Beginner orchid Mum...Yellowing leaves. Help

[KatieC]

OK... Hi. This is my second Phal. First one was a gift and it died a horrible death as I had no idea how to look after it.

I bought this from a specialist nursery along with 2 other smaller plants and it is currently flowering. One stalk full of flowers with a secondary branch off this stalk also now opened up with flowers.

It is in a bark potting mix which I am watering approx once a week as well as spraying the leaves with water of an evening as we are in Australia and it is winter and we have a fire on inside thus its pretty warm and dry.

This is the second bottom leaf which is yellowed off and dry around the edge as well as some browning areas, not wet though. The leaf under it is also very pale in colour as if its about to yellow.

The last photo is of the bottom leaf on the opposite side also looking a bit sad.

Any advice from experienced owners?

[LovePhals]

Welcome! First off, I don't like growing Phals in Cache pots b/c usually water will sit in the bottom and rot the roots. Your leaves could be falling off if there is not sufficient roots. Spraying leaves at night will leave your plant prone to bacteria in the leaves. I would try using a humidifier if you are worried about humidity.

[KatieC]

Thanks for your reply. The plant is actually inside another pot which has holes in the bottom and then just in the other pot. When I first got the plants one started to look pretty sick and when i teased the dense sphag moss out a lot of its roots were rotten so as a precaution i repotted all of the plants (this one included) in a bark instead. The roots looked pretty good... not fantastic but ok.

---------- Post added at 11:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:03 AM ----------

The third photo shows best the edges of the leaf which my hubby seems to think something might be nibbling them?

[tarev]

I think your plant is adjusting to your indoor conditions. As mentioned already, avoid spraying the leaves especially at night.

Bark mix is okay but it takes awhile to be moisture retentive. So just make sure your media drains very well before you return to that cache pot. I usually dunk the root zone of my phals when it has been newly repotted for the first few months, about once every five days especially during summer months. Eventually it will adapt and I try to give it some extra air circulation, like running ceiling fan, and water early in the day, not at night.

If the lowest leaf goes, don't panic yet..it could also be natural leaf senescence, just try to be careful with your watering for now.

[WhiteRabbit]

Good info in this thread http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ad.php?t=44792
It's long, but the first few pages are recommended.