Phalaenopsis stem rot?

[IvyElle]

Originally Posted by Roberta

It's great that you're asking first before treating! Peroxide on roots is really bad news (in spite of all the hype for it in YouTube videos). So you're quite right... don't do it. From the photo it's not clear that there's a problem with the stem that's serious, but the roots are, indeed, in poor condition. What did the roots look like when you first repotted? I have found that newly purchased orchids usually need repotting, but the choice of medium might have been an issue. Getting the watering right in spahgnum is tricky. When it's wet it tends to stay too wet, if it fully dries it 's hard to re-wet. Personally, I favor bark for Phals (and most other orchids with large roots) The roots need lots of air - they want "humid air" more than "wet". So... my suggestion would be to pot it up in bark rather than sphag. Make sure that it's held firmly in place so that it doesn't wobble - new roots will grow, and any motion will damage the growing tips.

With that in mind, don't do anything to the existing roots... they aren't in great shape, but they will help hold the plant. You are correct, the wilted leaves are due to the poor condition of the roots, so they can't take up the water that you're giving. (So more water won't help...) Once potted, when you water do it thoroughly-so that water runs through the pot. That pulls air into the root zone. Fresh bark will dry fast, so your watering frequency of three or four days will be about right - it might have been too much with the sphagnum.

A product that a lot of people on the Board (including me) have found helpful to stimulate root growth is KelpMax. If you search the Board for it as a keyword you'll find quite a few references on its use. One our members, Ray, sells it and also can give lots of information in it. Might be worth getting some and see if you can jump-start some new roots. At any rate, I think that the plant is very likely to recover... orchids are tough.

Thanks for the advice! I definitely won't be using the peroxide, then. I'm glad it's not any stem rot.
I do have the phal in bark, she's been enjoying it since December. Bad wording on my part, haha. When I bought the phal the roots looked pretty much the same as the picture- when I repotted her from the store sphagnum into bark in December she looked basically the same, just with wayyy more dead roots, which I had removed.

The KelpMax should be here shortly. I haven't been liking the fertilizer I have on hand, anyway Again, thanks everyone!

[Roberta]

Actually, KelpMax isn't a fertilizer... it's a root stimulant. Do follow the directions carefully. As far as fertilizer is concerned, just stay with the "once weekly, weakly" regimen... fertilizer is the least important factor in orchid culture. Orchids need very little, less is better than more. And pretty much any fertilizer will do. Just use 1/4 to 1/2 of whatever it says on the bottle. Once you get everything else correct (light, watering, temperature, air movement, potting medium) optimized, you can get into the fine points of fertilizer.

[IvyElle]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Actually, KelpMax isn't a fertilizer... it's a root stimulant. Do follow the directions carefully. As far as fertilizer is concerned, just stay with the "once weekly, weakly" regimen... fertilizer is the least important factor in orchid culture. Orchids need very little, less is better than more. And pretty much any fertilizer will do. Just use 1/4 to 1/2 of whatever it says on the bottle. Once you get everything else correct (light, watering, temperature, air movement, potting medium) optimized, you can get into the fine points of fertilizer.

Ah, good to know before using, haha! And yep, that's what I've been doing with my fertilizer :)

[neophyte]

For the first couple of years when I was growing orchids (only phals back then), I didn't fertilize at all, and the plants still bloomed quite nicely every year.