My Beautiful NoID's Remarkable Will To Live. :D

[tom_e_boi]

In my 12+ years of growing orchids, I've never had an orchid so hellbent on wanting to live like this beautiful NoID Phal. This poor little 'chid has had the cards stacked against it all year. I acquired it back at the beginning of this year. It was growing alongside another Phal in the same pot but wasn't in bloom like the other one was, so I had no idea what it looked like. I repotted them into separate pots and soon afterwards it send out a spike and as the blooms were just about to open, the spike broke. So I cut it back down to the next node in hopes of it sending out another one, which it did. Things were finally looking good for it as it was blooming and sending out new leaves. I was excited because I never had a Phal with this color pattern before, and each bloom had their own unique pattern.

Well, during the Summer, our landscaper went around spraying weedkiller or something all around the edges of our house and some of it drifted over to where my orchids were and eventually killed a couple of them. Well, this one survived, but the newest leaves on it eventually died. But it still hung in there with the two oldest leaves left and the spike hadn't died back yet, so I left it in hopes of maybe it triggering an aerial keiki. All Summer long, nothing happened except for yet another leave falling off, leaving only one left. Its last leaf remained firm and healthy, so I kept watering it as usual. Then, I was upset when the last leaf finally turned yellow and fell off.

I was finally coming to terms with the fact that perhaps there was no hope in salvaging it and pretty much just gave up on it. I placed it aside, putting off throwing it away and cleaning its pot out. Well, I noticed that despite it having no leaves, the spike still remained green, but still no sign of an aerial keiki. So I pulled it from its pot to take a closer look and when I cleaned away the potting mix, I noticed that a few of the roots were still viable. But then I noticed that one of the "roots" looked different than the others and realized that it wasn't a root at all. To my surprise, it was actually a basal keiki. I'm glad that I bothered to take a closer look, because I had already given up on the poor 'chid and was about to toss it out without even giving it a second thought. But now I have to do whatever it takes to help provide it the best opportunity for a full recovery. This NoID Phal has been through so much and is still hanging in there. It's the least I can do for it. So I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

The 1st pic, is of what the blooms looked like, tho each bloom had a slightly different pattern. The 2nd pic show what was left of the roots and spike. And the 3rd pic kinda shows the basal keiki growing out from the side. It's white because it was growing underneath the potting mix at the time, but I plan of leaving it closer to the top after I repot it. I hope this Phal makes it because the blooms on it were just so beautiful. Well, it's hung in there for this long, so hopefully it will pull through and bounce back next Spring.

[cbuchman]

I love it when there is a happy ending. What a tale!

[magicatt]

Amazing! Just keep taking care of it and I'm sure it will make it. Maybe you should name it something like "Iron orchid" or something like that.

I'm so happy for you that it is still growing. I hope you put in fresh unsprayed mix. What a story. Keep us posted, I'm interested to see what happens.

[WhiteRabbit]

Woo hoo! I usually have the opposite effect on Phals - they lose their will to live in my care

[lostonthebeach]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

Woo hoo! I usually have the opposite effect on Phals - they lose their will to live in my care

LOL !!!

[tom_e_boi]

Well I repotted it into some fresh potting mix and at an angle, so that the new growth can receive some sunlight to start photosynthesizing again and gain some more energy. One question I do have is whether or not I should leave the spike on it? I left it there for now since it seems dormant and not really doing anything, tho I did trim off the tip of it that had the blooms on it. But I will trim off the rest of it if I have to, I just wanted to get some opinions first. I know that spikes can usually distract the plant from focusing on growing. But since it wasn't really doing anything and the basal keiki is already growing, I figured that there was no harm in just leaving it there.

The poor little Phal, I hope that it makes it thru this ordeal. I was so upset when our landscaper just went around spraying whatever it was all along the property without even notifying us ahead of time so that I could've moved all of my plants away from the area. Some of which were not even a foot away from where they sprayed. I didn't even notice until it was too late and some of my other plants began dropping leaves. But the only real casualties were a few of my orchids, including this one.

Well, that landscaper no longer works for us anymore. I'm not at all against using chemicals, but only when they're necessary. The only reason they used whatever it was, was to make mowing the yard a little easier. Sure, it may have made it easier, but the whole yard looked terrible with dead brown grass surrounding the whole house. Not to mention the havoc they wreaked on all of my plants. Oh well, there's no use crying over spilled milk, so to speak.

[NYCorchidman]

I wouldn't cut off anything. The spike has green portion which is the only part that can make foods for the plant for the time being, so cutting the spike will only make things worse, well, in this sever case, the worst.
The roots are minimum and the white one shows some dark area (which usually indicates too much moisture in the medium and beginning of the rot). Try and keep it moist but not too wet. Maybe use mixture of bark and moss.
I would keep the new white growth part slightly covered so that it doesn't dry out due to sudden exposure. It will eventually grow above the medium over time.

[NYCorchidman]

on the second thought, since it doesn't have whole lot of roots or anything basically, it could have some moist (not wet) moss around the entire root, then placed inside a zip loc bag leaving the opening unzipped for air. maybe poke some extra holes here and there to avoid fungal attack.
Secure this zip lock bag so that the plant is stable.
Leave it in warm and bright area and it should grow well, although it will need intense care for a long time.

[tom_e_boi]

Thanks, I figured that it would be much better off with the spike intact since it's still green and may help with photosynthesis. I also used a 50/50 bark/moss blend since all of my other Phals have responded so positively to that mix. Plus, that's originally what I had it in, but I used a fresh supply this time. I left the basal keiki right under the surface of the mix so that it's not exposed. I didn't want to drastically change its growing conditions, but I left the very tip of the new growth right at the top and as close to the surface as possible so that any future growth would grow up and out of the mix to where it can begin receiving some sunlight. Now all I guess I can do is to keep it watered like I have been, and just wait and hope for the best.

EDIT: I just read your 2nd thoughts and I wanted to say that I still have the clear plastic wrap that they placed the whole orchid into, pot and all, back when I first bought them. I've already repotted it, but perhaps I can slide the pot back into one of those? To keep the humidity up, plus it already has small holes in it. For now I think I'll leave it as it is, since it's still warm enough and humid enough outside (for the time being). But once I bring my 'chids back inside, I'll go ahead and slip it into one of those to keep the humidity up because it's not as humid inside, especially during the Winter with the heat running.

[NYCorchidman]

Yeah, I think it should be fine as it is for now. Just make sure it doesn't dry out because the roots are so shallow to the surface.
This little one is in serisouly recovery process, so ideal warmth and humidity will only help speed up the process.
Best luck!