Phalaenopsis with black roots, yellowing stem-help!

[Carpe Diem]

Any root that is firm is a good root. I would cut the secondary spike, it's just more for the plant to deal with. Keep your eye on the Phal., if it starts going south, cut the whole spike. Most of all, be careful you don't overwater. Good luck and keep us posted!

[JessieC]

Thanks! Will do!

[cbuchman]

Those roots don't look too bad to me. Generally, if the roots don't feel mushy, I leave them be. The clear plastic pot will help you keep an sharp eye out for any further problems.

[JessieC]

It's been five days since replanting and it looks pretty good so far. I can see a few roots that didn't make it. I'm wondering if I should fill it higher with media though because the roots further down are turning silvery green but at the top they look almost bark like. Is this normal? I'm trying to resist the urge to water too soon but I don't want to stress the roots I have left.

[Bill U.]

From what I can tell from your photo, I would say that your potting level is alright. It is pretty common for the top roots to go silvery and appear to be very dry before the bottom roots are ready for more water (because they haven't dried out enough). As mentioned earlier by others, the skewer-monitoring method is good for beginners to tell how dry the rootball of their orchids are- I personally don't use it (I just use my finger combined with total weight) to estimate watering times.

If your leaves and top air-roots (these are perfectly fine in the air and don't necessarily have to be put into the potting medium- remember, phals are epiphytes, so in nature, the majority of their roots are just "hanging out" in the air) are starting to get especially dry and wrinkly, put it over a humidity tray (you can buy one or just take a shallow dish and put some cleaned river rock/stones and fill with 1/4" water) to help increase immediate humidity.

[Carpe Diem]

If the roots IN the pot turn silvery, it's time to water. The exposed roots on top always look kinda gnarly, at least mine do.

[JessieC]

Oh good, thanks. It's hard not to water when they look like that, but I don't want to overwater again! This is very reassuring, so thanks! I think it's on the rebound.

[JessieC]

Well, one bloom started drooping the other day and another one today, both on the same side. I did let it sit by an open window one night, and even though it only gets down to the mid to low 60s here in SoCal, in hindsight that may not have been a good idea. That's also the side that gets sun from the same north-facing window. The leaves look fine so I don't think it's the water. It may just be done blooming, although it had new buds before they fell off 3 weeks ago. Should I pull the blooms off or let them shrivel? Would creating some humidity help?

[jeem132]

i had an phalaenopsis with this same problem and i used physan 20 and after that i used some of the quick root powder and it actualy put another orchid on eachside so now i have 2. i used orchid hydroponic nutrients and supper thrive. i used half a container of the rooting powder but im sure less if just as efective. i'd recomend going easier on the water. to much water promoted fungal growth and bacteria. my plant had crown rot on top of all it's issues and after i left it out side for dead. the rain and everything. some how it came back from only having a little piece of a green leaf. i highly recomend physan 20. it works great on mold and mildew around the house too

[Carpe Diem]

Yes, it may be at the end of the bloom cycle, could be sulking because of the repotting. Keep the plant out of drafts. Creating humidity never hurts, give it a try.