Advice rescuing Phal exposed to cold - limp leaves

[MISandi]

Hi there, need advice on how to treat a Phal that has been exposed to cold. It's probably not worth it, but I am a sucker for hard luck cases; rescue puppies, rescue orchids...

So it was obviously a rejected Valentine's Gift, I found it yesterday. A "just add ice" large Phal in full bloom still with tag and cellophane. Found it in a garbage can at lunch time - I work on a college campus). Of course I had to retrieve it. Outdoor temp in upper 30's. The leaves weren't frozen but the plant clearly hadn't been treated with care.

After 24 hours inside at room temperature... the leaves are limp and wrinkled, for the most part. Near the base of the plant they are OK and the plant has a healthy root system.

My questions:

• Should I cut back / remove the flower stems? (seems to me, YES, but just checking)
• Should I remove the most damaged leaves?
• How much light? I've read conflicting advice on this for cold damaged orchids?
• How much water? ditto, conflicting advice...

I have a little experience, with 5 other orchids, and 4 of the 5 are in flower right now. They seem to love my front room with east and south facing windows.

[jcec1]

I reckon it is dead or near to death. Personally I would just toss it in the garbage.
To try and save it; definitely cut off the spike, the damaged leaves will quickly wither and fall off. I think the growing point will likely be killed, so you may be left with a few lower leaves if they were shielded from the cold. It will then be a waiting game to see if it throws a new growing point. Losing it's leaves will mean less water than your other orchids, normal orchid light will be sufficient - however I wouldn't put it near your other orchids in case it harbours any bugs - keep it quarantined for a few weeks.

Good luck, but be prepared for it not to recover.

[aliceinwl]

Personally, I’d wait to cut anything. It looks like the flowers are all blasting/dead but if the stalks are still alive the plant can either reabsord resources from them or keiki off them. The same goes for the leaves.

I’d pot it up in a good mix and wait. Depending on how long and severe the cold damage was it may loose its leaves but if the main stem and roots survived it may still be able to initiate new leaves or keikis. I wouldn’t cut anything unless it’s rotting. If leaves eventually start yellowing, I’d leave them on until they separate from the abscission points naturally.

Good luck!

---------- Post added at 09:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:48 AM ----------

I think the leaves are goners for the most part and will probably rot. If that happens, cut just the rotten tissue. If there’s still some live tissue near the base, you could have mini leaves post cutting.

I’d be inclined to keep it on the dry side for a week so that dead parts are more inclined to shrivel than turn to mush. If you have happy Phals already, I’d try to give this one similar light levels. If it’s alive it’s still going to need to photosynthesize.

It might also be good to repot it in something clear to give any live roots a chance to photosythesize too.

[Dollythehun]

That's sad. Honestly, I'd pitch it. It isn't just a little cold damage.

[aliceinwl]

It looks like there’s a chance that the lower inch or so of some of the leaves and the main stem could still be alive. A wait and see approach won’t require a lot of effort. Personally, I’d be really interested in whether the plant can pull through. Curiosity would be sufficient motivation to try. If it’s totally dead it should be obvious within a week or two.

[MISandi]

Thank you, all! I am a sucker for hard luck cases and it won't require much effort on my part to "wait and see". I am going to cut back the flower spikes some - no use the plant wasting any energy for the flowers - but not all the way in case it can reabsorb some resources. Using a clear pot a good idea! It's in a heavy white ceramic pot now which hopefully provided some protection. The roots seem pretty robust, firm, etc. Will see what happens and post an update! Thank you everyone for the tips

[Mountaineer370]

That is sad for a number of reasons. If you've got the room for it and want to try to save it, go for it. I think you'll know pretty quickly. Best of luck to you.

[ArronOB]

Please, try and save it. It’ll be a great learning experience for all of us.

It’s the most far-gone orchid I’ve ever seen anyone try to recover so I’d love to see if it can be done. It’ll be interesting either way.

Cheers
Arron

[OrchideeNormus]

I don't know a lot about cold damage other than my own experience and honestly, in my experience cold damage is a killer. By the look of the leaves that plant doesn't look like it will make it. I had a succulent potted outside with a couple cacti and I forgot to cover it one night. The next morning the leaves on the succulent looked very similar to this (probably a little worse, I think the temps were around 26°-28°F that night) and they just withered away in the next 24 hours 🙁 I used to keep a vegetable garden every year when I lived in Oregon. I've prematurely lost entire gardens due to a surprise overnight freeze. Even a light frost can take plants out of they aren't cold resistant.
On the other hand I know I could never give up on a plant without knowing it was 100% gone. I think the only thing you can do at this point is wait and see if it tries to survive. I agree not to cut anything, let the plant try and draw from its own resources stored in all the structures because it's going to need all the help it can get! Good luck 🙂

[MISandi]

Quick update. 3+ days. In a bright room facing SE. Leaves definitely dead except for maybe one that is very damaged but has "stiffened up" (not sure what the official orchid terminology is for that!) and the inch or so closest to crown (?) that seems "firm" and I assume is alive. The rest of the leaves are really soft but I'm going to let them go until they are 1) really gross mush or 2) dry up and fall off . Also took a peek at the roots - haven't repotted it yet - they are bright green which I take as a good sign as well. Thoughts on repotting it or let it rest for a few more days?