VERY dehydrated phal, any tips for revival?

[HollyMStewart]

I currently have 1 sick orchid. I bought a gorgeous phal from a grocery store in the fall of 2011, in full bloom. I displayed in happily through the holidays, knowing it needed to be re potted once it was done.

It held its flowers for so long, and with all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I let it do its thing. Most of the flowers started to die off right before Christmas, so I clipped the spike and put it with my others until after the holidays.

Well, I finally got around to giving it the attention it needed a couple days ago. I didn't realize how sick it was.

I displayed it in a fairly low light area while in bloom. That combined with being in crappy light at the store, has made it very light deprived. Its leaves are very very pale green/yellow. Problem #1.

Problem #2.. it got root rot from the yucky media it was potted in being really broken down. I re potted it, but had to clip most of the roots. I have about 3 roots left, 1/2'', 1'' and 1 1/2'' in size. It is very very dehydrated from the root rot keeping it from taking up water. The leaves are very wrinkled and limp.

So, I have been baby sitting it for a few days now. I am trying to keep it dry since the rot was so bad, but if it doesn't get some water its not going to make it. It had 5 leaves to start all this, I clipped off the bottom two since they were mostly shriveled away anyway.

As far as watering goes.. I have been just giving the roots themselves water directly via a syringe, which they absorb immediately. These roots are perfectly healthy and showing no signs of rot, fungus or anything else.

Is there anything else I can do to help this plant recover? It is already looking a little better.. one leaf is a little more firm that a few days ago. Should I fertilize at all?

Also, I am thinking it may be in too big of a pot considering the root loss. Is it worth it to put it into something smaller? I have it secured in what its in now so it can be still and root itself. I am more than happy to let this plant have a long break to fill the pot with roots, as I have a bunch of phals in spike anyway..

Any tips to help this plant along would be great.. thanks!

[bballr4567]

I've been using the dunk method with mine that was dehydrated on a trip. Just been putting it in a sink full of tepid water just under the crown and its worked wonders. Two of the leafs are getting plumped up while the other two are starting to.

Just search for dehydrated and you will get a lot of great threads.

[Merlyn]

It would also be better to under pot it than over pot it. Too much pot means it stays too wet too long and causes root rot. Roots need as much air as water.

[camille1585]

The best is to put it into the smallest pot that the roots will comfortably fit. That may mean that it is so small that the plant is top heavy, but you can always place it in another pot for support.

Do you have a photo of it? A Phal that has been in low light for a while will have very dark green leaves, not pale green (Unless it's the genetics that naturally give it that color)

[RosieC]

Camille's advice is exactly what I would say. Small pots have always worked well for me.

[tucker85]

I agree with Camille and Rosie. It should be potted in the smallest pot that the roots will comfortably fit into. Luckily phals do not mind being repotted.
I actually like your watering method. When I have a phal with only a few roots I mist the roots on the surface every morning. That way the plant gets moisture every day without having soggy medium. You still need to water the medium when it dries out though.
Don't worry about the light green leaves. It's just because the plant is in poor health.
Don't pour a lot of fertilizer through the medium. Mix some fertilizer at 1/4 the recommended strength or even less and mist it or syringe it directly on the surface roots maybe every two weeks. It doesn't need much fertilizer at all until it recovers.
Give it as much light as possible too. Winter sunlight is not real strong and phals can take direct morning or afternoon light. Direct light during midday could burn it. Good luck.

[Ray]

If the plant is really dehydrated, when you unpot it for repotting, remove all of the medium from it and submerge the plant in lukewarm water, leaving it there for a few hours. Then repot.

If you have no roots, consider adding a rooting hormone to the soak water.

Add nothing else, or it will likely have just the opposite effect, and draw water out of the plant.

Oh. One more thing: Low light levels will lead to really dark leaves, not pale ones. Phals thrive in low light - all else being good. The paleness was due to it being on the way to death.

[HollyMStewart]

I thought I read somewhere that splotches of light green where low light issues? Guess not.

It is doing much better today. The leaves are getting much more firm, still wrinkled though. I have continued just watering the few roots with a syringe, so that the bark doesn't get too wet.

I haven't repotted it yet.. hopefully I can get to that today.

[silken]

Your plant doesn't look that bad. But it seems to be in a pot that is much larger than it should have, especially if there are few roots.