Spontaneous yellowing of phalaenopsis leaves.

[R1CHARD4]

Hello! I have an issue regarding the yellowing of the leaves with my phalaenopsis. It spontaneously apppeared within a 2 day timeframe during my absence from home. It may seem apparent as stem rot as a result of improper watering practices; but I beg to differ. I am extremely particular about my watering and take extra measures to prevent rottting whenever possible. The yellowing appearing to spur from the stem (I suspect a fungal infection). The plant has a had a history of spider mites and issues where some roots were drying out not due to desiccation nor rot. These issues were all addressed but I thought I would be helpful to specify the history of the plant. I would love some help with this case. I have attached images as a reference. Thanks!

[Lacie]

The plant looks dehydrated to me. It might be that you are being too careful not to get rot that you are in fact not watering enough. The wrinkled leaves (that fell rather leathery) are typical of dehydration, and the shriveled roots I can see suggest this too (and the media itself looks very dry). I would suggest watering more often. Water until the media is soaked, then let it dry until the moss is just shy of totally dry (it might get totally dry on top, but the bottom should still be slightly damp). You won't need to worry about rot in the crown if you water just the media (rather than spraying the whole plant). You may loose those wrinkled yellowing leaves, but if you start watering more the plant will survive and produce new leaves. Good luck!

---------- Post added at 06:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:13 PM ----------

Also, that moss look old, repotting may help.

[aliceinwl]

I agree, it looks like it’s getting ready to drop those leaves. Water stress is a likely culprit. How do the roots look? If you’ve had some root death this can exacerbate the issue. If you’re sure it’s not due to underwatering or root death, I’ve also seen exposure to excessive heat or cold lead to leaf drop.

[Paphluvr]

My first impression after looking at all your pictures is that I don't see any healthy roots. No roots = no water uptake = dessicated plant that mimics underwatering. I would remove the plant from its pot and examine the roots. I expect you'll find them in poor to non-existing condition. If so, repot in new mix in an appropriate size pot. Other posts have discussed how to care for it after that.

[R1CHARD4]

Hi all, thanks for your replies! I will take your observations into consideration. Most of the roots died off due to transplant shock as I was attempting to use bark medium instead of sphagnum moss. That didn’t work....But I would still like to know how the water intake of the plant can cause mushiness of the stem. There are some mushy patches on the stem where it has yellowed off but as mentioned before, I take watering very seriously, never watering from above and not to leave roots drenched in damp media for prolonged periods of time. Thanks!