Worried about Phal with floppy leaves
 

A month ago I bought an orchid for a friend of mine. I got it from Lowe's in good shape and repotted it into Better-Gro mix (bark, charcoal, perlite) in a clear pot with holes, then put that into a decorative pot also with holes. I told her to water when dry by running water into the clear pot at the sink.

Now I'm plant sitting for the friend, and the poor orchid's leaves are striated and floppy. According to my friend (who is much better with plants than me, but hasn't had orchids before), she waters as I described twice a week, which is about what I do for my phals potted in the same way. I poked around and the roots still look fine (not amazing, but they green up when watered).

Is this likely to just be underwatering? I'm surprised that it could take effect so quickly and dramatically, and also that the plant still has most of its blooms. I know "fusarium" gets thrown around a lot, but I admit I'm a little worried. :(

For now I'm keeping the plant away from my collection and I gave it water and some KelpMax, since I figure if it's dehydrated a few new roots wouldn't hurt.

That plant is SCREAMING for water. I rarely advise soaking a plant but in this case I'll make an exception. In a clean container, about a gallon in capacity, run enough water, which is slightly above room temperature, to completely soak all media in the pot. Mix in about two teaspoons of sugar (yes, I said that), and soak the pot for about 30 minutes. Let the plant have shade for a couple of days, and carefully monitor the media. Just the moment it gets dry about an inch into the media, water again.

What does the sugar do? I haven't heard of that before, inquiring minds want to know :lol:

Yes I want to know too. I have heard of adding honey to the water for struggling vandas and glucose for struggling phals so I am guessing the sugar may be a little pick me up for phals?

I'm wondering if you had presoaked the medium mix prior to repotting it before gifting it to your friend? I've made that mistake in the past and the result was similar to this. Since then I soak my mixes (which now include Orchiata) overnight prior to using it.

Thanks, jkofferdahl! I gave the plant a soak as directed, and the upper leaves actually seem a bit more turgid (though obviously they'll never be unwrinkly). I am also curious about the sugar.

greenpassion, I did not presoak the medium - I've never done it when repotting and haven't had trouble with my own phals, but you may be right that this was the problem. I suspect I tend to give newly repotted plants a bit more frequent water than usual without really thinking about it.

Would be great if someone who actually knows the answer on the sugar (in addition to the fact that it works) will chime in. I wonder if it creates a little osmotic pressure (so that the water is "pushed" into the roots) Also, it's getting some soluble carbs into the plant (yes, they make their own carbs by photosynthesis, but this is a bit of a boost)

My understanding is that the sugar gives the plant a short but strong energy boost, and helps it absorb water a little more quickly.

The situation with the fastest diffusion of water into a plant is that of distilled water. Sugar in the external water would reduce the osmotic effect because it would bring the external water closer in osmolality to the internal water.

Many plant friends soak bare-root plants in a sugar solution before planting them, but nobody has been able to point me to something suggesting why it is a good idea.

Pay attention to this. It is important.

I will add the terms:

1) hypotonic solution
2) isotonic solution
3) hypertonic solution

Each of these three have different effects on a cell.

A) Hypotonic solutions allow more water to enter a cell so that it either becomes swollen or explodes.

B) Isotonic solutions maintain osmotic balance in a cell.

C) Hypertonic solutions draw water out of a cell making the cell shrivel.

These are principles that are good to understand. I'd learn their definitions and the concepts behind the explanation of what they are and do.

One more term for the books would also be diffusion.

Orchid mixes, unlike other potting mixes, should be pre-soaked before adding the plant. They're usually bone-dry otherwise, and it can be difficult to get water to soak into bone-dry orchid media via regular watering.

Not too self-important, are we?

By the way, those are phrases and not terms. I don't need to understand your folderal to know that.

King, I apologize that I have not looked up your terms, other duties call. However, I did remember reading this in Henry Jaworski's book, Orchids Simplified: " But when orchids arrive desiccated, with roots that appear to be lifeless, I soak the entire plant in a mild solution of sugar and water for a day. This seems to work better than plain water. Then I put the orchids in an enclosed propagator shaded from direct sunlight. The plants rest on a bed of moistened sphagnum moss."

Alas, Mr Jaworski's doesn't explain why.

No idea on whether the sugar helps or not. I have not tried it.

For seriously dehydrated plants, I do soak the roots, half hour to an hour each time, drain in between. I often do this when the plant is bare root.

I have a few Phals I grow this way full time now (vase culture, similar to Vandas). I get some crazy massive root systems. These are NOIDs I am experimenting with. Jury is still out on whether this will produce good spikes.

If you live somewhere that is humid and gets prolonged rainstorms, nothing beats leaving the plant out in a slow, soaking rain.

Plants control entry of some ions and dissolved molecules into roots. Other ions and molecules flow in with water. Osmotic effects depend only on solutes that do not move freely across plant roots, so the soluble ions and molecules must be specified before osmotic effects can be predicted.