Recovering Phalaenopsis
 

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Hey all

First i would like to say what a wonderful informative forum this is! kudos! :-D I'm a complete noob when it comes to orchids all i know is they can be demmanding but worth it for their beauty! I was hoping if someone could advise me on a few things.

So with out further ado please meet Orcho the neglected and recovering Phalaenopsis orchid! I rescued it from a date with the dustbin :-( A friend of mine had and it was in a very bad way! The leaves were full of wrinkles! looked like it needed a iron. The spikes were so dried out that they were basically wood, so i cut them off after reading some advice on here. But my main question is about the pot. As you can see in the pictures it's quite big and the roots are beginning to come out of the bottom, common sense is telling me to change the pot but another friend of mine said that i should leave it. Is this correct? or will it end up strangeling it's self? also a clear plastic pot is what i have been reading is the best, is there a reason behind this?

Another question is i have noticed one of the leaves has a small hole in it. should i be concerned? leave it or cut the leaf off? Sinse i have had it i have watered it once a week leaving it to drain and dry off for about 30mins before putting it back. it's kept in a room full of light but no direct sunlight and it seem's to be thriving! the leaves are now firming up and you can barely see wrinkles now. Im guessing i wont see any flowers for a long while (any hints on just how long that will be would be great) from it but so far everything seems good :-D

Thanks and looking forward to replys

Louise

Hi Louise, and welcome. Looks to me like you've got things pretty much right so far. I'd leave it alone for now, the roots look great, and don't worry about them going all over the place, they do that. Those spots on the leaves may be unsightly, but they aren't a problem otherwise. As for blooming, it could surprise you, and bloom fairly soon. No guarantees, but these guys can be blooming machines. Good luck.

Kim

Hi Louise and welcome to the OB :waving

I've been growing orchids for over 10 years but only been growing Phals since Dec 09. I've learned an awful lot on this board and my Phals are thriving.

Firstly have you taken the Phal out of the pot at all? Although it looks like you have heaps of healthy green roots there may be some rotten roots in the centre. I would remove it from the pot and check the roots. Any dead, hollow or mushy ones should be removed with a sterilized blade or scissors. When you have only got healthy roots left give it a gentle wash and you can give it a dust with powdered cinnamon as a disinfectant.

Depending how big the root ball is you can possibly pot it back in to it's orginal pot, after cleaning it. Phals like to be quite closely potted with just about enough room for it's root ball. If there are no dead roots and the root ball is big you can put it into a pot one size up but no bigger. Repot it with fresh bark mix.

Clear plastic pots are best for Phals for a couple of reasons. Firstly you can see the roots without keep on tipping the plant out. You can see when they have gone white or silvery and the plant needs watering. Also Phals roots carry out photosynthesis like leaves do so it is a benefit to the orchid.

As for the mark on the leaf it looks like it's been damaged in the moving or something like that. I would keep an eye on it, if it gets any bigger or changes colour I would cut the leaf off but only the part that is affected. Give it an inch margin into the good part of the leaf.

Just a comment from looking at your pics, I think you have a basal keiki. Phals are monopodial which means they have one growth stem. Sometimes if the crown is damaged they will put out another growth at the base of the plant eg basal keiki. Keiki means baby or little one I believe.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Kim and Marion!

I will have to go out and buy another pot fairly soon, and will check the roots, i didnt even think to do that *facepalms* but it's good to know it's in no danger. Yay for orcho! And yeah i just took a look it it now it seem's there is another baby growing! WOW i didnt even know that could happen! So am i correct in saying i now have 2 plants? one mother and one baby??? This is too cool :D So if this is the case how do i deal with the kelki? leave it to get nurtured by the mother plant and grow them together? or will i need to seperate sooner or later?

Btw Kim i cant help but notice your from Reno, so i have to ask. Is Reno 911 true to how the cops really are there? haha but really epic tv show :p

Looks like that phal found a good caring home. If you can, please keep us posted on the progress :)

Good luck with you're new baby, Louise :D
Welcome to the forum!

Of course i will watch this space for progress :D

Hi Louise, if the keiki grows roots of it's own you can seperate it when there are at least 2 or 3 and they are about 3 inches long. You would need to do this very carefully with a sterilized blade. Then just pot the keiki in a tiny pot with small grade bark.

But the general consensus on the board is it's better to leave basal keiki's with the mother plant. The keiki is likely to form it's own spikes and if this happens at the same time as the mother you will get a great show of blooms.

Our 'real' cops aren't nearly as much fun.:rofl:

Kim

Awesome stuff! think i will leave it then :-D orchids kick ass! i think i have spotted a second kelki forming too although it's tiny but it looks like a very small leaf! could it possibly be twins! o.O