Hello!
Like many members, I have been scavenging through these forums for a while and finally decided to register and join in on the conversations!
I am almost completely new to growing my own plant and please pardon me and correct me on any wrong terminology
.
I live in Vancouver, Canada, where temperatures are normally go up to 25~30degrees celsius during summers and down to 0~5 degrees during winters. Very dry humidity all year round.
In April, my girlfriend decided to buy a beautiful white moth phalaenopsis orchid with 8 beautiful white flowers, 1 bulb, 6 firm solid green leaves, and one aerial root beginning to grow (in the container it came in -with drain holes) for my home.
This was my first ever indoor potted plant.
I never did anything for the phal as my girlfriend did all the watering for me.
In mid July, my girlfriend needed to go overseas due to a family emergency so she told me to give a few handfuls of water if the medium felt completely dry after poking my finger in but never to let it sit in still water. -which I now realized was a mistake as deep within the pot, it was probably still wet. I don't think she anticipated on how regularly I checked the top layers
.
At this point, I felt that the phal was about to finish blooming because a few (maybe two?) flower petals had fallen off and the first of three yellow leaf was spotted. It was torn away.
As I was happily, unknowingly drowning my phal
, I began really looking at the plant and admiring it. I noticed there was a tiny new leaf growing from the "crown". Cute.
I also noticed, whats this?! A rebellious root trying to escape the pot! -which I now know is a aerial root but unknowing then. I swiftly apprehended the escapee, and carefully, not to snap the root, bent the root and redirected the tip into the soil
. Yes, I know how silly that was now.
During the later half of August I was going to be out of town. So, made sure to water/drown the plant even more thoroughly.
In early September, I returned home to find my phal in a horrible condition. The flowers had all fallen, the spike was completely dry/brown, and the bottom most leaf was almost completely yellow. Other leaves seem fine, still firm but maybe slightly less firm than before.
PANIC!
My assessment, I heard somewhere plants store water in their leaves, the phal must be thirsty to the point it had to use an entire leaf to keep itself hydrated. I cut the spike down to right above the first node but the thing was so dry it splintered. I decided to just cut it down to the base as the thing was completely dry. I thoroughly watered the plant frequently for the next week.
Two days later, maybe it was my imagination, but but the plant was looking a bit better! Slightly more firm leaves? I continued to water the plant every day or two with a few handfuls of water.
Within a week, the second yellow leaf was spotted. The half yellow but droopy leaf was torn off and the phal was removed from container. Horrible case of root rot. Lots of roots but mostly mushy. I cut away possibly half the roots with a fire-sterilized blade. Repotted back into the container with the same medium (but tossed around after watering to make sure the medium was loose).
A week later, the third yellow leaf was seen. It was torn off.Upon root inspection, I realized everywhere I had made a cut due to root rot, the rot continued. After more butchering, I was left with maybe 6 root tips, with maybe 3 roots tips that were not cut. I read about full water culture and how it can help promote root growth in sick orchids. I dipped the three root tips ends into water.
In 5days, I noticed everywhere that had direct contact with water did not look healthy, 2/3 were mushy. After more cutting, I was left with a few stumps. I asked the grocery shop owner where the phal came from if he had small packs of sphagnum moss for sale. He said no but he gave me a siplock full of moss for free.
After getting home, I realized some of the moss wasn't sphagnum moss but rather local moss probably from the park (not as fuzzy as sphag). I said whatever and planted again.
A week later, I realized all the roots were mushy.
Cut. Cut. Cut.
The phal now has zero roots, two leaves which are brown/dry along the edges, and the tiny new leaf which had actually grown to a few inches long.
Currently the root base is sitting in water in a shotglsss.
Is it time to say goodbye?
If there is any hope, I want to give the phal one last chance to fight for survival!
-Hindsight theories:
1) I used the same blade to cut multiple roots. I think this may possibly been the contributed to the rotting to continue.
2) Also, I think taking off yellow leaves should be left so the plant can absorb more nutrition that it has stored.
Phal Butcher --- from Vancouver
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