need help please - Orchid Board

Freddie · #1 12-08-2010, 03:47 PM

Hi there everybody, I am new to this forum. I ahve had orchids for a little while now and have wanted to join for some time. Now there it is, I am joining because I have a little problem. I have a phal that is not doing well. Under recommendation, I reported all my orchids into coconut husk and found it retained too much water and the orchids didn't do too good. I have repotted them in bark now, but two of my phals looked miserable. One grew a keiki which I cut off and it is now doing much better. The other one though is struggling. Its leaves aren't as firm, they are sort of limp and floppy. Some of the roots, which I have removed, were rotten. Since I have repotted it (and that goes for the rest of the orchids to a lesser extent), the remaining roots look brown and dry. They don't look rotten, neither green, neither silver. Just dry. I have had orchids for years now, but I am no expert. I have never seen the roots look like that, and am not sure whether it is due to overwatering, underwatering or else. Any ideas?

Freddie · #2 12-08-2010, 07:07 PM

I think Camille1585 kind of more or less answer my question, unwillingly. My orchids are all sitting on my windowsill. Bar one, all my phals are not in their greatest shape. Have to say that my cattleyas are doing great though. They are even growing flower spikes. So it my just be a question of temperature?

camille1585 · #3 12-08-2010, 07:26 PM

Hi Freddie, I hadn't noticed your post. And welcome to OrchidBoard.

I'm not too sure about you dry roots. Did you take any pics of the roots before repotting? I can ask a mod to move your post to it's own thread, that way it's easier for people to help you and you get more exposure. When you post for help in someone else's thread a lot of people may not read it since they're not aware it's there until they open the thread. And it's sometimes a bit confusing to have to answer 2 peoples questions at once.

Freddie · #4 12-08-2010, 07:38 PM

Thanks Camille1585. First time I ever post on threads on a site like that... I'll have to get use to it. Will try and figure out how to open a thread

Hope I didn't ruin Jenny47's post...

camille1585 · #5 12-08-2010, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freddie

Thanks Camille1585. First time I ever post on threads on a site like that... I'll have to get use to it. Will try and figure out how to open a thread

Hope I didn't ruin Jenny47's post...

Don't worry about it.

In each forum (Beginner discussion, advanced discussion, etc) you will see a button at the top to start a new thread. No need to start another for this topic, I have asked for your posts to be moved.
And you can call me Camille!

cb977 · #6 12-08-2010, 09:22 PM

Hi Freddie

Camille contacted me regarding your posts...I have moved them into their own thread for better exposure.

Here are some tips to help you get around the forums:
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...u-started.html

RosieC · #7 12-09-2010, 06:11 AM

Hmm, I'm not sure but one thing I wonder is whether the new medium was too dry and has desicated the roots.

New medium often needs soaking for 24 hours to get the fibers holding moisture properly.

With CHC (coconut husk chip) I soak for about a week, changing the water every day because it leaches salts to begin with which the roots don't like. I also wonder if these salts could have upset the roots.

Brown is not always a problem with roots, it could just mean staining from the colour/salts that CHC leaches out. I have found CHC will stain the roots on mine without actually harming them.

I think I would just ensure it's potted in the smallest pot possible for the amount of roots. If the bark was dry when you potted then perhaps soak the whole pot, roots and all in water for a couple of hours (this doesn't hurt ocasionally, I've even left them 24 hours with no harm, as long as they are not left standing in water on a regular basis you should be fine).

I would then water as normal when the medium dries out.

Freddie · #8 12-09-2010, 05:07 PM

Hi Rosie, thanks for the advise.
I had soaked the CHC before hand, although I have read on the site that you need to rinse it to remove the salt, which I hadn't done. If anything, I found that the CHC wouldn't dry out quick enough and quickly moved back to bark.
The roots are brown, but they do look dead and dry. Some of my phals seem to show some life in them again, new roots are growing and some old roots are going greenish again, though they don't look too healthy. The funny thing is that the one phal I did not repot into CHC (because I ran out of it) is doing great. It grew new flower shoot even before loosing the old flower. The catts are doing great too. But one phal looks pretty bad. I'll have to try and post a photo of it, just need to buy battery for my camera...
I have moved them all away from the window anyways, so they get a bit warmer. But I am afraid they don't get as much light anymore... Because I have had them for year and they were always so happy, I really thing something went wrong either with the CHC or that it is because they got cold.
They sat on the windowsill, and we are having one of the coldest winters ever. Also, I am a smoker and the window tends to be opened in the evening. I was considering watering them more often but not sure if it is the best thing to do, I don't want the few roots left to rot.
The worst hit phal seems to be wanting to grow new roots at its base (there seems to be a little lump poking out). It has been in a poor state for a couple of months, with very little healthy root (by the looks of it, only a couple) but it hasn't gotten any worse. I don't really check it as often though, I find it disheartening

Any idea on how I can promote root growth? Heard luckwarm water was good?

RosieC · #9 12-10-2010, 06:02 AM

Your experience reminds me a lot of my first Phal.

I had it for two years with no problems, growing and flowering well. Amazed that I could rebloom an orchid at all I did two things. I bought another two phals and I repotted the first.

That first phal started going down hill as soon as it was repotted although I didn't actually notice for 4 months because it was only in a sudden heat wave that the leaves suddenly died, and when I looked most of the roots were dead.

Not knowing what was going wrong I sought help here on OB as to how to try and recover it. I tried a tiny tiny pot (just as I have advised you) but no luck. I also repotted my new two as OB advised that when bought you don't know how old the medium is.

All good advice however the the second two started to loose roots as well (I was keeping a closer eye on them by this point so spotted it early).

I remember posting here saying I just could not understand what was going wrong. I had followed all the advice and they were dying.

I finally worked out the problem. The medium I had bought from a local garden center was broken down and decomposing before I even used it. The shop had either not stored it correctly or it was inferior product from the start. It had not been bone dry at the start and that was the problem.

I now only buy bark from an orchid specialist, never from local stores and I make sure it is absolutly bone dry (the CHC I use has a warning on it to use a face mask because it's so dry the dust it gives off can be bad for your lungs, and the bark is just as dry only doesn't give off the dust in the same way). Ever since finding this good quality bark and CHC (I mix them to get a mix that dries quicker than CHC but slower than bark) the only problems I've had are with plants that were struggling in the medium they were bought in.

Getting the right medium that dries in the right timescale is really important, and what that mix is depends on your climate. I work on a principle that it should dry in a week or less, two weeks at the very most. If it takes longer you need more of something fast drying in the mix, if it dries too fast for you to keep up with watering then add something that is slower drying to the mix.

But whatever you use... make sure it is really good quality and has been stored really dry (I even use moss on masdies and that is just as bone dry before use).

RosieC · #10 12-10-2010, 06:05 AM

Luke warm water is something I often recomend to people trying to get roots to recover. It worked really well and I believe it was a big contributing factor to my very first one recovering.

Especially in the winter I always mix warm and cold water to get something that feels luke warm or fractionally warm to the touch. In the summer I tend to just use it as it comes, but at this time of year the tap water is far to cold even for my healthy phals.