First time growing phals outdoors

[brandonb]

Hello all-

My name is Brandon and this year is the first year I've tried growing phals outdoors. Primarily I wanted to be outside more and also I thought it would be a nice challenge to further my green thumb skills.

I live in the midwest and we've had some crazy weather patterns here this summer. I got this phal about a month ago, in bloom, as a gift. It sits outside in a constantly shaded area (never direct sunlight) with a fan always blowing air around it. It is potted in sphagnum moss and I do the standard issue watering, never after noon, etc.

It was looking sad last week after the blooms fell off a few weeks ago so I cut the spikes down. A few days ago I checked on it and saw that one of the spikes was getting a bit brown near the crown. I monitored this until today when I finally picked things apart to inspect closer.

For one thing, the brown spike just fell off under a light touch. There were some brown parts near the crown; I tried to trim those the best I could. I noticed some of the roots were a bit brown too; here is a pic (click the link): Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting

With the recent high humidity, do you think there is a possibility of too much moisture?

The next problem I noticed was the underside of one of the leaves. You can see it here: Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting Also, the top side of one leaf has little pock marks, but I received the plant like that.

Finally, here is a pic of how it looks currently in case anybody can spot potential problems better than I can. Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting

Please advise any immediate steps I should take. Thank you.

[Amanda L]

How often do you water? I would check the roots deeper in the pot, to make sure those are okay. Sometimes, getting a plant that is potted in sphag can be a problem. A lot of times the sphag is too tightly packed and the roots can't breath.

You have a leaf growing, so that is a good sign. Your bigger leaves appear to be fine too. The damage on the leaf appears to be from being bumped or something similar.

[Zoi2]

Hello Brandonb and welcome to the Orchid Board.
Growing phals outside in the summer is fine and they should do well but probably not potted in moss. The moss stays way too wet here in the midwest. A bark mixture will dry out and provide more air to the roots.
Does the pot your phal is in have drainage holes?
You've got a nice new leaf forming.
The root in your picture is rotten, possibly due to being too wet.
The leaf looks like mechanical damage, possibly got bumped or something.
It might be a good idea to pull the plant out of the moss and check the rest of the roots, just to make sure they're healthy.
Joann

[RosieC]

I agree with the advise you have already got. Check the rest of the roots, and you would probably better potting it in bark so it can dry quicker.

The other thing I note is that the spikes come up through the moss when I would expect them to be higher on the plant. This implies to me it may be potted a bit low in the pot but I may be wrong.

[Hedge]

I agree with Rosie, the plant is far too low in the potting medium. Looks like a repotting is in order!

[brandonb]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

When I first got the plant, I watered it about once a week. Then we got some crazy weather patterns here with heat and humidity so I wasn't sure when to water it, and now I'm almost afraid to water it for fear of damaging the roots.

I use a plastic pot with lots of holes in the bottom. The clay pot is there only to give it some support so that a gust of wind doesn't blow it over.

I took some more pictures a few minutes ago so you can better see how to guide me.

Here is the current potting situation. If I can get to the store today for some new potting mixture, I will repot it higher.
http://i32.tinypic.com/f2n7t4.jpg

These next two images are of the roots. They're big so you can zoom in on them, so please give them time to load.
http://i27.tinypic.com/29ofhcj.jpg
http://i31.tinypic.com/9jha39.jpg

Amanda, you were right about the sphag being too tightly packed. I have since removed two sandwich bags full of sphag and it still seems a bit snug in there.

[Zoi2]

Your roots look decent, better than I expected with all that moss. They will really perk up when you repot and they can get some air circulation. You're doing good!
Joann

[Amanda L]

Wow! That's a lot of sphag for such a little pot! I'm glad you checked the roots when you did. I agree with Joann on your baby perking up after a good re-pot and your roots look pretty good. Make sure to get all the old sphag off the roots, by rinsing them really good under water. Good Luck and let us know how it turns out!