Help with a rootless phalaenopsis

[GoldStar135]

Hi everyone! This is my first post on Orchid Board, and I'm excited to join the community!

So this year I received a phal (my third phal, fourth orchid) for the new year. It had a really thick spike (thickest I've seen, maybe 1cm) with three branches. All branches were blooming and budding.

However during early February buds began blasting. The plant itself didn't look like it was suffering. It was potted in tightly packed sphagnum with a sort of decorative layer all around the pot (the hay-looking stuff on the outside).



I managed to take the hay out, and (with some difficulty) removed all the moss. There were a few dead roots here and there, but the majority of the root system was firm and healthy-looking.





I potted it in with some bark, perlite, and charcoal (the Better Gro orchid mix) and soaked the pot.

All was well until a few weeks later. All the leaves were flopping over.



I unpotted it today and found that ALL of the roots in the medium had died and/or rotted. I'm not exactly sure if the roots died first and then rotted, or if rot itself caused the death of the root system. I cut off all the dead roots. The very bottom of the stem was black and squishy, so I cut that part off and sprayed it with some hydrogen peroxide. I also cut the flower spike (kind of hurt to do so ).

I'm left with this:




There are maybe three tiny root nubbins that survived, and one small aerial root. I decided to leave it unpotted for now to let the stem cut dry.



As of now, my plan is to spray the root a couple times a day to keep it moist. However, next week I'm leaving for vacation and I won't be back for a week.

What should I do to keep it moist for the week that I am away?

Thanks in advance!

[Irielicious]

Welcome to orchid board!!! Sorry you are having to go through the root less orchid issue. Honestly unless there is stem rot or crown rot it should be fine while you are gone. There are a few things that can be done but I wouldn't begin those things while you are gone.

For now leave the orchid bare root and soak what is left of the root system for about an hour a day then let it dry out until the next days soak. Just make sure not to get water in the crown or between the leaf joints.

The orchid in this picture only had those two really old brown roots when I started the bare root method. This orchid, like yours, had hardly any roots and its leaves went limp, but as you see with patience*** it will bounce back.

That said, I would do these soaks daily until you go on vacation. When you do leave I would keep the orchid away from any direct light and a cool spot so it won't loose too much moisture while you are gone. You could place a humidity tray or something that will keep the air around it moist until you return. Then I think you can explore aggressive methods if you wish...

I hope this helps some!

[bil]

Honest but brutal answer would be, bin it. When you get back, buy another and repot it into large bark chunks and nothing else. With a phal my recommendation always is, put it in a larger, shallow pot.

Any fine material will tend to block the gaps between the bark chunks and then you risk suffocating the roots.

[jkofferdahl]

I would agree with Bil. It's possible that the plant could be recovered, but not easily. It would be both emotionally and probably financially easier to replace it.

[GoldStar135]

Originally Posted by jkofferdahl

I would agree with Bil. It's possible that the plant could be recovered, but not easily. It would be both emotionally and probably financially easier to replace it.

It may not be easy, but I tend to enjoy challenges. It makes the plant hobby interesting :P
As for being emotionally easier, I think I would respectfully disagree with you on that point. I am rather attached to all my plants and find it extremely hard to let one go that easily when I know there is still a chance for survival. I think the pride one feels when a plant they've rescued recovers and goes on to bloom is a better feeling than the simple happiness of just getting a new plant. That's what I feel anyway :P

As for the orchid-It did well during the week I was gone from home-nothing major happened. I put it in a darker and cooler area than it was in previously.
I currently have the stem tied gently to a flower stake with a ribbon. The base of the stem is suspended over some sphagnum moss to keep the humidity around the base high. The leaves of the plant are drooping out over the edge of the pot. Three leaves have yellowed and one has dropped. I spray the root with some water once a day.
It's been three weeks since I last put it in this setup, and today I found something exciting



I think there's a root tip emerging!
Should I spray it a little once a day to keep it moist or just leave it alone? The humidity in the room is around 34%.

[Dollythehun]

You can lay it on a bed of damp spag and maybe put a clear bag over it, leave the end open.

[Irielicious]

Originally Posted by GoldStar135

It may not be easy, but I tend to enjoy challenges. It makes the plant hobby interesting :P
As for being emotionally easier, I think I would respectfully disagree with you on that point. I am rather attached to all my plants and find it extremely hard to let one go that easily when I know there is still a chance for survival. I think the pride one feels when a plant they've rescued recovers and goes on to bloom is a better feeling than the simple happiness of just getting a new plant. That's what I feel anyway :P

As for the orchid-It did well during the week I was gone from home-nothing major happened. I put it in a darker and cooler area than it was in previously.
I currently have the stem tied gently to a flower stake with a ribbon. The base of the stem is suspended over some sphagnum moss to keep the humidity around the base high. The leaves of the plant are drooping out over the edge of the pot. Three leaves have yellowed and one has dropped. I spray the root with some water once a day.
It's been three weeks since I last put it in this setup, and today I found something exciting



I think there's a root tip emerging!
Should I spray it a little once a day to keep it moist or just leave it alone? The humidity in the room is around 34%.

WooHoo!!! That looks like a root to me! I would let it grow out before watering it. I have found that new roots take a bit of time to mature before they are able to take up water. This is a good sign though!

[bil]

Personally, I would pot it up in coarse bark, and use a few rocks to keep it vertical and stable. Water it as often as you like, you can't over water in coarse bark.

DON'T FIDDLE WITH IT!

Seriously. Leave it alone so that the roots can grow into the bark because if it moves around the roots will almost certainly die.

[Sharon's Sheepdogs]

Good job Goldstar! Glad you hung in there with the phal.

Personally, I think your plant developed some type of rot which may have occurred from the old compacted medium needing to be replaced and perhaps retaining too much water. Putting fresh sphag below the orchid and keeping it moist probably helped with the new root development. Hopefully you will be able to retain some leaves while the new root continues to grow.

I don't really know what your growing conditions are so it's difficult for me to make any recommendations. However, what I would suggest is that you use wooden
bamboo skewers from now on to determine whether your phals need to be watered. Prior to watering, just pull the skewer out & press on your cheek to determine how wet the medium is. It will surprise you how wet your phal is near the bottom even though the top looks completely dry and you were getting ready to water it.

You can replant your phal in fresh sphag, bark or a mixture of the two which is what I use. Phals like to grow in sphag indoors because of the increased humidity it provides. Problems develop though when the sphag gets old, stays wet longer and often leads to disease.

If you repot in just bark or a mix, place a little layer of sphag around the top of the medium. That way if the top of the medium has dried out but the bottom is still wet, you can spray the sphag with some water. This will help the roots near the top stay moist and it increases the humidity around the phal.

Just be sure not to get water in the crown when you are spraying. If you do so accidentally, lay the phal on it's side for a period of time to let the water drain out of the crown or take the corner of a paper towel and stick it down between the leaves and the crown to draw the water out. Leaving it there will only lead to more rot.

Another thing I learned to do with my orchids is too add a 1/2 tsp. of physan 20 to each gallon of water. I read this somewhere when I was struggling to grow phals and I do believe it has helped. Personally, for me to successfully grow phals involved a lot of trial and error.

Let us know how your phal comes along. Good luck!

[bil]

A couple of points.

Bamboo skewers don't work well with coarse bark.

You simply cannot overwater in clean, coarse bark.

If you mix moss with bark you reduce the rate at which air can reach the roots.

From someone on here I learn that phals in moss are less tolerant of cold.

If your phals rot or dry because you got them wet, then you are doing something else wrong. I have never yet had a phal die from wetting it.

I don't like the idea of putting physan in every watering. I am not saying things can get used to it, as they do to antibiotics, but it's a thought that would concern me.