Root rot, moth orchid? How to fix this?

[Thawthorne09]

Hi everyone,

I literally have more plants than I have friends. Recently, I decided to try my hand at orchids. I did a bunch of reading and decided they were a good idea; I was up for the challenge. I bought my first orchid seven months ago. After awhile, its condition got really bad. I kept it around, hoping that it would bounce back, but it is steadily getting worse. Three or four months ago, I purchased a larger one hoping for better results.

How wrong I was.

The flowers are gradually falling off, in order, and the lower leaves are falling off as well. Both plants are in a moss, and the small plant suffered the same symptoms. Also, the smaller one's leaves are starting to shrivel. I love my plants, and I want to save them.

Here are some pictures:

https://sites.google.com/site/mayasg...-orchid-photos

---------- Post added at 07:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:58 PM ----------

Also, the flowers are fine...until they fall off.

[WhiteRabbit]

Sorry you are having trouble - but we all do at some time.

I'm not the best with Phals (Phalaenopsis / moth orchids) myself. The foliage looks very dehydrated - this can be caused by underwatering, or overwatering (over watering causes the roots to rot). I would unpot the plants, see what the roots look like. I would expect them to be either soft, mushy, black/grayish, or dry and shriveled - BUT there may be some good ones in there.

The moss they are potted in can be hard to gauge - can be all dry and crispy on the top, but still moist inside.

[silken]

Welcome to Orchid Board.

I couldn't enlarge some of your photos to see them too well. Do the pots your orchids are in have air and drainage holes? They look like solid ceramic pots. Have you checked the roots? For me, Phals left in tightly packed moss in a non draining pot would result in root rot.

Below is a link to a very long but useful thread on Phal culture: http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ends-here.html It's likely too long to read all of it but if you skim thru a number of pages you will get some useful tips. Many orchids, including Phals need air so that their roots can dry out quite quickly. In the wild they grow on trees with their roots exposed to gentle tropical breezes where they dry quite quickly after a rain shower. The idea is to try and give them a similar environment as best we can while still being able to grow them in our homes.

[Thawthorne09]

Okay, thank you for the advice. Can anyone recommend something to repot them in? I feel like it may by a potting medium issue. Just wondering..could it be the fertilizer I'm using?

---------- Post added at 09:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:08 PM ----------

Should I remove the black/rotted roots and repot the plant?

---------- Post added at 09:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:13 PM ----------

Both pots are ceramic/clay, but they both have drainage holes.

[silken]

I like medium bark and a bit of sphagnum moss mixed in. Usually they come from the store in soaking wet moss which will rot the roots. But I find going from that to only new bark which dries out very fast is a bit of a hard transition. The moss helps a bit. Soak the bark overnight. I like clear pots with good holes. A glazed ceramic pot with 1 drainage hole in the bottom is likely not enough to allow roots to breath. Some people use unglazed ceramic pots. I find my Phals like the clear pots and the roots do photosynthesize if light can get to them.

Cut off all dead and rotted roots so that bacteria doesn't spread.

[calypsoB]

So a couple of things about your plants that you make want to change...One they are not potted right. They are too high above the pot, they need to come down to at least level, if not a touch below. Also the glazed pot is not a good choice for phals. it just doesn't let the water inside evaporate fast enough so it will surely root rot your plant. Spagh is a great medium since it does have some healthy properties which help plants, However, it looks as though you "love" your plants a bit too much and over water. So if you spagh isn't tightly potted it will allow too much moisture in. So, you could move into a bark or mixed media or you could try the bamboo skewer trick...
I can't tell about your air humidity but if it is low you might want to get a humidifier to keep the leaves and flowers happy Good luck!

[Thawthorne09]

I live in Co springs. Extremely dry...I bet the top of the moss dries really fast and the bottom is still wet when I water. Thanks to the both of you; I will buy materials today.

---------- Post added at 07:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:36 AM ----------

Also, I will be purchasing clear pots!

[WhiteRabbit]

Another helpful tool is a bamboo kabob skewer. Gently twist one into the media, about midway between center and edge if pot (or closer ro center). To check moistness of media, remove the skewer, touch it (the part that has been in the media) to your cheek or upper lip. If there is moisture, skewer will feel damp, or even just cool to your skin. Replace skewer in same spot as it was.

For Phals, skewer should feel just cool (not damp), or dry before watering again.

Some styro in the center of the pot, in plant's root mass, is helpful as well. Helps avoid the wet center, while rest of media is dry, as well as makes a nice air pocket.