24 hr yellowing leaf & pits on Phal....Newbie needs advice

[Amydillo]

It is a pretty big Phal, so I'll have to see how big the roots actually are and then order an appropriate size pot and get it shipped fast....within the week. I love the look of a mounted orchid or one in a wooden bread bowl. I actually have a long wooden bowl but wouldn't know how to anchor it. One step at a time is probably wise for me though....slow down sister.

[Leafmite]

You might not need to order a pot. You could mount the orchid (they do look great that way and pet stores have great things for mounts in the reptile section), you could grow it in your pot with no medium, you could try the 'vase method' Vandas in Glass Vases

or one of many other methods for growing them. Be inspired and have fun.

[Mountaineer370]

Originally Posted by Amydillo

I purchased my first large Phal. a few months ago to start really learning the art of orchid growing. In the last few weeks, one leaf has curled and now this big change since yesterday morning. It was repotted in bark by the nursery worker. Has now dropped all but one bud off a second bloom. It is in an East window in a warm Texas bathroom. I use a bamboo skewer to check moisture levels, and it is fine. I'm wondering if it needs to be repotted into a more ventilated pot? Too much sun? Normal leaf drop?
See attached pics, the first two where it lives and then the third pic is 24 hrs later.

How much ventilation is there with that pot? The orchid appears to be in just that pot, without a plastic ventilated pot dropped inside. I'm guessing there is only one hole at the bottom. I could be wrong because I can't really tell from the pictures, but it looks like that bark is actually something like small fir bark.

I have decent luck with Phals, and my preference is for clear plastic pots with lots of holes on the bottom and maybe even ventilation slits in the sides. I also use medium chunky bark -- in my case Orchiata, but any good quality chunky bark would do. (The small fir bark is what I use for something like Oncidiums.) This arrangement allows me to see the roots quite well, and that, along with the weight of the pot, allows me to judge when to water. I let my Phals get close to dryness but never totally dry.

Those are the two things that jump out at me, the almost-airtight pot and the dense potting media. It doesn't mean there isn't something else going on. But you want your Phal's potting media to be just tight enough to anchor the plant and keep it from falling over but no more tight and dense than required to do that.

That yellowing leaf looks to be the oldest one. I have found that repotting sometimes pushes those oldest leaves to drop off maybe a bit sooner than they would have otherwise, but if that's the only one that does that, I wouldn't worry.

It's true that there are many different ways to grow Phals successfully, and what works for some of us may not work for others. You are just beginning, so with more experience, you will learn what works best for your plants in your particular conditions.

[tasha]

what does it mean if some of the roots are dying like they are shriveling up and one leaf is turning yellow? Im watering Weekly, put in ventilated plastic pot with clay outside. in indirect light. Some of the roots are shriveling and turning squishy. Recently repotted. The fourth leaf turned yellow really fast and died.



Thanks!

Tasha

[aliceinwl]

How are you watering? If you’re just letting it run through the pot once a week it may not be getting enough water. I usually soak my Phals for at least 5 minutes when watering weekly. For those that I water by letting it run through, I really have to calibrate frequency to the individual plants but it winds up being about every four days for most.

Check out the skewer method sticky. Hold your Phal in the plastic pot when dry, soak for 5 minutes and hold it again so you get a feel for how heavy it is when dry versus wet. If you can see roots through the pot, look at color: silver = dry, green or yellow (if not exposed to light) = wet. Using one or all these methods can help you gauge when to water. I found the skewer method really helpful when I started out.

If there were any unhealthy or dying roots when you repotted these will usually continue to die. There can also be some leaf loss. I’ve had mine drop leaves that they couldn’t support anymore due to root loss. Once the root systems recovered, they pushed new leaves.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Just because the plant's leaves are huge doesn't necessarily mean the root system is large. It is best to actually see just how large the root system really is. You could be surprised by just how small the root system is in comparison to the size of the leaves, particularly if the roots were badly damaged.

It is best to not assume the root system is healthy if there seems to be something ailing the plant.

[aliceinwl]

I just wanted add that this Phal looks a lot better now than it did in the first pictures posted. If from what you can tell, the moisture levels seem okay, just keep doing what you’re doing and wait and see. Phals seem to cope better if you err on the dry side (they won’t be happy but they won’t up and die either). Relative to other plants they do everything slowly. If you see further decline, act quickly once you figure out what’s wrong, but it may be awhile before you see real improvement.

With a few exceptions most of mine that started out in less than great health took around 6 months to start showing really obvious improvement. The first sign that things are turning around is usually when you see them start pushing new roots.

The fact that they’re so slow to respond also gives you the luxury of time. They’re not quick to up and die and will cling tenaciously to life while you figure things out.

[tasha]

Do you recommend using products like super thrive or orchid fertilizer at this time? Or wait until new roots come out?

Thanks for the help!!

[Orchid Whisperer]

Originally Posted by tasha

Do you recommend using products like super thrive or orchid fertilizer at this time? Or wait until new roots come out?

Thanks for the help!!

Superthrive is of questionable value. Absolutely freshly made from the factory, it may have some benefit, but what you get in the store may have been warehoused months before it got to your store, and on the store shelf for months before you buy. The synthetic auxins in it are unstable and may not be active at all when you buy it. There is a lot of stuff in the product that is not disclosed on the label.

Fertilizer is near the bottom of the list in terms of the things needed to have a healthy orchid. Water in balance with proper drainage and air movement are much more important.

As K.o.O.G. posted, you need to assess the roots. Pull the plant from the pot and look.