watering too often make it really easy to keep them wet at the roots, which often leads to root rot. When we use small pots and make sure they're dry between watering, they tend to do much better.

[bil]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

Hey, Roberta...We used to joke that "an expert is someone who comes from out of town with a briefcase." You got that beat by a country mile!😂

They also say, 'Ex = hasbeen, and a spurt is a drip under pressure.'

Sadly these days there seems to be a groundswell against expertise, even the genuine sort. I think Asimov summed it up well, describing it as 'My ignorance is as good as your knowledge' state of mind, which is worrying.

I haven't killed many yet, altho that reminds me of firearm training when someone asked if we had had a negligent discharge of a firearm. I said not, and he said to me "You mean not YET".
A salutory lesson.

We are all orchid mass killers in waiting.