Too late to save a drowned phal?

[Flowermama22]

I recently took over a phal from a friend who wayyyy over watered it: roots were rotting away. I cut off the roots that were obviously unsalvageable, treated the ends w/cinnamon, doused the remaining roots w rooting hormone, and gave it fresh potting medium. It’s a fairly large plant and I thought it was a goner, but to my surprise after about a month the roots look much better than I thought they would (see photos). However, the leaves are getting increasingly dark and droopy, so something is still going on. Any advice on what else I might try to save this? I’ve been watering/feeding sparingly while trying to keep it a little extra humid and warm. Thanks!

[fishmom]

The droopy leaves indicate that they are not getting enough water to stay firm and hydrated. Either 1) the amount of roots you have left is not sufficient for the remaining leaves, in which case as soon as new roots grow the new leaves will be fine or 2) you are not watering enough for the remaining roots to take up the required water. Your bark looks pretty dry.



Do the roots turn green when watered? If so, your chunky bark would probably allow you to water daily or every 2 days, keeping the roots green or just-starting-to-turn-silvery. You are aiming for a moist, humid environment for the roots, and you don't need to let them dry out between waterings.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Flowermama22

I’ve been watering/feeding sparingly while trying to keep it a little extra humid and warm. Thanks!

Fortunately there still appear to be a nice amount of good roots - still alive. So having nice humidity for the leaves (but with some natural air-flow to cut down on bacteria/fungus activity) and water strategically so that the roots can get moisture without getting drowned with stationary - or almost stationary water (on the roots) -------- is expected to help this orchid recover.

Also - relatively cold and wet roots can be problematic. So maintaining suitable growing temperatures for the orchid is a good thing.

[neophyte]

Good save! Just to second fishmom, the roots are silvery and slightly wrinkled, which are signs of underwatering. Usually only the aerial roots are always silver because they are exposed; the ones in the potting medium should be greenish or pale white, which indicates they are absorbing adequate water.

[WaterWitchin]

Looks like plenty of good roots to me, and leaves don't look bad until last picture. And it appears two leaves are missing from last picture? Are they buried or did you cut off or is it just perspective of the view?

Definitely not watering often enough.