MY ROOTS ARE ALL DEAD!!!!!!!!
 

what do i do now?

Is this some sort of vandacious plant?....If it is, they don't like being potted and have been too wet for too long....i'd let them dry out a bit, fertilise and water lightly daily WITHOUT BEING IN A POT.....There are still a coupe living roots there i see

its a Phalaenopsis

Yeah I agree there are definitely some live roots in there. I'd listen to Peter and then cut out all of the squishy/empty roots, and pot it up in a airy mix like a course bark. Was it in a sphagnum mix?

yup, it was in moss...which apparently is bad...there is one or two roots that are still alive...but they are showing signs of browning also. I replanted in a bark and charcoal mix...one specifically for this type of orchid. I also made sort of a contraption which I hope will help. I placed a few medal rods underneath the pot on a bowl and set the pot on the rods. I am hoping that this will increase air circulation underneath the pot to prevent rotting. I also put a bowl of rocks and water underneath my contraption for humidity and i have a light fan blowing in the room for the plant. I placed the plant in a north facing room and lowered the shades so it isn't getting too much light while it is trying to recover. I also watered it with a bit of orchid fertilizer. hopefully it will recover!!!

I grow in mostly sphagnum. Its not bad, but its not for everyone.

If your plant has been growing in moss, the roots will be acclimated to an environment of greater moisture and not be as easily able to conserve water. A coarse mix and a fan will dry them to a crisp and kill the plant even faster if you let them stay dry too long.

Good luck. I've saved plenty of Phals from further gone. You'll be fine.

what kind of dressing would you like on the phal salad? :)

I've never re potted one in this condition to save it always mounted or just hung it out. Now I have to water it every day but they sure are happy.

All my Phals ae mounted on wood.....I NEVER have root rot or troubles like that

do my root look as if they rotted from too much water or they dried out from not enough? I would like to know how to proceed in the future with it. I am absolutely paranoid that the bark is either too dry or too wet. How do I tell!?!?

Its not practical for those of us who grow inside in our houses to grow mounted.

Yes, it looks like it stayed too wet. To tell if it needs to be watered, just pick it up. You can tell by the weight if the media has dried out.

Tell your boyfriend next time he wants to buy you an expensive flower that you don't have experience growing, to forget it. :)

Looks like you are getting plenty of good advice in another thread. I'll stop here.

leave it alone for a few days....sounds like you did good potting it in bark and charcoal....just leave it be and let time heal it....it will throw out new roots shortly....gl

I agree with what you've been told above.

Looks like it's rotted from too much water. If roots are firm then leave them, any roots which are soft/hollow remove them.

Let it dry for a couple of days, I would leave it out the pot during that time. If you need to leave it longer (while you buy new mix) then you can wet the remaining roots whenever the green fades (they usually go silvery). If it's not potted then once it's had a few days to dry out you may want to do this every day.

Once you have new medium pot it in the smallest pot you can fit the roots into. I have found that recovering Phals really apreciate that. If you can't find a small enough pot then look for suitable old food containers and make lots of holes in them to make sure the roots can breath.

Potting in a small pot does mean watering more often, but provided it is fully drying between waterings that is actually better for the plant. Some I had recovering were being watered every 3 days in 2" pots, but they just loved it and I really really need to repot again into a bigger pot because they have grown so many roots.

Another note on small pots is that with big leaves they fall over. You want the pot to fit the roots not the leaf size, so I rest the small pot inside a bigger empty one to keep it stable.

Good Luck. It does look like it has some roots that should keep it going while it recovers.

thanks for the advice! okay so...it is repotted in the same pot...maybe that wasn't a good idea. I think i will go buy a smaller one today. My new problem are:

1. the remaining alive roots seemed to have dried out
2. the bottom of the plant seems to be rotting

the leaves look pretty good. they are a nice color green. i watered once since i replanted it, a few days ago...it has one little root growing still. it looks healthy and silver. i have been misting the new root daily...which i think might have caused the rot. how do i repair the problem? thanks so much!!!

Tell your boyfriend next time he wants to buy you an expensive flower that you don't have experience growing, to forget it. :)

i kind of MADE him buy it for me! oops?

actually...what about a glass jar? can i replant in a glass jar?

Not without drainage holes. Phal roots can not stay wet.
Joann

now that you know basically how to care for them, go ahead and make him buy you all the phals you want! taking chances is a good thing ;)

here are some pictures

When you plant an orchid with moss you have to water a lot less frequent otherwise the roots will Roth you have to wait until the moss dries out to water again