I need help and tips please :D

[Dahana1993]

Hello everyone , I just bough my Phal a few weeks ago and I'm a little worried about her because I'm new to the world of the orchids and a bunch of reasons I'll post below:

1) I noticed something white growing on her roots, it could be a fungus or mold so I cutted those roots and removed the wooden stick, I'll be applying fungicide soon in that zone (picture 1). Also some roots were growing out of the pot so I gently put them back in the pot and covered them with the moss, since those roots were getting dry.

2) Her blooms aren't fully open (I bought her like that) so I don't know if she is not getting enough sunlight (picture 2, it's cloudy today tho), I also don't know if they are the right tone of green (picture 5). I don't know either if her blooms aren't fully open (picture 3) because of stress (she had to make a 45 min. travel on a car to get home) or because of the fungus/mold. I also noticed one of her blooms is drying (picture 4)... and I don't know why. I've watered her 2 times since she got home and she has been here for a month, I try to wait for the moss the get completly dry... but it takes too long.

Well, thats all... thanks to all of you in advance

[Ray]

Mold only grows on dead tissue, like some of those roots and the wooden stake.

Your plant has peloric flowers - meaning the peals have grown to resemble the lip. They are fully open now.

Phalaenopsis are shade lovers. The color looks fine.

The only warning I would give you is that orchids like yours do most of their respiratory gas exchange through the roots, and not the leaves. That means that while the potting medium must provide plenty of moisture, it must also allow free air flow throughout, so I's be wary of that sphagnum miss being too compact.

[Dahana1993]

Thank you so much for your answer Ray, I was so worried. As you suggested I checked her sphagnum and it was so compacted that it was forming blocks, so I retired the moss and placed some rocks on the bottom of the pot, placed the moss back as gently as I could and left some air bubbles, is that any good??? Also I found some rotting roots so I cutted them, but the lower part of the stem, from where the roots grow was colored black, is that normal???

[aliceinwl]

I’d avoid any root cutting unless the entire length of the root is squishy. If it just has sections that are discolored or squishy, it’s still functional. I’d also recommend checking out the stickies in the beginner forum page about monitoring moisture level with skewers and the Phal abuse ends here at the top of the forum. They really helped me out when I got my first Phals.

[Dahana1993]

Thank you for your answer Alice, now I'll do that to keep her moisture at good levels. The roots I cuted were black and separated from the plant so I removed them, now I'm wondering for how long she has had flowers, since some of them are getting dry, I'm kinda worried :c

[aliceinwl]

Well the leaves look nice and springy and the roots look decent (they should improve with proper care) so I wouldn’t worry about the flowers dropping. I was initially surprised at how little water these guys actually need. Personally, I’ve found bark to be a lot easier to manage moisture levels in.

I have mine in a 1 part perlite, 1 part charcoal, and 5 parts orchiata bark mix in slotted clear plastic pots and water once a week by soaking for 5 minutes or so and then letting all the water drain out. But, there are a lot of different methods that may work equally well or better depending on your conditions. I’ve found when trying to figure things out, it’s better to err on the dry side than the wet. Too dry: just adjust the watering and the plant bounces right back, too wet: major root rot issues.

[Dahana1993]

Thank you Alice for all the tips, now I'm waaaay more calm and as you say, it is better on the dry side... Bad thing is, that one of her leaves is completely yellow now and is falling, I think it is because of the mold I saw on one of her roots (the root with mold was directly connected to that leave) because it is the only leave that is drying. I can't thank you both enough for helping me taking care of my Phal, I really appreciate it

[Optimist]

That white almost looks like mineral deposits or salts from hard water. May I ask if you have a salt pellet based water softener?

[Dahana1993]

Hi, I also thought it was mineral deposit at first, but a few days ago I saw mold growing in some roots so I applied fungicide again. Her flowers dried out so soon I'll be applying fertilizer and hope the best for the next year, thank you all for the tips

[aliceinwl]

Fungus in the media can indicate that it’s being kept too wet or the media is too broken down. In either case, changes in culture rather than application of fungicide will help your plant the most. Orchid roots like most plants form symbiotic relationships with micorrhizal fungi which help them take up moisture and nutrients so treating the media with a fungicide isn’t good long term. If it’s too wet, cut back on watering. But, my bet looking at the media is that it could use some fresh substrate. Phals usually don’t miss a beat when repotted. If the moisture levels and media are good, fungus should not be a problem.

Before I found this forum I found Repotting Phalaenopsis (Moth) & Other Monopodial Orchids and followed its instructions to repot my Phals and they’ve done great.