Phalaenopsis with black roots, yellowing stem-help!
 

I bought a gorgeous phal at a local farmer's market about two weeks ago-over 30" high, six huge leaves, and four flowers at the time. It now has six flowers, though the rest of the buds dropped off. I may have watered too soon after I bought it, though I've gotten better about that. However, many of the roots near the stem look black and have now started growing this white fuzzy mold. One of them feels hollow when I poke it, though the others feel firm. Today I noticed the actual stem, near the base, has a quarter-sized yellow patch, though the leaves look fine. I treated with peroxide but I am wondering if there is anything else I need to do.

I have never had an orchid before, so I'm not sure what it's planted in, but it looks like moss. And there are a ton of very green roots fit very snugly in a plastic pot, which I set in a bigger pot with some fake rocks because I was afraid it would tip over. I don't want to kill this gorgeous plant, so any help for this beginner would be great!

Hard to know if blooms dropped naturally from age, draft, or something like too much water. It doesxsound like you have some rotted roots (black, hollow feeling, soft or mushy), while others are still good (green ones). Often orchids (especially Phals) are potted in very densely packed sphagnum moss, which retains a lot of water, and is difficult to not over-water for most people.

Water when the now green roots become whitish/silvery. Since it sounds like your Phal is about done blooming, repotting it into fresh potting media would be a good idea. You can cut off dead rotted roots at that time.

After you have posted five times, you will be able to post photos, which are always helpful.

Thanks! Any advice on what kind of media to repot it in and where to get it? I've read some horror stories online about getting mold and bugs from bad media.

Also, when I repot, should I cut off any black roots? What if they are only black near the top/stem?

Medium fir bark (for orchids) or medium bark orchid mix - I've found at least one or the other at retail nurseries, hardware store, home improvement box stores like Home Depot (haven't been to Lowe's, but they probably have it). Good quality sphagnum can also be used, just not as densely packed. Coconut husk chips are another option. But fir bark chips or mix are the easiest to find. DON'T get the Miracle Gro orchid mix - it's very heavy and dense.
I usually use fir bark chips for Phals as I really struggle to not rot the roots.

If you get just the bark, rather than a mix, you can add a bit of perlite and/or charcoal (horticultural) .

Soak bark in plain water overnight before using it. Fresh bark doesn't retain moisture well at all, and even after the initial soaking will need to be watered more often the first few weeks then it will after those initial weeks.

I use bamboo skewers (for kabobs) in all my orchid pots, to help determine when to water. Gently twist the skewer into the media about midway between center and rim of pot, or as best you can get to that. Check for moisture by removing the skewer, touch it to your cheek. If there's moisture in the pot, skewer will feel moist, or even just cool to your skin. Phals should be watered when skewer feels cool only, or dry, but shouldn't be left completely dry long. Replace skewer into same spot it was previously.

If roots are black at the base, but feel firm and are green, white, cream, silvery further down, they can stay.

Great, this is very helpful, thanks! Should I wait until the flowers die/fall off to repot?

Well, this morning when I got up there was more yellowing on the stem and one of the leaves so I pulled it out of the bigger pot...and it was sitting in water! The person I got it from said to give it a cup of water once a week, but over two inches of rocks were still under water! How much water should I be giving it?

I looked at the roots, and they look green, though there is a line about two inches down from the top of the pot where they go from dark green (toward the top) to sort of yellowy-green. I can see one or two roots that look like they-ve rotted--all brown. Is it safe to repot when the last flower just opened last week?

Standing in water is not good. It sounds like your bigger pot is for "show". I suggest that you take it out of the bigger pot when watering and let it drain before putting it back in. If there are still healthy roots, all isn't lost.

Most orchids are epiphytes which means that their roots are exposed to the air. Epiphytic orchids require water and drying out (though Phals don't like to dry out completely). The chunks of medium provide air space between the roots to help them breath.

I suggest careful watching and drying out at this point to see if the root rot grows. If it does, you will need remove the rotted roots.

You don't want to water with a set amount, what you should do is just as Carrie has said, take it out of the outer pot and run water though the pot (it can be lots of water, it should be enough to wet the medium well). Then let it completely stop dripping, then put back in the outer pot. Come back maybe an hour later and tip out any water left in the outer pot. Most orchids and definitely Phalaenopsis orchids don't like being left standing in water.

Unfortunately I've come across a lot of people thinking they should just give a little water each week, however this method either leaves them too dry or too wet. They like a lot of water when you give them water, but then plenty of air, which means being allowed to dry out in between.

All is not lost. Take it out the pot and cut off mushy roots. If they are firm they are good, if they are mushy or hollow they are bad. Once you've done that see how much root you have left (post a picture here so we can advise more). Pot it up into the smallest pot you can fit the roots into. I've used old yogurt containers in the past when I don't have a pot small enough. Small pots help the medium dry quickly a big mass of medium with no roots in it will dry very slowly and that just makes the problem worse. If the pot is so small the plant is top heavy then you can still stand it inside a larger outer pot to balance it.

Some of the mushy/hollow roots are at the top connected to the stem. Should I cut those away too? Two leaves are dead and the yellow is spreading, and I am going to repot tomorrow. The medium still feels wet even though it has been over a week since I took it out of the big pot and cut holes in the small pot to let it dry.

Here are photos.

And if I can only find fine or coarse orchid mix, which is better? It sounds like that is what Home Depot and Lowes have for options where I live.

If I only had those two choices, I would take coarse. The fine Mix takes alot longer to dry.

Will I have to water several times a week with the coarse? Also, from my pictures, any tips on which roots to cut? Especially whether to cut the ones connected to the stem near the top?

Okay so I got an orchid mix that has perlite and charcoal in it. Do I need to soak the mixture overnight before I use it? I would love some advice on cutting the roots!

Yes, soak the mix. No, no watering several times a week, that is way to much for a Phal.! I think once a week is average. How often you have to water depends on your conditions/climate. When the roots turn a silvery color, it's time to water. I put wooden skewers down in the pots, pull them out to check how moist they are. When they approach dryness I water and stick the skewer back in the pot.
As for the roots, I cut off everything that is mushy and/or hollow, no matter where they are growing.

Great, thanks! Also, I read somewhere to keep the plant in a dark room for a month after cutting roots and repotting, but mine is still flowering. I've had it to the side of a north-facing window (I'm in SoCal, so always sunny), but the window has vertical blinds so I can make it dark too. What do you recommend?

I would put it a little shadier, but not dark. I don't think any plant would grow in the dark.
Have you considered cutting off the inflorescense to aid the plant in it's recovery? I know it is painful to cut off a flower spike. If you can't bring yourself to do it now, just keep an eye on yor Phal. If it takes a turn for the worse ( hopefully it wont ) you can still cut off the spike.

Ok, I'll probably know better whether I need to cut the spike once I get a better look at the roots. I'll try to post a picture if I think they're really bad. I read on another post that some people mix moss and bark--it's in moss now, should I mix some of that with the bark or start totally fresh?

I don't use moss, it stays wet to long for my taste. I'm afraid of root rot. Lots of people mix bark and moss, or use moss only and their orchids are thriving. I can't advice you on that, I only know what works for me, I'm growing in a cold climate.
Right now I have a Enc. cochleata in pure sphag, it's a experiment. That particular orchid is supposed to be tough as nails. I'm keeping my eye on it and if I see any negative effects, I'll repot it in bark.
I would not use any of the old medium, don't know what might be lurking in there.

Well, here's what the roots looked like once I trimmed them down. The sphag moss was REALLY tightly packed in there, but there actually weren't too many mushy ones inside, though some had black/rotting tips. I did have to cut away some completely rotten/hollow ones from the top. Some of the firm ones that were inside are yellow, though, which you can see in the pictures. Are those still healthy?

You can see how tall and robust the flower spike is, so I would hate to cut it. It even had a second little spike going before the bud blast--should I cut that or let it go?

Any root that is firm is a good root. I would cut the secondary spike, it's just more for the plant to deal with. Keep your eye on the Phal., if it starts going south, cut the whole spike. Most of all, be careful you don't overwater. Good luck and keep us posted! :)

Thanks! Will do!:D

Those roots don't look too bad to me. Generally, if the roots don't feel mushy, I leave them be. The clear plastic pot will help you keep an sharp eye out for any further problems.

It's been five days since replanting and it looks pretty good so far. I can see a few roots that didn't make it. I'm wondering if I should fill it higher with media though because the roots further down are turning silvery green but at the top they look almost bark like. Is this normal? I'm trying to resist the urge to water too soon but I don't want to stress the roots I have left.

From what I can tell from your photo, I would say that your potting level is alright. It is pretty common for the top roots to go silvery and appear to be very dry before the bottom roots are ready for more water (because they haven't dried out enough). As mentioned earlier by others, the skewer-monitoring method is good for beginners to tell how dry the rootball of their orchids are- I personally don't use it (I just use my finger combined with total weight) to estimate watering times.

If your leaves and top air-roots (these are perfectly fine in the air and don't necessarily have to be put into the potting medium- remember, phals are epiphytes, so in nature, the majority of their roots are just "hanging out" in the air) are starting to get especially dry and wrinkly, put it over a humidity tray (you can buy one or just take a shallow dish and put some cleaned river rock/stones and fill with 1/4" water) to help increase immediate humidity.

If the roots IN the pot turn silvery, it's time to water. The exposed roots on top always look kinda gnarly, at least mine do. :)

Oh good, thanks. It's hard not to water when they look like that, but I don't want to overwater again! This is very reassuring, so thanks! I think it's on the rebound.:)

Well, one bloom started drooping the other day and another one today, both on the same side. I did let it sit by an open window one night, and even though it only gets down to the mid to low 60s here in SoCal, in hindsight that may not have been a good idea. That's also the side that gets sun from the same north-facing window. The leaves look fine so I don't think it's the water. It may just be done blooming, although it had new buds before they fell off 3 weeks ago. Should I pull the blooms off or let them shrivel? Would creating some humidity help?

i had an phalaenopsis with this same problem and i used physan 20 and after that i used some of the quick root powder and it actualy put another orchid on eachside so now i have 2. i used orchid hydroponic nutrients and supper thrive. i used half a container of the rooting powder but im sure less if just as efective. i'd recomend going easier on the water. to much water promoted fungal growth and bacteria. my plant had crown rot on top of all it's issues and after i left it out side for dead. the rain and everything. some how it came back from only having a little piece of a green leaf. i highly recomend physan 20. it works great on mold and mildew around the house too

Yes, it may be at the end of the bloom cycle, could be sulking because of the repotting. Keep the plant out of drafts. Creating humidity never hurts, give it a try.

Ok so it's been a week and a half since repotting in soaked bark. Three flowers have dropped and the remaining three are looking limp, even the two that opened less than a month ago. The roots are light green with some darker spots and the bamboo stick is still moist. One more leaf fell off though it just turned light green and a bit yellow instead of wilting like when I over watered. Can I water or should I wait a few more days? Could it save the flowers?

Does the new plastic pot have holes in on the sides and bottom so that the water drains out and the plant gets air to the roots? I can't tell from your picture.

I cut holes in the bottom to let it drain when I water it, but it sits in a bigger pot on top of small river rocks.

I watered it a few days ago when my bamboo stick got dry. I only have one flower left though. When it drops, should I cut the spike back part of the way for re-bloom (as the vendor told me) or all of the way?

If you cut the spike down all the way it really helps put energy into the plant. I've done that with my rescue Phals that really were in bad shape. If you feel along the flower nodes you can tell if they're an empty node or have a bit of a bump to them. The bump can possibly push out another flower spike / branch for you. From what I can see on your pictures I would tend to leave the spike and see what it does. If it is totally done on the spike it will start to turn brown and dry up slowly and then you can cut it down. A few more holes in the sides of the little pot would also help more too. Remember you're trying to be tropical! with lots of air flow, which also keeps nasty little bugs away too. Think tropical warm rains, breezy warm winds. Also if you get water in the crown or crotch of the flower leaves blow it out with a straw so you don't get black crown rot.

Great thanks! I'll just watch it for now. I think I might have had a bit of crown rot before, but I haven't lost any more leaves so I'm hoping it's cleared up. It's a bit black/brown by where the leaves that died and rotten roots were, but I'm keeping an eye on it. I'll cut some holes too! Thanks!

Crown rot can spread quickly. After you cut some more holes in the sides what you can do is set the pot slowly in a container of water so that you are not watering from the top. Then you can slowly pull the pot out of the water and see it drain out. You can then control how far up the water gets to the crown of the plant. Just set it in slowly so the water does not reach the crown of the plant. Orchids usually hang down in the wild and endure many rains but they drain and dry quickly in breezes. We take them and make them grow up right in pots so you just have to be careful.

I would cut off the spike close to the stem, so the plant can direct it's efforts to the roots and leaves. I would also cut slits or holes in the sides of the pot your Phal. is planted in. A box cutter works pretty well for that.

Now it's planted so the top of the roots are out of the bark so I can water carefully, but could I still have rot from before? Or would that have killed it by now (about three weeks)?

I'll cut slits and cut the spike back when it turns brown, too. Thanks!

If the actual crown of the plant - where the leaves are coming out of - is black and rotted then that spreads quickly and has to be treated differently. I have cut off black roots -close - to the crown and they've made it through if the water is kept away from that part of the plant and it can dry out. Phals like to send out air roots too so that's okay if you have some root getting air.

Well the bark settled a lot so the whole base of the plant and top inches of root is above it now, so I'm glad they like that. I did cut the rotting roots, so I hope it works!