Keiki survived for years but now it's not looking good

[monivik]

Ok so as for this one, it has a story, it was a keiki many years ago, the mother plant died (at least I think it did) and the keiki had enough roots to be planted by itself. The orchid itself never really grew much, it always stayed the same size and never had even more than two leaves at the same time, once a new leaf grew another withered. The situation right now is that it's got one big leaf and one small one that never really grew, it decided to stay small.

Anyway so now that I finally decided to do something after years of neglect and repot my orchids, when I got this one out of it's pot... it was bad, really bad. most roots had gone rotten and the potting mix was wet and mouldy.

After I cut away the rotten roots, there were 4 roots left. I also had to cut away some of the rhizome as it was not looking good, it was black, I suspect also rotting. After I did that I put some cinnamon on the "wound". Unfortunately I did a mistake there, some of the cinnamon landed on some roots, and now the part of the roots that's the closest to the rhizome is all dried out, brown and shriveled. I did flush it in water as soon as I figured out what I'd done wrong.

I really hope this poor orchid can recover from this.

I've got it on top of some sphagnum moss right now, and I've been spraying water on it every day. However I am not sure I am doing the right thing. Is this all right, or would you suggest something else?

What I understand is that orchids like humidity and to be honest my house has just really dry air lately, it's very dry. Temperature around 20 degrees C = 68F, humidity 30%. I can't afford a humidifier, or anything fancy now.

[AnonYMouse]

I would pot it up in the media of your choice. Use the smallest pot that will fit the roots. The problem was the previous media was "wet and mouldy", perhaps stay away from whatever that was.

Alternatively, some people place phalaenopsis bare root in a vase (leaves holding it up on the rim of the vase). I don't so you should research for "vase culture".

Good luck.

[monivik]

Originally Posted by AnonYMouse

I would pot it up in the media of your choice. Use the smallest pot that will fit the roots. The problem was the previous media was "wet and mouldy", perhaps stay away from whatever that was.

Alternatively, some people place phalaenopsis bare root in a vase (leaves holding it up on the rim of the vase). I don't so you should research for "vase culture".

Good luck.

Thanks for your reply. What I've done is that at the moment I've got it sitting over some wet spaghnum moss (not touching it though) and I put a plastic bag over it losely, to sort of create humidity. I read something like this online. The thing is that I think it's only got one good root left now, as it looks like the ones I accidentally got cinnamon on aren't recovering. One completely dried out and another two don't look too good.

[aliceinwl]

I grow my Phals in bark. I’ve had a couple that have been down to one or no roots. I potted them up, watered weekly or when the roots in the media looked silver/dry. They bounced back fine without any other special treatment, but it did take months.

[Ray]

Warm it up!

Cold and moist roots are a misery for the plant, and with 18C and very low humidity, the evaporative cooling will lower the temperature a bit more.

Phalaenopsis are truly "hot" growers, rarely seeing below about 22-23C, and loving it when it's 37C and above (with deep shade).

[monivik]

Originally Posted by Ray

Warm it up!

Cold and moist roots are a misery for the plant, and with 18C and very low humidity, the evaporative cooling will lower the temperature a bit more.

Phalaenopsis are truly "hot" growers, rarely seeing below about 22-23C, and loving it when it's 37C and above (with deep shade).

Well, the good thing is that summer (spring) has started and it's getting warmer now. In fact yesterday, was super hot 31C...biw it's around 23-24C.

[monivik]

So, an update on this poor orchid... it's not looking good.
The 3 roots she had left, one starting shriveling up from the part closest to the leaves of the orchid. The other two starting shriveling up from the tips, so now growth tips anymore.

Now 2 of the 3 are getting worse and worse... one of them, I just discovered something: it's got a little node (like an elbow) in the middle of the root. I think this means that this root is branching out. This is good news I think... because for the rest the orchid doesn't seem to be wanting to grow any new roots.

But at least the node is little glimpse of hope. The only thing is that the tip of this root is shriveling up too. Do I cut that piece of (the dried out tip) before it spreads or should I live it. I'm tempted to leave it because this root has got that node in it.

So when the roots are shriveling up, I think that means they're drying up right?

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by monivik

But at least the node is little glimpse of hope. The only thing is that the tip of this root is shriveling up too. Do I cut that piece of (the dried out tip) before it spreads or should I live it. I'm tempted to leave it because this root has got that node in it.

So when the roots are shriveling up, I think that means they're drying up right?

I think so. If the roots are shriveling, then they're drying up.

Does the plant get enough light? Enough light is good.

Also --- does it get enough air-circulation? If the plant is in a spot where air doesn't move at all, or hardly moves much, then that could create some problems too.

Also - even though the 'bag' method provides humidity, probably have to be careful with bag methods - as no circulation could lead to fungus growth or other problems.

Does this plant get some fertiliser treatment and calcium supplements every once in a while?

You probably have to be real careful with spaghnum moss. If it is too wet, I think it can water-log the roots, and the roots can't get air into them --- this is maybe especially if there's not much air circulation in the room already.

If there had been some rotting of roots in repotting, then some kinds of fungicides -- recommended by some experienced orchid growers -- can be used as a precaution -- like sprayed on the plant and/or the roots.

And grow in some good quality bark for orchids - but before using the bark --- pre-treat the bark by dunking the bark in water for a while --- to get water into the bark ---- this is because water can just run right off dry bark -- like water running off a duck's back.

But also need to keep an eye on the bark --- because there are known cases where old bark developing a layer of fungal filaments on the bark surface can repel water, which can also cause the plant to become dehydrated - slow fatal degradation of the plant.

[monivik]

Thank you for your reply. An update:

1. I took it off the spaghnum moss as it was too moist and it wasn't going well, the few roots she had gone too. Placed it on bark, just a few spaghnum pieces in there but not too much. I think at the time of the spaghnum moss indeed the problem was the temperature wasn't that high. But in the meantime a couple of weeks later we are full summer and on the positive side the temperature is up to some days even 30C = 86F. Because it's only got one short root left, it's sitting in top of the bark, and because of the hot weather I've been spraying (carefully only the root) once a day. Is this enough you think?

2. The good news is: The short root is giving now growing an "elbow", I don't know what to call it, an off shoot? Anyway, I thought great. But then this week I noticed that there is finally also an entirely new root on the way! I was so happy... I was YES there's some hope.

3. Yesterday I noticed... it's losing a leaf... I'm like: OH NO!!! It's going to die!!! It's only got 2 leaves! One normal sized one and the second one is short (but yeah that makes sense the plant wasn't doing well for a long time)…. and now one of the 2 leaves is dying!!! I'm so sad, I was so hoping I could save this Phal... it's the only one I've got with purple leaves. The thing is: I don't see any signs of any new leaf growing... and my question is: can she survive with only one leaf left?


I don't understand, I was hoping the warm temperature would boost some growth. I've kept it on a spot close to the window but away from direct sun, it's in fact right next to a door to the balcony. I try to keep the door open whenever I'm home for fresh air, except when the sun was shining the brightest there.

I admit that I neglected my orchids for a long time, I also didn't know much until I recently started doing research. I've only just recently purchased a fertilizer, but I haven't used it yet on this particular plant, as it only has one short root. I don't see the point in dipping the pot in water as there's only one short root, that's why I've been spraying it.

Originally Posted by SouthPark

I think so. If the roots are shriveling, then they're drying up.

Does the plant get enough light? Enough light is good.

Also --- does it get enough air-circulation? If the plant is in a spot where air doesn't move at all, or hardly moves much, then that could create some problems too.

Also - even though the 'bag' method provides humidity, probably have to be careful with bag methods - as no circulation could lead to fungus growth or other problems.

Does this plant get some fertiliser treatment and calcium supplements every once in a while?

You probably have to be real careful with spaghnum moss. If it is too wet, I think it can water-log the roots, and the roots can't get air into them --- this is maybe especially if there's not much air circulation in the room already.

If there had been some rotting of roots in repotting, then some kinds of fungicides -- recommended by some experienced orchid growers -- can be used as a precaution -- like sprayed on the plant and/or the roots.

And grow in some good quality bark for orchids - but before using the bark --- pre-treat the bark by dunking the bark in water for a while --- to get water into the bark ---- this is because water can just run right off dry bark -- like water running off a duck's back.

But also need to keep an eye on the bark --- because there are known cases where old bark developing a layer of fungal filaments on the bark surface can repel water, which can also cause the plant to become dehydrated - slow fatal degradation of the plant.

[monivik]

Oh no!!! I think this little keiki's fight for his life is coming to an end, and it's lost the fight. One of the leafs fell off and it's down to one leaf... this one is starting to change color too... I think it's going to fall off too.

I don't expect the chances for a completely leaf-less Phalaenopsis are good. :-(

I know I made some mistakes with this one... but I was really trying to save it. I was so happy when it started to make a new little root...I can still see the little point...