Mushy leaves on phal

[dragonsong]

This is the only plant that's having problems, it's one of those dwarf phals from Lowes, and I had it in the same pot filled with tight packed sphagnum moss that was always damp...I realized something was wrong when two leaves fell off and they were pretty mushy compared to my other orchids, so today I repotted it in proper orchid mix with bark and a little bit of moss mixed in just so it's not too shocked by the sudden dryness. But, do you think this'll fix the problem and the plant will recover? My guess was too much moisture.

[silken]

It depends what you mean by mushy. If they were just limp due to lack of water because of rotted roots, then over water was likely the cause. If they are all weepy and wet, you could have a fungal or bacterial problem. When you re-potted, were there any good roots left? If so, then it will likely recover unless it has a bad fungal or bacterial problem. In that case I would toss it. A picture would help.

[dragonsong]

Originally Posted by silken

It depends what you mean by mushy. If they were just limp due to lack of water because of rotted roots, then over water was likely the cause. If they are all weepy and wet, you could have a fungal or bacterial problem. When you re-potted, were there any good roots left? If so, then it will likely recover unless it has a bad fungal or bacterial problem. In that case I would toss it. A picture would help.

It's not weeping or anything weird, just limp enough to be noticable...description would be I know if I try to bend my cattelya's leaves they would probably snap or break, but this one I can easily loop one of the leaves backwards.

When I repotted the roots looked surprisingly good, white and green tinted at the tips, but there was actually green algae growing on the topmost parts. Here's a pic afterward, watered after the repot and won't be bothered again till it's dry.

[silken]

It looks very good to me. I see moisture on the leaves. Just be careful not to get water in the crown. If you are misting, do it early in the day so leaves are dry by night.

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[dragonsong]

Originally Posted by silken

It looks very good to me. I see moisture on the leaves. Just be careful not to get water in the crown. If you are misting, do it early in the day so leaves are dry by night.

OOPS I had no idea about the crown thing...gotta remember that. Then i guess the leaves should return to normal now that the plant can breathe properly, that sphagnum moss was PACKED in there!!!

[silken]

Crown rot can occur if water sits in the crown. Leaves that have gone limp or wrinkly in some types of orchids due to lack of water, don't always recover. The leaves may plump up a bit but so long as it is growing new roots and not getting any worse, it should do fine. It doesn't look real limp. Some Phals have softer leaves than others too.

It should really be thanking you for getting it out of that tight wet sphagnum!