Root Rot

[WhiteWinds]

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??????

[Blueszz]

First thing that comes in my mind is air, air flow as you mentioned yourself in your post.
Ideal would be to water the plant and get the roots/bark dry as quick as possible.. You can reach this for instance by:
- pot in the smallest pot possible.
- use plain bark only.
- if you don't have pots with slits in the side, melt some extra holes in the side of the pot.
- don't use cache pots

Based on my own experiences, plain bark is best for a struggling Phalaenopsis in our climate.

About the air flow, you better can use pots that have draining wholes in the bottom too, not glass vases.

Trim away all mushy roots. To help the root tip dry faster you can use cinnamon powder on the root tip (on the cut only). It dries out the root *fast* and has some anti-bacterial functions.

A few years ago I brought one of my parents Phal's home with severe root rot. It had limp leafs too, just like yours. I only watered it when the bark was dry. Didn't dunk it but only poured a cup of water in the pot from above. Removed excess water from the draining holes from beneath with tissue paper. It took a while but then it started new roots.
Don't water more often because of the limp leafs, accept these. More water won't help because the root mass can't take up enough water for the plant.

You might want to bag the leafs but personally I don't have good experiences with bagging plants - always ended up with mold. If you decide to bag the leafs you might want to use to bags, on for each group of leafs (left side, right side) to keep condensation out of the crown of the plant.

Last advise, be patient :-)

This is what worked for me a few times... hope others chime in with more advise for you.

Nicole

[Discus]

Welcome to Orchid Board, WhiteWinds!

It sounds like you're on more or less the right track with your phalaenopsis - a lot of people do tend to over-water orchids. In my experience, phalaenopsis don't mind too much being grown a little on the "dry" side; I quite regularly mist the aerial roots on mine (ever two days or so) without getting to much water into the bark mix.

I modified my pots with a red hot wire to make more "air holes" (really air slits) down the sides of the pot.

Sphagnum around phalaenopsis roots seems to be a recipe for root rot at home, unfortunately - at least yours are in bark!

I'm sure you've checked, but it's quite common for the surface to look dry whilst the inside of the pot is still very damp.

There's a long thread called "the phal abuse ends here" which has a lot of tips in it you might find useful.

[Ray]

There are two things to consider that may be affecting your plants.

First is air flow to the roots. If the potting medium or container is too stifling, you can literally suffocate them.

The second is them being kept too cold. Phalaenopsis, for the most part, are "hot" growers in nature, rarely seeing temperatures below 25°C. While they can tolerate somewhat cooler temps, if allowed to go too much below that stresses the roots badly.

[tucker85]

All the previous posts mentioned the need for more air to the roots. That's because phalaenopsis are epiphytes like many other orchids. In nature they grow attached to a tree trunk or some other object. The roots are out in the open air. The roots need both air and moisture. We tend to forget that with phals because they arrive to us in densly packed medium in plastic pots. Commercial growers can do that because they use fungicides on the plants constantly. At home it's a recipe for disaster. No matter what medium you use you need a pot that will drain excess water (not a glass vase) and have some holes to get air to the roots. If I'm using sphagnum I use a net pot that provides lots of air. If I'm using bark or coconut husk chips I like the clear plastic pots with lots of slits in the side. I lift the pot to determine how wet it is. The pot will be much lighter when it's dry. Also feel under the bottom of the pot. If the pot feels light but there's condensation on the bottom there's still moisture in the pot. I like to water on the first day that I'm convinced that the medium is very dry. Ideally you want them to dry out but not stay dry very long. Good luck.

[Connie Star]

Valkommen til OB! Det fins mycket vanner har som kan hjalpa til dig!

Jag bord i Sverige for ett ar men jag har glomte mycket svenska, and I don't have the right letters to type in Swedish anyway. I didn't try to raise orchids when I lived in Sweden, so I may not be as helpful as others.
You will get a lot of useful information here.

[Angurek]

Everyone's chimed in with some great advice, but if I could add anything to the thread, it's to be more careful next time you purchase your plants. It may seem intuitive, but it's generally best to avoid stressed or diseased plants since they won't do well anyway, and you risk having infections spread. It's really easy to be seduced by an orchid's appearance and overlook the fact that it's in bad shape or unlikely to survive.

When you buy plants again in the future, try to give prospective plants a full-on inspection. Unpot the plant slightly and check out its roots; if they're in poor shape, move on to the next plant. Likewise, if you notice that a plant is shedding leaves for no apparent reason, or if you see odd spots or discolorations, don't buy it (there are some exceptions to this, as some orchids develop spots naturally. In general, however, it's best to stay away from overly spotted plants since they could be diseased).

[WhiteWinds]

Thank you very much for all the advice! I shall start working on improving my airflow today. I think I need to invest in some wider outer pots and put some side slits in the inner pots. Plus re-pot the vase orchid in something a little more root friendly...

I'm pretty much done with buying grocery store Orchids now. Although I say that, but I ended up back in the same shop last week staring at the immensely beautiful Orchids and having to really stop myself from buying one of them. It was only the prospect of another root rot battle that stopped me from walking away with one.

Thanks once again. I'll let you know how they get on. I think there be more than one root starting to poke through on my Sphag n bag Orchid now...yayy!! :0)

Amanda

Hej! Vad skönt att hitta någon annan som har bott i Sverige! :0) Jag är ursprungligen från England, men flyttade till Ystad i Skåne för drygt 2 och ett halvt år sedan. Det är kalt under vintern men jag tycker mycket om ländet :0) tack så mycket för välkomnen!!