Phalaenopsis and Denbrodium Nobile repotting and after care

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Pakmanwong

Updates: The flowers on the newly repotted phal have faded and many of the roots shrunk and died, only three green roots are left the leaves still seem to be fine... is there anything I can do to save it...?

Patience, patience. If it has 3 decent roots, and the leaves aren't limp, it is getting enough hydration through the roots that it has to survive. Orchids don't do anything fast... So you have given it a fighting chance. The rest is up to the plant, and will take several months (not days) to produce those new roots. If it is very dry in your house, you could could pop a plastic bag over the plant (poke a few holes so that there can be air exchange) making a sort of "mini greenhouse" to keep humidity up. But other than watering when it approaches dryness, just sit back and let the plant do its thing.

Perhaps, you need to get a few more orchids to divert your attention...a little benign neglect at this point is helpful.

[Pakmanwong]

The pictures of the phal taken about 5 mins ago. The flowers looked nice and strong last night, but this morning they look like they do in the picture. I was so worried when I got home from work, I dug it out and try to remove the rotten roots, I treated it with peroxide and cinnamon powder before putting it back to the pot... there are no signs of bugs or snails... It is to note that the blackened area under the crown was there before I repotted it the first time.

[Roberta]

You need to pot it up and leave it alone! Flowers can e expected to drop... Every time you disturb it, you set it back. Let it settle in to its new home. It's not about the current flowers... let the plant do its vegetative thing. Once it gets happy, you can think about looking for a spike next year about this time. Before it can flower again it needs to get healthy. And it can only accomplish that if it is allowed to grow undisturbed.

[Dollythehun]

It looks fine but, if you keep messing with it, you will injure it. Please try to redirect your angst.

[Pakmanwong]

Roberta! I do think my apartment is extremely dry. Since I didn't want the wounds to rot, I didn't water it even when the media dried up. I was trying to mist it before work in the morning and when I get home in the afternoon. I want to get more orchids but I am afraid I might end up killing them all...

[D_novice]

Don't overwater it - the # 1 killer of orchids. I see more moss in that pot than I noticed before, which means it can retain water in that plastic pot, and can probably go quite some time between waterings.

[Pakmanwong]

I am going to stop disturbing it, I promise!

I have a few questions. Is it okay for me to water it once the media dries up? Would you recommend misting, soaking etc? Should I be using any rooting concentrate like Dyna-Gro KLN? Can I place it on a east facing window sill to receive sunlight during the day while it is healing?

I would like to thank everyone for their patience and answering my questions!

	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

[Dollythehun]

Water when it is just dry. Soak it thoroughly and then wait until just dry again. This cycle is a different length for everyone. It won't hurt to use fertilizer or fish emulsion.
I realize you know you are obsessing over this. Please try to redirect your thoughts. Maybe go read about orchid care...instead of fussing with it.

[Roberta]

I agree with Dollythehun, let it nearly dry, then water well. (Sphagnum, when it gets very dry, can be quite difficult to re-wet, so try to water before it reaches the "crispy" stage) Misting is not particularly useful. Just water well when you water. Personally, I'd put it under the faucet and let the water run through the pot, but soaking can accomplish the same things, since once you take it out of the soaking water and let it drain, the excess water will still run out and pull fresh air behind it (which is what you want to happen, the roots need air) Think of fertilizer as "vitamins" not "food" - plants make their own food by photosynthesis. It's a bit of a boost but only in small amounts. Once weekly, weakly (1/2 or 1/4 of what it says on the bottle) is plenty.

	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

[bil]

Originally Posted by Pakmanwong

Roberta! I do think my apartment is extremely dry. Since I didn't want the wounds to rot, I didn't water it even when the media dried up. I was trying to mist it before work in the morning and when I get home in the afternoon. I want to get more orchids but I am afraid I might end up killing them all...

Don't worry, everyone kills a few, and tbh, you might be better off binning it, buying a new one and proceeding from there.
Just remember the golden rule with phals. For a novice, potting a phal up in a larger pot with coarse bark is the easiest way to go.
Keeping them in moss is much more difficult. They don't like it at all if the moss goes below a certain temp, and because the moss holds water so well, you are always at risk of suffocating the roots.

In coarse bark, you can water every day, and you can't overwater them.

I take my hat off to people who keep phals potted in moss. I am far too lazy to want to go to that much trouble and take those risks, but if that's your thing...