What now?

[greenpassion]

And what have you done with the mother plant? It looked pretty good in the pics, and dispite the unfortunate mishap, you can still bring her to bloom again. And if and when you do, it is a very good feeling

[eager2learn]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

We're all sorry to see that, it's happened to all of us. But, your language (while common) is offensive to many of us, please watch it.

forgive me

---------- Post added at 08:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:06 PM ----------

Originally Posted by camille1585

Oh no, poor spike! Stuff like that happens too easily unfortunately... Enjoy it in a vase of water, it won't last as long but you'll still get another week of enjoyment from it.

I hope you don't mind that I have edited your post. While the F word is now very common, on Orchidboard it's not the sort of language we want to see.

i dont mind

---------- Post added at 08:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:06 PM ----------

Originally Posted by greenpassion

And what have you done with the mother plant? It looked pretty good in the pics, and dispite the unfortunate mishap, you can still bring her to bloom again. And if and when you do, it is a very good feeling

i didn't think it would snap that easily. i felt my heart drop when i did.

---------- Post added at 08:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:07 PM ----------







My leaves appear to be withering and leathery in appearance.

I have prescribed 1 LED 100 watt equivalent light bulb at 7000 kelvin bright white temperature held ~6" above the leaves for 6h a day to encourage mitochondria and vegetative growth.

If condition does not improve, I will water it once a day until I see the leaves return its luscious appearance and is no longer leathery in appearance.

I cannot help but to be in a constant state of panic.

I request professional advice on how I may restore this phal back to health.

Or is it too late and I have to call it?

[aliceinwl]

I don’t think it looks bad, if it’s looking wilty it’s probably a root or water issue more than light. I think you have much more of a challenge on your hands keeping it in the big pot. I’d get a smaller clear plastic slotted pot, repot the orchid in that, and if it fits put the plastic pot inside the original. I’d also recommend giving the skewer method of gauging water needs a try, it’s in one of the sticky threads on top. If you repot in a smaller clear plastic pot, you will also be able to see the roots: when they’re silver it’s time to water, when they’re green hold off. You’ll also be able to tell if something goes wrong (if the roots start dying) and you can troubleshoot and fix before you have too much root death. You’re kind of flying blind with your current set-up.

[SaraJean]

Is it too late? Goodness, no. You should see what these phals can put up with and still bounce back. Truly, even though I don’t know what the roots look like, your phal doesn’t look bad. Give it some time though. These are very slow growers and it can take weeks and sometimes months to show signs of improvement. Watering it once a day will do more harm than good unless it is grown bare root or in extremely open media. You run the risk of suffocating the roots of you water it too much. By the way, does that pot have a drain hole in it?
Someone else will have to help you with the light, I grow my orchids outdoors so I know nothing about that subject, but is it by a window? Why not just give it some filtered natural light?

[eager2learn]

Originally Posted by aliceinwl

I don’t think it looks bad, if it’s looking wilty it’s probably a root or water issue more than light. I think you have much more of a challenge on your hands keeping it in the big pot. I’d get a smaller clear plastic slotted pot, repot the orchid in that, and if it fits put the plastic pot inside the original. I’d also recommend giving the skewer method of gauging water needs a try, it’s in one of the sticky threads on top. If you repot in a smaller clear plastic pot, you will also be able to see the roots: when they’re silver it’s time to water, when they’re green hold off. You’ll also be able to tell if something goes wrong (if the roots start dying) and you can troubleshoot and fix before you have too much root death. You’re kind of flying blind with your current set-up.

a small pot will suffocate it.

i am still working through the "phal abuse must end" thread. it is the reason i put my phal in a big pot.

---------- Post added at 09:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:14 PM ----------

Originally Posted by SaraJean

Is it too late? Goodness, no. You should see what these phals can put up with and still bounce back. Truly, even though I don’t know what the roots look like, your phal doesn’t look bad. Give it some time though. These are very slow growers and it can take weeks and sometimes months to show signs of improvement. Watering it once a day will do more harm than good unless it is grown bare root or in extremely open media. You run the risk of suffocating the roots of you water it too much. By the way, does that pot have a drain hole in it?
Someone else will have to help you with the light, I grow my orchids outdoors so I know nothing about that subject, but is it by a window? Why not just give it some filtered natural light?

It has 1 drain whole on the bottom

---------- Post added at 09:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:14 PM ----------

[AnonYMouse]

Adjust your expectations.

It won't improve over night. It won't improve over a week. It may take forever for a Phal to recover some perceived wrongness you see (seriously, not much wrong happening). Daily watering will not help. Daily watering will probably be detrimental.

Listen to these people!

[Dollythehun]

Try to water by the weight of the pot. Water well, then lift it. Now just lift it every day until it approaches lightness. I watered like that for years.
As to your spike, I snapped off a beauty trying to clip it to a stake, and I can't tell you how many I've dropped. Yours will be fine. Please don't expect perfection...

[camille1585]

I'm surprised about your comment on small pots suffocating the plant. The common advice is to use the smallest pot the roots comfortably fit in, and if anything most orchids prefer a snug fit because the medium then dries out evenly and quickly.

As already mentioned, there is no quick fix. A dehydrated Phal can take MONTHS to visible bounce back. Yours doesn't look bad at all, so the leaves may only take a few weeks to firm up again Daily watering is probably the best way to rot the roots, an a water logged medium will deprive them of air circulation.

The best approach is to water when needed (use wooden skewer or root color to judge when), keep the plant is a somewhat warm and humid environment and out of direct light, regular feedings, and lots of patience. It will bounce back, and the plant actually looks pretty good.

[Mountaineer370]

You mentioned earlier in the thread that your orchid is in large bark with a layer of rocks at the bottom and that the pot has one drain hole at the bottom. It also appears to me from your pictures that the pot is glazed ceramic. It seems to me that this may be a scenario where the roots are not getting enough air.

You say you are going to repot. I would leave the rocks out. With other types of houseplants, you often see that advice, but it's not something typically done with orchids. When you have your plant out of the pot, you can get a good look at the roots and perhaps post some pictures here, which I believe would be helpful.

As to the pot, you might want to consider putting it into a clear plastic pot made for orchids. They have multiple drain holes, not just one, and you can get them with additional slots in the sides for even more aeration. The clear plastic is admittedly not the most attractive, but many of us like them because you can easily see many of the roots, which is helpful in determining when to water and keeping an overall eye on the health of the plant.

Edited to add: I am also someone who grows indoors in front of a window, with no supplemental lighting, but I am concerned about your plan to put a 7000K light six inches above your plant for six hours a day. That sounds like too much for a Phalaenopsis, but, hopefully, others with more experience will chime in.

[eager2learn]

Originally Posted by Mountaineer370

You mentioned earlier in the thread that your orchid is in large bark with a layer of rocks at the bottom and that the pot has one drain hole at the bottom. It also appears to me from your pictures that the pot is glazed ceramic. It seems to me that this may be a scenario where the roots are not getting enough air.

You say you are going to repot. I would leave the rocks out. With other types of houseplants, you often see that advice, but it's not something typically done with orchids. When you have your plant out of the pot, you can get a good look at the roots and perhaps post some pictures here, which I believe would be helpful.

As to the pot, you might want to consider putting it into a clear plastic pot made for orchids. They have multiple drain holes, not just one, and you can get them with additional slots in the sides for even more aeration. The clear plastic is admittedly not the most attractive, but many of us like them because you can easily see many of the roots, which is helpful in determining when to water and keeping an overall eye on the health of the plant.

Edited to add: I am also someone who grows indoors in front of a window, with no supplemental lighting, but I am concerned about your plan to put a 7000K light six inches above your plant for six hours a day. That sounds like too much for a Phalaenopsis, but, hopefully, others with more experience will chime in.

Thanks for your reply. The plastic pot it came with was too small. I repotted into the other pot it came with. I must say. It looks ALOT better being in a small pot.