Phalaenopsis damaged and looks like dying but won't drop the flowers

[naoki]

Carpe is right, if you use too much hormone products, I can see that it will cause the problems (same for human). For the difference between K-L-N and superthrive, see Ray's post here:

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...e-k-l-n-2.html

The fertilizer you got gives nutrients, and it is different from plant hormone products. So I would try superthrive in addition to fertilizer. I usually try not to use fertilizer when the root system of a plant is messed up, though. But this may not be based on science.

55% is ok for many healthy orchids, but you might want to raise it to 70-80% (at night) since it has a weak root system. If you are refering to 55% day time, it is probably OK. Usually the RH at night is higher than the day time RH because of the lower temperature at night. Maybe you can put a big plastic bag (or a bucket) on it at night? Or raise the humidifier setting a little higher for 3 weeks or so?

Photos of roots will help other people to give you more suggestions.

[melimelo]

So... I cut the stem, trimmed of some more dead roots and repotted in the new bark mix and in a smaller pot [8.5 cm diameter from the previous 12.5]. I sincerely hope that when you see the pictures you won't think I've created more damage than what had already been done by my friend.


This is what she [my orchid is female to me!] looked like when I took her out of the pot


and close shot of the roots


and the crown


I cut the stem and as you can see it looked pretty healthy


and I trimmed this root, which surprised me with how green it was inside, despite the dry look on the outside



but then again you can see some mould on one of the dead roots I cut



So, this is what my poor thing looked like when I was done with it and I so hope I didn't cause more damage



and into the new bark mix and pot.



It amazes me how many roots this plant had - after having cut so many it still has over 7 roots left. It just makes me sad to think of how healthy and happy it was up until a few weeks ago and how injured I found it and is now...


So what do you think? Does it look like it may surnive? And is there anything else I should be doing at this stage or rather leave the plant in peace to recuperate itself?


Again, many thanks for your help this far.


Findish, I had to google what a hydroponic store is (!) and the answer is, no, there's none nearby where I live.

[Wynn Dee13]

Just for future reference, healthy roots are firm and it doesn't matter what color they are as long as they are firm. If they are squishy and or hollow they are dead. You can also cut the spikes all the way off. I always cut my spikes after they are done blooming even if the spike is still green. Blooming takes a lot of energy so I like to allow my plant to rest and grow new leaves and roots. Some people cut the spike back to a node and try and get the plant to branch and bloom again off the old spike but for the reasons above I don't let my plants do this. I would cut those spikes all the way off so the plant doesn't try and branch from one of the nodes. Your plant needs to put all its energy into new roots and leaves not flowers. Also I would try and find some KLN or SuperThrive to help your plant with root growth. I would also hold off on the fertilizer until you see new growth like leaves or roots. Good luck!

[Carpe Diem]

The roots look somewhat shriveled, but still green inside. Lots of roots too! I don't know if the shriveled roots will plump up again, but she should put out new roots.
Nothing more to do, just be careful not to overwater!
Good luck and keep us posted!

[naoki]

Looks like that you can probably save it. In the last to 2nd photo, one of the roots seems to have small green tip (left bottom). Also, the 2nd photo shows a new root is starting to come out from the right side of the stem. The new bark looks funky (is it garden mulch?), but it probably works.

The temperature is unfortunately going down now. I'm not sure about the climate in the Ireland, but keeping the root area warm might give an additional help. I started to use something like this
for a couple phal seedlings which I want to boost during the winter.

Amazon.com: Hydrofarm MT10006 9-by-19-1/2-Inch Seedling Heat Mat: Patio, Lawn & Garden

But yours will probably recover without this. For me, I'm trying sphag moss culture for tiny seedlings, and it doesn't dry out quick enough in the fall, winter, & spring (it works well in the summer). A forum member suggested to put the heat pad under the pots. I started to use it a couple weeks ago (it's almost winter in Alaska), and it seems to help in drying sphag moss, and their growth also re-accelerated.

[Findish]

melimelo-

I rescued a NoID Phal from a garbage pile at the grocery store. It looked almost as sad as yours.
August 13 removed from the soggy bark and repotted into a deli container of hydroton from the hydroponic store.

18 August two yellowed leaves had fallen, the buds had all opened and the remaining leaves plumped up.

Today the blossoms are still tightly attached to the spike and the leaves are stiffly beautiful.

I tried attaching photos, but no joy.
findish

[Wynn Dee13]

I think the bark looks weird too. If it is garden mulch I wouldn't use it. Many people have told me not to use it because it hasn't been processed like orchid bark.

[naoki]

Hmmm, I wonder why. If garden mulch doesn't contain weird chemical (either added by human, or excreted from the tree), and if the pH of the mulch isn't extreme, it should work. There are some picky plants, but hybrid Phal should be easy. Garden mulch may decay quicker, but it should be ok if you are repotting every year. Garden mulch is less homogeneous in size, so the air space around the root might be smaller. But you just have to adjust the watering so that you don't suffocate the roots.

I think that orchids from Carter & Holmes seem to be grown in more mulch-like media than the traditional fir bark. I've seen other people use garden mulch for orchids, but I haven't tried it yet.

[melimelo]

Thanks everyone for your responses! I'll post pictures IF my little plant makes it through this rough patch.

I thought so, too, that the bark mix looked kind of weird. When I went to the store, they only had bark mix in bags of about 1 meter high, whatever capacity that would be in litres. So the assistant, very kindly, suggested that he gives me some mix which was not packed and was from a huge pile kept outdoors. He told me that it's really good bark mix [and he didn't even charge me], but I thought that in comparison to the bark mix that my orchid was originally in, this didn't look so chunky and solid, plus was very very moist. I don't know how else to describe it and I don't know if it is mulch. I was hesitant about putting it, that's why I only used a bit on my first venture to repot the orchid. But after yesterday, my beloved plant is wholly in there.

Do you think I should go find a different mix, specifically for orchids? As I said, there isn't that much expertise where I live, but maybe Amazon.uk would have some. But then again, won't it be too upsetting for the plant to be taken out of the pot for the 3rd time in a month?

I feel I've so many questions and probably really naive ones!

As for the roots, yes, most of them looked shrivelled and hollow rather than squishy, and I didn't cut any of those that looked firm still, but I might have left a couple that looked hollow since I wasn't too sure whether they were dead or not.

[naoki]

You can stick a skewer and check how long it takes to make the mix completely dry. If it dries completely within a week or so, it is probably ok. I'm not talking about the dry surface of the pot (that's why you need a skewer or something in the pot). Skewer use for watering of orchids - Orchid Forum Orchid Care

It does look like garden mulch. It contains shredded wood (xylem part) in addition to bark, so it could retain moisture longer.

On the other hand, if you want to use more conventional bark, you can repot it again. Hybrid phals don't seem to mind repotting too much. If you are getting bark from amazon or some place, you probably want to go with "medium" sized bark (something like 1.5-2cm).

I'm in a relatively small town, but a pet store which sells reptiles have barks suitable for orchids.