Phal with dark brown roots

[Jmarciante75]

Hi! I’m new. My phals are about 8 years young. I repotted last year due to root rot. Since then I thought I was doing right but after researching I realized I was watering incorrectly. Now that I know the right way, I’d like to solve the issue with my roots. Some look dead, but they are still thick so I’m afraid to repot and clean it up. Also, they are growing through the slots in the pot. I’m afraid of putting the plants in shock if several get torn off. I have 2-3 stems growing, so I didn’t know if I should do anything now or wait till it’s done flowering. Are these the best pots? Are my roots drying out too quickly because of the slots?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

It can be removed, but its gonna take a long time to do it.

Cut the pot and free the roots up one by one if you want.

Some the roots don't look great, but most of them are still alive.

Net pots like this are fine to use. It is a matter of the grower knowing what they are doing and seeing if they are able to make it work for them in the growing environment they have.

[Jmarciante75]

Another question, sorry. I’ve learned not to wet the leaves when watering, but why do so many people mist their plants?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

They're trying to provide moisture to the plant as a means to make up for low humidity.

Misting your Phal is not necessary. I also don't recommend it because a house doesn't always have the best air circulation.

Misting a Phal regularly is one of the biggest reasons why some problems such as leaf spotting and bacterial or fungal rots happen in cultivation.

It is best to provide a humid environment by other means instead.

It doesn't really even need the humidity to be terribly high either. Phals can still grow if the humidity is around 50%.

If you haven't already done so, reading The Phal abuse ends here sticky can give you a general sense of how to grow Phals.

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[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

The roots look great. I would not repot. Usually people repot in bark every 2-3 years. The bark looks good to me now.

I can't see the plant, so I can't comment on how it looks.

I agree - never cut or damage roots if you can avoid it. With a plant like this, you can gently remove old bark pieces one at a time, then put more back in. Leave alone the ones that won't come out.

You can also just drop this basket into a larger one and fill in around it with more bark.

Edit: People mist mostly because they don't know what they're doing. Orchid leaves don't take up water. Roots do. There is a huge amount of wrong information on everything, not just orchids, on YouTube.