HELP! Most of my roots are rotted!

[orchids3]

Silken,
Refering to your post,Wouldn't spraying water on the crown give you crown rot not root rot?

[silken]

Originally Posted by orchids3

Silken,
Refering to your post,Wouldn't spraying water on the crown give you crown rot not root rot?

A typo which I corrected, thanks for pointing it out.

[The Orchid Boy]

I almost killed my first phal. It just had one tiny root left. I repotted it into sraight spagnum moss and let it dry thouroughly between waterings. I was surprised at how quickly it recovered! I put it outside during the summer and it grew like crazy! Orchids are pretty tough.

[evakoz]

Hi,
I have the same problem with over watering my orchids. When I overwater the ones that I did not repot yet, they seems to grow a lot of new leaves and some of them bloom. When I repot an orchid, the roots seem to rot.
I think I use the wrong size of a pot and medium. the medium I use is moss.
Can anybody hel me?

[zxyqu]

Hey Evakoz. Your question is quite common, but the right answer might not be as easy. What kind of medium was it in prior to your using moss? If the medium was drying out rapidly, the roots were tailored to that quick dry medium, and might not like the slow dry sphag. If on the other hand the prior medium was something that held moisture for awhile, your root rot could be culture related or overwatering related. Really tough to say.
What kind of orchid do you have, and how do you grow, that way we can help a bit better. Also, check out this sticky, which has a plethora of awesome information:
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ends-here.html

[evakoz]

Hi,
I have some phals bought in Home Depot. When I bought them they were blooming and packed in moss. I watered them and they were doing fine for a while. But because they were packed tightly I have decided to repot them into a bigger pot. That might have been a mistake. I hace added bark insted of moss ans a bigger pot. After a while I have noticed the roots getting black and rotting, leaving a plant with one root. Is it possible that the size of a pot has anything to do with it? What is the best medium and watering schedule for a phal?

[silken]

Originally Posted by evakoz

Hi,
I have some phals bought in Home Depot. When I bought them they were blooming and packed in moss. I watered them and they were doing fine for a while. But because they were packed tightly I have decided to repot them into a bigger pot. That might have been a mistake. I hace added bark insted of moss ans a bigger pot. After a while I have noticed the roots getting black and rotting, leaving a plant with one root. Is it possible that the size of a pot has anything to do with it? What is the best medium and watering schedule for a phal?

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ends-here.html
This link that zxyqu mentioned in his response to you is loaded with the answers to your questions. Pot size and watering has a lot to do with root rot but there is no set schedule for watering. It has to be when the plant is near dry or just bone dry so it depends on what its potted in and your growing conditions. Check out that link and you will see what others offer up for help and much of it is tried and true and worth considering.

[julyarango]

Hello everyone!
I bought a Phalaenopsis a few months ago, and so far it had been great! Flowers, green leaves, excellent.
However, I noticed a few days ago that a portion of a root was brownish and now I think it is rot. I read many blogs already about this, and I know the apparent right thing to do is to cut it, BUT I took the plant out of the pot today and the small brown portion is on the top of the plant (aerial), but it continues underground where the rest of the root is healthy green, and its huge! Cutting this root out, will literally mean cutting half of the roots out...! I am desperate, I want my plant to live, but I don't know what to do exactly...

So, to wrap up I have 2 questions and I have attached 2 pictures. The first one is a healthy silver looking root. The second one is the one in danger. The questions are:
1. How to really know if the root is rot? or if there is a chance the process can be stopped?
And 2. If by looking at the 2nd picture, you think it's rot, what do you think about the solution? Shall I cut half the roots on my plant?

Could you please help?? I appreciate any suggestion!

THANKS!!!

[Leafmite]

If the root is healthy underneath, don't cut it. The top of the root might have gotten a bit dry and that won't hurt it.

[silken]

Roots can be brown from discoloration from bark or other brown media it might be potted in. If it is firm, DO NOT cut it. I also find that the roots sitting on top can just get a little rough and brown looking from being weathered in sun and open air, compared to down in the media.