Anyone please help my Phal?Weird brown spots,white powder on leaves?
 

:hello everyone,

I am newbie to orchid and gardening. A few weeks ago my husband bought me a white phal for my 24 birthday, and I instantly fell in love with this beautiful/elegant creature.

So after a few weeks (every 5 days watering and fertilizing "orchid food"), I noticed that there are some weird brown spots on the surface roots--> http://x1b.xanga.com/e4bf50540313523...z187973221.jpg(I know it means something, as it does not seem green or silvery green as most articles suggested) and the root tip at the draining hole appears to be brownish black--> http://x91.xanga.com/fa8f44511633423...z187974147.jpg

Also there are some unexplainable white powderish substances on the surface of the pox mix, see above photo carefully (the right stone). The white powder does not seem so serious on the photo as the photo was taken after watering. But when it is dry/damp, you can really see the powder.

Also some powdery spots on the leaves, tho they can easily be wiped off by dry tissue paper or even finger tips... --> http://x96.xanga.com/13df77233423723...z187973991.jpg

Apart from those issues, my phal grows healthy and all leaves seem green and good --> http://xd7.xanga.com/d34f92516313923...z187973792.jpgand 6 flowers in bloom and 5 coming.

So can anyone please instruct me on how to resolve those issues? Should I wipe off the powderish stuff the leaves? This plant means so much to me, and I put lots of love and care into this phal.

Soo many questions I am sorry. and thanks everyone for reading this newbie article!:bowing

First off, welcome to our community. I trust you will enjoy your time here and hang out for some time to come. Now, your plant... the roots look OK and the brown may just be some bruising. The root coming out the drainage hole is DEAD/Rotted. To be sure the rest of the plant is health, remove and inspect and repot in new media. The white stuff may be minerals in water. Form the picture, it is hard to tell. Try using some lemon juice and wash the leaves. Then wash again with a damp cloth. Mealy bug can leave white stuff but it usually is located closer to the stem and usually forms white "cottony" masses. And mealy is larger than what you have.
Keep asking and you'll get educated in no time!

Overall I think your plant looks quite healthy. You do have a little bit of root damage, and my guess is that it is from over-watering. The media needs to dry completely (or virtually so) between waterings to maintain healthy roots; your media appears to contain sphagnum, which holds onto moisture. I agree with Doc that a repotting might be a good idea, using a nice bark mix that contains enough perlite or aliflor to allow good drainage.

The leaves most likely just have residue of various sprays, most probably fungicide, on them. I don't think it's from either an insect or other infestation/infection. Use a clean, moist sponge to wipe the leaves off and I feel certain that you'll resolve the issue.

Ditto to the above. Your plant looks pretty darn good to me too. Watch the watering, and enjoy!

Kim

I agree with the advice you have already got.

I think the white residue could be due to minerals in the water, I get that on mine. It shows on the medium and also on the leaves if I have sprayed the leaves, and looks just like that.

You say you are watering once every five days. That may or may not be the right thing. I don't think that watering on a set number of days is a good thing. Instead you want to look at the roots and medium and decide when to water which may be different each time (due to changes in the weather and enviroment).

Look at the roots, when they are green like many of those in your picture then it does not need watering yet. When they turn silver then it is time to water again. Try to look at the roots lower in the pot as well as those at the top, as these can stay green longer and you want to wait for those to change colour as well. Your pot is not fully clear, but looks semi-transparent so hopefully you can see when the lower ones change colour.

:goodluck:

the white stuffs in the leaves are just the fungicide/insecticide. yeah expect some dead roots on your phal... but overall the plant looks healthy... just look for the signs of new growth... you should be eyeing on dat.. and most probably... try to look for a place where its airy... they need a good ventilation. no worries i had my first phal dats worst than yours... it has crownrot and 1 live root... miraculously... it made three keikis... i just wrap them in a piece of foam... the foam never dries out.. and prolly has alot of air passing thru.

with regards to root rot i never tried well removing all of them... its your choice... either you cut all those dead roots? or... a weekly fungicide will do the trick...

give him a root boost... to promote root growth... overall... i love the way your phal looks!