Caring for a neglected looking Phal

[bettyespana]

Having a reputation for being green fingered I have been given a sad looking orchid by a friend.My friend tells me she got it from a Lidl store & it had a tag on it stating it was a Phal.It had small flowers on it & was not like the height of normal Phals.
She only had this plant about 6weeks & then the flowers died off along with a couple of the buds.After this the nodes were cut off at the bottom.It had 2 leaves which went yellow & came off leaving 2 very droopy creased ones.
Now my friend has given up on it & passed it to me.Can yo give me any advice on how to revive it (if I can).It seems a shame to let it just die.I don,t think it already has because the base of the 2 leaves is still quite green & healthy looking.

[Zoi2]

What do the roots look like? That should be your starting point.
Joann

[bettyespana]

Originally Posted by Zoi2

What do the roots look like? That should be your starting point.
Joann

It is in the normal see through plastic pot which has holes in the base.However I cannot see evidence of roots through the pot but there is a fat grey/green one hanging out at the top next to the 2 leaves.
At the moment the bark medium is very dry.I am going to give it a good soaking then let the water drain off.
Do you think I should take it out of the pot to look for roots?

[camille1585]

Having a look at the roots is a good idea. That way you know if the problem is not enough water (easy to fix!) or too much (rotted roots)

[LittleWatty]

Sounds like what happened to one of my mother's orchids, which I've been nursing back to health. I definitely recommend unpotting the plant, and pulling apart the media(is it sphagnum moss, or bark?), and checking the roots. Blackish colored and squishy/hollow roots are rotted, white or green firm roots are healthy. Pictures definitely help! After pictures, pot it up in an orchid bark mix (only good mix I've found that's common is Schultz's Orchid mix) and it should be good to go Careful about tending to it TOO much. I've done that with a few of mine and set the back a little on the road to recovery XD

[bettyespana]

Originally Posted by LittleWatty

Sounds like what happened to one of my mother's orchids, which I've been nursing back to health. I definitely recommend unpotting the plant, and pulling apart the media(is it sphagnum moss, or bark?), and checking the roots. Blackish colored and squishy/hollow roots are rotted, white or green firm roots are healthy. Pictures definitely help! After pictures, pot it up in an orchid bark mix (only good mix I've found that's common is Schultz's Orchid mix) and it should be good to go Careful about tending to it TOO much. I've done that with a few of mine and set the back a little on the road to recovery XD

It is in a bark mix & although I can get an orchid bark mix here in Spain it isn't the one you have.I will follow up with your advice though.Thank you very much

[LittleWatty]

Best of luck to you and your Phal!

[bettyespana]

Originally Posted by bettyespana

Having a reputation for being green fingered I have been given a sad looking orchid by a friend.My friend tells me she got it from a Lidl store & it had a tag on it stating it was a Phal.It had small flowers on it & was not like the height of normal Phals.
She only had this plant about 6weeks & then the flowers died off along with a couple of the buds.After this the nodes were cut off at the bottom.It had 2 leaves which went yellow & came off leaving 2 very droopy creased ones.
Now my friend has given up on it & passed it to me.Can yo give me any advice on how to revive it (if I can).It seems a shame to let it just die.I don,t think it already has because the base of the 2 leaves is still quite green & healthy looking.

I took all the advice you gave me & I can now report that I took it out of the pot.There was little evidence of any roots except for one sticking out of the top of the pot.I re-potted it with new bark & this week have discovered there are 2 new leaves growing.So I am now nursing it very carefully & hopefully it will grow into something beautiful.
I am truly glad I found Orchid Board & all you wonderful people who are so willing to help.Cheers!!