phragmipedium root rot from overwatering?
 

Hi!

I have a phragmipedium peruflora's spirit (kovachii x eric young) i got about a month ago. It got some damage through shipping and then the tips of some of the leaves are brown.

It wasn't doing like... amazing so i decided to check the roots, and while some of the outer roots were alive and growing, a whole bunch of roots near the center were dead :(

Just wondering what could cause the roots in the center to all die. Not sure how long they've been dead either. It's growing in big perlite and big bark pieces. I water it every 1-3 days or so, if i see the top barks dry. I read that they like being watered a lot (using mostly distilled but flush in the sink once a week)? so I'm confused if it's overwatering that caused this because if it were other plants i'd guess overwatering. Also i don't let it sit in water.

Any help/ideas would be appreciated! Thank you!!

it could be that you did nothing wrong and it just took a while for the damage to show. Shops sometimes have no clue and will do the overwatering - a month later you are wondering what you did wrong.
Happens more than you'd think because orchids grow so slowly so even damage takes a long time to show sometimes.

The bad news is that roots come out the base and spread out. If they rot near the base then they get disconnected from the plant and even if it has a whole arms worth of roots growing out, they will not be able to perform their function anymore if they have become disconnected due to rot. This is why a soggy area around the stem can be so dangerous. Much safer is to have roots exposed to the damp substrate and keep the center dryer and airier.

If you reseach the traditional way of making a moss mound mount for Neofinetia Falcata orchids you will find that the secret to that designs success is keeping the center from getting too wet but not letting the roots dry too much on the outside.

Roots dying in the center is the main annoyance of most orchid growers I'd say. Getting the subtrate to be just wet enough or just dry enough is not easy and if one gets it wrong the orchid will either dry out or start rotting.
Every orchid has different requirements, every stage of growth too so what might work for a seedlings will most likely not work for an adult flowering size, their requirements change as they grow making it all the more challenging to get things right sometimes.

It would be good to know the specifics of your growing environment because watering and potting media is not the whole equation. Light? food? day/night temps? air flow?

IN GENERAL...... 1)Ecuagenera is VERY good at Phrag's. I just got 6 delivered a couple months ago.

2) if this is your first Phrag.....you picked a tough one with kovachii in it. Beautiful but tempermental.

3) Phrags produce new growths from the base of the plant which means it grows by spreading sideways through its environment. Therefor, the growths closest to the center of a clump are typically the oldest As such, those are the growths that will tend to lose roots. It happens and does not mean anything is wrong....necessarily.

4) Phrag leaf tips will brown and eventually work its way down to the base, dry out and then easily pull away from the plant. Again, it's just what they do. Keep them pruned when this happens but STAY OUT OF GREEN TISSUE when you do.

5) Honestly, Phrag's can't get too wet. By that I mean they can be successfully grown hydroponically if you know what you're doing (I do not!)

6) My first guess based on what you gave us to go by is that it's not getting anywhere near enough water in perlite and large bark. I use a good mix of small bark, sponge rock, charcoal and strips of sphagnum. They get misted 2X/day and thoroughly soaked every 4 days plus natural rain as Mother Nature dictates but they are in a shadehouse in a very warm, humid but windy environment. Hence my first sentence.


Edit- in re-reading I see you did NOT say it was from Ecuagenera. My mistake. The rest of my comments apply to any Phrag from anywhere.

thanks for the advice orchidtinkerer and keysguy!! :bowing

So right now the temperature is around 60 at night 70 during the day, humidity is around 25-35% (super dry in the winter here, it will be around 60-80% in the summer... ). I've been thoroughly watering around 2 times a week, and like squirting small amounts of distilled water in between when it looks dry.

I think i'll keep a close eye on the potting medium just everyday and make sure it's moist. I'll look into a wetter medium too. It's been through a lot of changes and i *think* the new roots are doing okay so I don't want repot it again for now.

Also yeah, this is the third orchid I bought (the first two were dendrobiums) and soon after getting it i realized it's probably a little trickier than what i wanted... ever since then i've been doing a lot more research before buying an orchid haha. But anyways it's too late now so going to try my best to keep it happy.

If it's in large bark and perlite I would water it every day and consider standing the pot in a dish of water.

Thanks estacion_seca, I will try that!

Did you change the media the plant had been growing in? Read this.