Someone help me with this phal? Black roots and floppy leaves

[shadytrake]

Many people overlook fusarium in Phalaenopsis. I would be suspicious due to wrinkled leaves and the roots. It strangles the plant and is actually quite common in imported big box store plants that are meant for the "throwaway" market.

Check out this article.
https://staugorchidsociety.org/PDF/F...ySueBottom.pdf

[aliceinwl]

If all the black roots are indeed dead, I think the leaf wilt is due to the plant transpiring faster than it can take up water. I strongly suspect root death in this case is related to husbandry issues, especially since the leaves look to be unblemished.

I think the article on fusarium was very good. But I think some statements could spur unnecessary anxiety. For example, I do not think red colored new leaves are always indicative of infection. My Phals produce red leaves when exposed to cold temperatures, high light, and some hybrids just seem to produce them naturally.

[cluelessmidwesterner]

Originally Posted by 2ysub2ysur

I think that's the one! If not, it's very similar.

I definitely like the idea of a clear pot better so I can see what's going on, so I'll do that for sure.

Last night, I trimmed off all the dead roots and it's currently doing its soak. Fingers crossed!

Another question: what do ya'll think went wrong with this guy? I'll post a pic of what it looked like in September, before the repot...and I thought it looked bad then! My watering routine was the same and it was always properly drained. I always water with bottled water, not tap. Could it be the potting medium? It's got a lot of large pieces of bark and I'm wondering if that could be an issue.

The hardest part for someone (like myself as new orchid owner) to wrap their head around is the fact no one can tell you exactly how often should water. The reason is there are so many variables at play for your unique environment. The humidity in the home, do you live a house with radiant heat or forced air, do you run a run a ceiling fan or air conditioning, is it mostly sunny and dry or cold, cloudy and damp, is you orchid actively growing or is it dormant. All of these things and a lot more effect how often you water. So no one can tell you that you should water and let the Phal dry out X number of days since their home environment and experience is different from yours.

The best analogy I can give you is years ago I asked MDH's then 70-something year old Nana for her bread recipe. Her response when I asked her was "Oh God, who measures?". She gave me approximate measurements with the only definite instruction of bake at 350 F until golden brown. So I worked on it and tried and kept trying. Until I came to understand that no two cooks make the same bread recipe have it come out the same way even if you have exact measurements. No one measures the same, how humid it is effects how much flour you use, no two ovens/stoves work the same and no two cooks have the same experience with cooking.

It's the same with watering a Phal. They can give you approximate measurements on how to water but you have to adjust them for your situation.

[Dollythehun]

That was a double post but worth repeating. A great practical analogy.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Originally Posted by shadytrake

Many people overlook fusarium in Phalaenopsis. I would be suspicious due to wrinkled leaves and the roots. It strangles the plant and is actually quite common in imported big box store plants that are meant for the "throwaway" market.

Check out this article.
https://staugorchidsociety.org/PDF/F...ySueBottom.pdf

Occam's razor: the simplest explanation is probably the correct one.

Based on my experience (growing since 1982), Fusarium is pretty rare in orchids. I've one plant with Fusarium in that time, classic case, purple ring around the rhizome, shriveled leaves (beyond a little dehydration). It recovered, I still have it ~ 30 years later. Due to unhelpful YouTube videos, Fusarium is often over-diagnosed. I have seen many pictures posted online where someone cut through the stem (not rhizome) of a Phalaenopsis with natural red leaf coloration, reacted to the color in the stem, tossed the plant, deciding they had confirmed Fusarium. Cutting through the stem, likely doomed the plant anyway.

The linked article on Fusarium is a good one. The original poster's plant shows almost none of those symptoms, except shriveling of lower leaves, which can be caused by other more common problems. The simple explanation with this particular plant is that there are a lot of roots that have died, possibly from being too wet, the plant is not taking in enough water.

Before cutting through the stem, clean up the dead roots, try to re-hydrate the plant. If that works you have also confirmed there is no Fusarium.

If the plant continues to decline despite improved conditions, then you can consider more drastic diagnoses.