Root Rot
I am new to Orchids and it is not going well. I have 4 Orchids at the moment. A Dendrobium, which is healthy and 3 Phals which all have root rot. I am at my whits end and about to give up hope that I'll ever be able to grow a healthy phal.
The first phal I bought came with serious root rot and wilted flowers. It is in a bag at the moment tentatively putting down new roots.
The second one a keiki also came with root rot and isn't getting much better. At the moment I have it in a clear glass vase (to help me get a good look at the roots and wetness). The bottom of which has flattens out so that water can collect there. I have the bottom half filled with stones and the plant is potted in a bark mix. I thought perhaps the stones and the little bit of water that collects at the bottom would act as a humidity tray and keep the plant moist but not soaking wet. perhaps I have done wrong here?
Anyway once every 5-6 days when the bark looks to have dried out and the roots are starting to look shriveled or in need of water I soak it for around 30 minutes and then tip out the excess water, leaving it wet, but not swimming. As it has one healthy non-wilted flower spike left I have given it some fertiliser today. I have had this plant roughly 3 weeks. Its roots do not look wonderful, mostly shriveled grey/green with some yellow/black mushy ones. It's leaves are wrinkly and floppy. What can I do to help this plant?
The other one I bought seemed to be in relatively good health. I has two beautiful flower spikes and a couple of strong leaves. But quite soon after I got it I noticed that its leaves were starting to go floppy. I took a look at it's roots today and found the dreaded root rot. The central roots are going thin and yellow and don't look healthy. There are signs of black rot on some of the thicker greener looking roots. The plant has been kept in a cylindrical pot for the past 3 weeks (I thought it would help give its leaves stability), but I think that it hasn't been getting enough airflow and therefore not been drying out properly. When I took out the bark today it was still quite damp. I have only watered it once a week since getting it. I am going to buy it a different pot today as I am quite convinced the cylindrical pot is useless.
We've had quite a lot of warm sunny weather (I know I live in Sweden but it's not as cold here in the south) and all my plants are on a west facing window. I have small water trays on the radiators directly below the windows and there is good air movement.
I am getting so fed up with root rot. Is there anything I can do to help save my plants??????
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