Should I repot my new phal?

[hbozeman]

I'm with you, Dcchase.

[snowflake311]

When I first kept Phals I too was afraid of repotting because I killed one after repotting. The other one I almost killed after repotting. I learned what I was doing wrong and saved it. With some experience I can repot an orchid in bloom and the plant does fine or better most of the time.

When you repot you need to take away all the old media. You need to remember that new bark will not hold in the moisture packed down spagnum moss will. I do a mix of Moss and bark. When you repot you will have to water more than you did when the orchids was in compact old moss. So when you repot you need to adjust your watering habits. Also if you repot into Clay from Plastic pot you will have to take that into account.

Yes Spagnum moss when compact will start to rot the roots. Depending on how much you water you can keep it from rotting too much or too fast.

[bil]

Originally Posted by silken

Try soaking your bark only Phal for 20 mins when you water. Don't get water in the crown and drain it well afterward.

This is a question I keep asking. I hear a lot of people say this. Here's a fun trick. FILL IT WITH WATER, and then see how long it stays in there. I have tried to get water to sit in the crown, but I can't. It drains away. When you look at them, the leaves have evolved to catch moisture and let it run down to the centre, there to drain down to the roots.

[silken]

Originally Posted by bil

This is a question I keep asking. I hear a lot of people say this. Here's a fun trick. FILL IT WITH WATER, and then see how long it stays in there. I have tried to get water to sit in the crown, but I can't. It drains away. When you look at them, the leaves have evolved to catch moisture and let it run down to the centre, there to drain down to the roots.

I have seen crown rot on Phals and it does come from moisture in the crown. In nature Phals are attached to trees and mostly hanging sideways or downward so they can shed the water that gets into crevices. No Phal is likely growing straight up in nature like we make them do in our homes

[OfLeafandLimb]

Some of it does drain away, but if the remaining water sits there overnight, especially in cool conditions, that's how crown rot gets started. This especially becomes a problem in moist growing conditions, where the water never really fully evaporates. It's where we can't see the water that the rot is actually occurring, and it takes less moisture than you think. That is probably why crown rot is so common in phals.

[bil]

Originally Posted by OfLeafandLimb

Some of it does drain away, but if the remaining water sits there overnight, especially in cool conditions, that's how crown rot gets started. This especially becomes a problem in moist growing conditions, where the water never really fully evaporates. It's where we can't see the water that the rot is actually occurring, and it takes less moisture than you think. That is probably why crown rot is so common in phals.

So basically you are saying, if you keep your phals cool and moist, they are susceptible to rot? That I accept, but if you keep them warm enough, it isn't a problem. Is that a fair point?

[silken]

Originally Posted by bil

So basically you are saying, if you keep your phals cool and moist, they are susceptible to rot? That I accept, but if you keep them warm enough, it isn't a problem. Is that a fair point?

I kept one of mine in the house (72 F) and it still got crown rot. I make a point of not getting water in the crown, but this one had leaves very low to the media and it was hard to water without the possibility if it happening. Not all Phals grow exactly the same as to how well their crowns can drain and since they don't grow like this in nature, it is still important to be careful when watering, regardless of temperature.

[bil]

Originally Posted by silken

I kept one of mine in the house (72 F) and it still got crown rot. I make a point of not getting water in the crown, but this one had leaves very low to the media and it was hard to water without the possibility if it happening. Not all Phals grow exactly the same as to how well their crowns can drain and since they don't grow like this in nature, it is still important to be careful when watering, regardless of temperature.

What medium were they in please?

[silken]

Originally Posted by bil

What medium were they in please?

I pot them all in a mix of bark and moss in clear pots with good holes. It had good roots and was fine till that happened. As it is, I pulled off the dead leaf and treated the crown. It tried twice to make small basal keikis which died, but now I actually have a new leaf coming out of the crown. So I must have caught it before it was totally destroyed.

I could have avoided the entire problem by never wetting the surface under the tap and just soaking it from below. But I have over 100 orchids and sometimes if they are going to get watered, it is on my terms!

[bil]

Originally Posted by silken

I pot them all in a mix of bark and moss in clear pots with good holes. It had good roots and was fine till that happened. As it is, I pulled off the dead leaf and treated the crown. It tried twice to make small basal keikis which died, but now I actually have a new leaf coming out of the crown. So I must have caught it before it was totally destroyed.

I could have avoided the entire problem by never wetting the surface under the tap and just soaking it from below. But I have over 100 orchids and sometimes if they are going to get watered, it is on my terms!

Damn right! Who do these orchids think they are! My point is, I am trying to establish what if any is the link to crown rot. Is it the case that there is a common denominator that predisposes them to crown rot for example?