Possibly SOGO mini Phal.? Help with care- lots of problems - Orchid Board

dimithar · #1 05-19-2012, 12:23 PM

Hey guys!

First post here

I've had this plant for a month and a half or so. I got it at a supermarket and all it said was mini phal; medium light, medium watering

It was planted in a lump of very compressed sphagum moss which was very soaked. I confess that I chose it judging by the flowers and I didn't even think to look at the roots. After I came home and read a bit I decided to repot it even though it was flowering in a bark mix. By then two buds had fallen off which I think is because of the temp changes we were having and just the general change of setting. I was thinking the bloom will be interrupted by the repotting and I'll leave the plant to grow and get stronger to be ready for the next bloom next year. Upon removing the sphagum I had to cut off three or so roots, because I had either damaged them when removing the medium or they were rotting at the tips (I do believe the overwatering was not my doing, but the store's). After repotting the plant started to develop a secondary spike and new buds which have gotten quite large by now. There are some things which worry me though:
1. The splitting of the leaves. The big one was split when I got the flower but other leaves are seeming to follow.
2.Turns out a leaf from this plant was removed, but I didn't notice that until recently. I see black areas around that (visible on one of the photos), which I fear may be rot.
3.The old spike you can see yellowing here was dark purple like the new one until two days ago.
4. I'm having a darkening and wrinkling leaf (also shown in the picture)
5.The light spots at the leaf edges- possible sunburn?
I posted this in ID, because if someone can identify the hybrid maybe they can also tell me how to take better care for it. It's been getting 'some' direct sunlight but striped by the blinds on the window and only in the afternoon (west-facing window). I've been fertilizing with a what I believe to be low strength fertilizer 4-4-7 in favor of P, which is why I don't dilute it as much, but the pant doesn't seem to mind particularly that

P.S. Size ref is in cm and I'll give any other information I have if needed.

WhiteRabbit · #2 05-19-2012, 11:04 PM

Glad you found us!

Oh my - that's darling!

Ok, Phals are NOT my forte, but it looks good to me ? I'm sure others will chime in, and may have a different opinion, in which case I defer to them.

Bud · #3 05-20-2012, 02:50 AM

I think you are smothering this plant with too much love... you are fussing at this plant and it wants you to leave it alone for a whole week without doing anything at all...then continue the watering/fertilizer regimen
Its a mini-Phal...and it is alive and well ...spiking and flowering...its got mechanical damage on a split leaf...and the drying and wringkling of the leaves is from overwatering...have patience...wait ...this plant is sturdy and tenacious it will heal itself, right itself and ... survive

Wynn Dee13 · #4 05-20-2012, 06:36 AM

Welcome! I only see a healthy plant! The split leaf is from mechanical damage like Bud said. I don't see any rot. The old flower spike will turn brown and die. It won't stay the same color as the new flower spikes. There is nothing wrong with the old flower spike. The wrinkling of the leaf is from either root rot (too much watering), not enough watering, or low humidity. Most people recommend fertilizing weekly weakly. Use about a 1/4 strength of what the package directions say and fertilize 3 out of 4 waterings and on the fourth watering use plain water to flush any extra salts out of the medium. As far as the ID of the plant, there is no way of knowing what hybrid it is unless you have a tag with the name on it. There are just too many hybrids that look the same to know what it is. So you have a NOID. (No ID). Knowing the name of the hybrid won't really make a difference in caring for the plant. Just treat it like any other hybrid Phalaenopsis. One more tip, when you repot you don't need to cut off a root if only the tip of it is rotten. If most of the root is healthy just cut the bad part off. The root will branch and continue to grow. It's the same if you accidentally break a root. You don't have to cut the whole thing off. Just leave what is left as long as it is healthy, and it will continue to grow. If you haven't already, read the Phal abuse ends here thread. It has a lot of great information! Good luck!

dimithar · #5 05-20-2012, 07:21 AM

Thank you all for the replies! I'll do as recommended and leave it alone for a while though I had read somewhere that it's possible for the plant to rot overnight so I've been monitoring it (too) closely. As for the cutting of the roots of course I didn't cut the whole thing when it's healthy, some of them just had brown soft spots near the base so I disposed of them. If there's anything else I'll post here again and hopefully I'll be able to see this plant in full bloom before I destroy it... This is my second orchid plant, but a phal is very different from the terrestrial ludisia I have/almost 'had' as of now/, which isn't doing at all well, but maybe it'll survive, there's some promise XD
I'm not so sure about the mechanical damage, though, as other leaves are seeming to develop thin dry stripes along the middle vein(?), but I saw somewhere in this forum that it tends to happen with plants that have thicker leaves and that does seem to be my case. The conditions at home I consider relatively dry most of the time, there's been some improvement over the last few days (yay rain

) and we'll see if that helps out or not. I may have to start misting, but I can't find a decent sprayer...

WhiteRabbit · #6 05-20-2012, 04:32 PM

I'd avoid misting - only raises humidity for the few seconds the mist is in the air, and can cause media to remain too moist, water in crown leading to crown rot. As long as the roots in the pot are happy, I wouldn't worry about humidity unless you are in a true desert region.

If you feel you must increase humidity, get a small cool mist humidifier.

NatalieS · #7 05-20-2012, 05:08 PM

I agree with previous posts - it looks perfectly healthy to me. You can let the medium dry out between waterings - this should help prevent overwatering. Members here recommend a wooden skewer in the medium (in your case a toothpick would do the trick!) - if it's dry, or nearly dry, when you pull it out, then water. I have a little sogo vivien NOID in bark/perlite mix and I only water once a week.

Your little one looks like phalaenopsis zuma's pixie, but as previously mentioned, it's pretty much impossible to identify a hybrid orchid with no label.

dimithar · #8 12-17-2012, 10:57 AM

Bit of an update. This orchid was overwatered several times during my various vacations. Despite my instructions, I would come home and find it sitting in a pool of water. Most of its roots died and three or four leaves turned yellow and fell off. I decided to set it up in a cup over some water with the bottom roots only barely touching the pool and then I put the whole thing in a bag, opening once or twice a day for air. To my surprise, the roots dipped in water did not rot, but started new growth! Soon some roots started growing at the base of the plant too. As you can see, I have a new flower spike as well. It's growing rather slowly, but it seems to be picking up. I'm glad I didn't manage to kill the thing, although when I compare it now with the state it was when I got it I do feel a bit guilty...

Some of the roots are now 1-2 cm underwater and I've been thinking of filling the glass up for a while, what say you, experts?

dimithar · #9 12-17-2012, 11:01 AM

P.S. Here it is at its best