Root rot after repotting phal

[Polarizeme]

Originally Posted by Silje

You can anchor the plant with a rhizome clip or with wire/tread that you can fasten by pulling it through the holes in the bottom of the pot.

I've also heard, like Rosie, that roots growing upwards and out if the medium is an indication that the underground conditions are not good, but I don't know if that really applies to phal roots. They are by nature epiphytes, after all.

Trying to force the aerial root down into the sphag will cause problems. As the others have said, if the Phal doesn't like the medium it won't put roots down into it. The one you force down will be injured and probably rot off. Leave it alone and wire your plant in as recommended. Personally I'd put it in a bark mix. The ones I have purchased that have been in moss go into a fine bark mix the first year and then into a chunkier mix after. I haven't lost one yet doing it this way.