Help! Repotted and roots died
 

Hello,

I recently repotted two seemingly healthy (slight root rot but nothing crazy) phals in a mix of sphagnum and bark and after 2-3 weeks most of the roots have completely died. They are now just casings of what they used to be. What happened and why so quickly? I have been watering once a week with a dilute fertilizer. I now put one phal that has little to no roots in a freezer bag with a pinch of moist sphagnum to see if I can encourage root growth. I have moved the other phal to a dark corner of my bathroom in hopes of providing it with more humidity.

I also recently moved a pap to an east facing window in a higher humidity room and it developed crisp brown spots on some of the leaves. Any idea why?

I am confused because I have had all of these plants for over a year and they have been thriving. Could my potting mix be contaminated. Can Physan 20 destroy an orchids roots?

Thanks for any feedback.

It's possible that you have some kind of fungal rot problem that needs to be addressed. I have encountered some plants with small rot problems that gained a foothold and destroyed the entire root system because I stressed the plant out through repotting. Do you have pictures of the plants that are suffering? It might help us rule out something more sinister, like southern blight.

Another possibility is that the roots simply received too much shock in the transition between their old media and the new conditions. Old roots can't adapt well to new environments. It's always wise to repot when your plant is actively growing new roots, so they can grow into the new conditions.

It sounds like you're taking appropriate steps to try and encourage root growth. Minimizing water loss from the leaves is important, so it's good that you are providing extra humidity and less light to keep evaporation low until they hopefully generate some roots.

I really hope your phals pull through!

Hi Jfrisch

Your post gives some information about how you repotted, but there are a couple things that I have to "read between the lines" on, so if I make incorrect assumptions, let me know. As has been stated, posting pictures will help.

I'm guessing that you resumed watering right away after repotting, possibly you used moist potting medium. You had observed some root rot, but added sphagnum to your potting medium, which holds water. I always repot Phalaenopsis in bark, sometimes with charcoal or inert drainage material (Styrofoam, etc.) but never Sphagnum. It is possible to grow Phalaenopsis in Sphagnum, but you have to be very disciplined with watering. Also, when repotting, I use DRY mix and wait 2 to 4 days before I water, giving any damaged roots time to heal before I resume watering. With a reasonably healthy Phalaenopsis, you could wait a week or longer without damaging the plant. Water right away encourages any existing rot.

Your second question referred to a "pap", not sure what you mean?

Regarding Physan, I'm not sure how you used it, but its a disinfectant. I don't use it at all, but I think that how you used it (concentration, one-time use or repeated application) could either be OK, or could be harmful. Explain how you used it please. I looked it up on the Physan website and the website provides specific concentrations and use guidelines for orchids. Orchids - Physan I assume use conforming to the guidelines is OK, but varying from the guidelines could be a problem.

I think the OP meant a Paph and it sounds like sunburn. They are fairly low light plants and an east window may have been too much light. I have used Physan, mixed in water according to directions on roots and it seemed like it set them back. I try not to get it on roots although other people treat the roots with it. Maybe they need to be rinsed of well afterwards.
I agree with Orchid Whisperer that it may have been too moist of media to put the Phal in. I do use a mix of moss and chunky bark but my Paphs always dry out or very close to it before watering again. They are in relatively small pots with very good drainage.

I am not able to post pics, anyone have a suggestion?

Some people can't until they have 5 posts and I see you have 4.You usually can attach them from your computer. http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ng-photos.html

Here are some tips.

Thanks!

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The roots are alive near the plant and dead farther out. The likeliest cause is overwatering. I don't know where you live, but in most of the US indoor winter temperatures aren't that high, and a phal in a sphag/bark mix might only need watering every 2-3 weeks. Or less!

The plant should recover fine with proper care.

The light brown spots on the phal look like mechanical damage and are nothing to be worried about. They won't go away.

Crisp brown spots on a Paph recently moved to a window strongly suggests sunburn. If it's a spotted-leaf hybrid, realize they are mostly even more sensitive to sunburn than the non-spotted plants.

I cut off all of the soft roots on the plant in the first photo. If the roots are a yellow/tan color but still firm should I remove those as well?

No, if the roots are firm, even if they are discolored, I leave them on. Healthy roots tend to brown a bit as they age, but even if these roots aren't at the peak of health, I think that plant needs all the roots it can hold onto at the moment.

Others may disagree, though.

In my experience with phals, some roots are going to die after repotting, it's just unavoidable, and when you see that resist the temptation to uproot it and just leave the plant alone. It will grow new roots, it just takes time and careful watering.

I'm now proactive when I repot, I cut off many live roots that I predict will die, usually they're the ones nearest to the bottom of the stem and are starting to turn beige.

Those phals you have are no problem, I would just clean the roots well and make sure to remove all that brown leftover root around the bottom and pot them up normally and place them somewhere permanently-- East window is good but they can burn if they're not acclimated, it sounds like that's what happened with your paph. I would put a shade up for a while. With those phals I would not water the whole pot once a week, I would mist the roots at the top of the media and the stem area where new roots are going to come out (avoiding the crown), let's say every other day, or however often to keep the top of the pot lightly moist. If it only had short roots I wouldn't even water the entire pot but once every 2 weeks or more until it put new roots down into the pot.