Stinky Phal roots in FWC

[Keiki Paste]

I purchased this Phal from a local orchid grower for $10. I immediately put it into full water culture. I kept it in my window at work and began to notice a foul odor. None of my other fwc orchids have any odor at all.

I cut off what I thought were the culprit roots two weeks ago and the smell has persisted. Today I cut a few more, and doused with straight hydrogen peroxide, twice.

I can still smell it, but not as strong. As a newbie, I'm not sure if this is a lost cause. It is growing new roots and has not suffered bud blast, which tells me that there is still hope as long as proper action is taken.

Does it look like a disease? Is it only a matter of time? I have it drying in a glass...

Edit: I finally attached photos! I'm going to have an extra ice cream sandwich tonight!

[estación seca]

Hydrogen peroxide might damage roots.

The bad smell is from various bacteria. Some of the stinky bacteria are real killers for orchids. These are Erwinia, which also provide that wonderful aroma to a bouquet of flowers whose water hasn't been changed in too long.

The best way to prevent the smell is to change the water daily. I would also suggest bubbling air into the glasses with an aquarium air pump.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Orchids are not aquatic plants. I would not recommend full water culture for them, just as I would not recommend FWC for cacti.

Try switching to more conventional culture if the roots are not too far gone.

[Keiki Paste]

Well, this morning I decided to do something DARING and cut off every damn root except the healthy one shown in the last picture. My intuition told me that drastic action might be needed so I took the plunge. Rash, yes. But what the hell.

I cleaned the glass and staked it so that the green tippy tip is in the fresh RO water. I've seen people do amazing things with sick orchids before, although mine is showing NO signs of illness except the foul root odor (which is gone now), so I decided to take a chance and see if my intuition is in tune.

And now we wait. I will post an update once I see any changes.

[Keiki Paste]

Well, it's been one week since I hacked away at my stinky Phal. The first attempt to discern which roots were causing the problem failed and the horrible smell remained. So I cut off everything except the one good root that I could see, sprayed with hydrogen peroxide, placed it in tap water, and waited.

The first thing I noticed was that the smell was quite diminished, by 90% I'd say. After a few days the water began to look cloudy, unlike my other FWC orchids which stay clear all week and longer. So I changed the water, used a fresh glass, and noticed the smell was all but eliminated.

After changing the water this morning I thought I would post an update. The first pic is the good root a week ago, before the hacking. The second two pics were taken this morning. I must say, I'm very pleased and optimistic!

[estación seca]

You need to change the water every day. The cloudiness is a wonderful bacterial culture.

[Marlena]

I have several phals in FWC and they are all doing well, even the 2 really awful ones for whom this was a last resort before the compost pile. I had cloudy water with one of the 2 but using peroxide and changing water every day has made a huge difference. Good luck and keep us posted.

[jh0330u]

Hello, I am curious, what ratio and % of H2O2 did you use?
I am also battling root rot with a white moth phal. I cut off most of my dead roots, but left 1-3 slightly dead middle ones. I have a few more roots but not much.
I was also contemplating what you have contemplated but maybe I should cut off ALL roots looking to be sick.

I am currently watering daily (which I am planning to change to 2 days) by soaking 1/4 roots for roughly 30min.

By FWC, do you mean you keep it in tap water ALL the time?

[RJSquirrel]

eventually your hope should be that you get tired of playing with the plants and start to grow them the way they grow in nature as closely as possible for the best results. otherwise you get a lot of stinky plants to be the gracious host of explaining them to your friends and relatives that you can assure them they are not toxic.

[Marlena]

Originally Posted by jh0330u

Hello, I am curious, what ratio and % of H2O2 did you use?
I am also battling root rot with a white moth phal. I cut off most of my dead roots, but left 1-3 slightly dead middle ones. I have a few more roots but not much.
I was also contemplating what you have contemplated but maybe I should cut off ALL roots looking to be sick.

I am currently watering daily (which I am planning to change to 2 days) by soaking 1/4 roots for roughly 30min.

By FWC, do you mean you keep it in tap water ALL the time?

Mine in water up to on fourth or less of the roots all the time. They are thriving, or in the case of 2 of them, looking better. Go to Youtube for videos and more in depth explanation. There are a couple for what to expect and how to start out.