Phal problem is S/H, please help!
 

Hello all,

I acquired a couple of new orchids 16 days ago, I cut the flowers off and placed them in water and re-potted them into S/H.
One particular Phal, lost the bottom leaves, they shriveled and today, I removed the Phal to check on the roots and found out that they are mushy and rotten. I already know that roots rot when they introduced into a new medium.

I cut off all the rotten roots, and noticed that there's 2 new roots that are working their way out of the rhizome. I applied cinnamon powder on the base of the removed leaves, and generously sprayed some Hydrogen Peroxide 10% on the rhizome after the removal of the rotten roots.

Should I put the Phal back into the S/H medium in the old pot? (of course after cleaning the medium out), or should I put into a smaller pot to get a couple of new roots first and then move it to the big pot. To hold it in place in the hydroton medium, I will stake it to keep it steady.
Or should I place it into a deep water culture and keep it there?

Here are the pics.

Thank you for your time and help.

http://i756.photobucket.com/albums/x.../Image0090.jpg

http://i756.photobucket.com/albums/x.../Image0086.jpg

http://i756.photobucket.com/albums/x.../Image0089.jpg

http://i756.photobucket.com/albums/x.../Image0088.jpg

Kept warm, shady , and humid, the plant will grow new roots. It's good that more are on the way already.

Those new roots will tailor themselves to whatever environment they are in, so if your intention is to grow them in semi-hydroponics, then repot the plant now.

Just a comment, that pot looks awfully dry near the top. I suggest using a much shallower pot for phals, so the distance from the reservoir to the top is reduced, giving the LECA a better chance of wicking upward more thoroughly.

If the plant is going to wind up in S/H culture, I would put it in a small container with leca and keep it continually moist until the new roots get a little bigger. It might be touch and go for a while, lots of leaf mass to support, but it might just make it. A little extra heat wouldn't hurt.

Bill

Ray,

Thank you.

The Leca looks dry because the photo was taken in the sun, I happened to water it today, and mist the top part of the medium daily.

The pots are 25 cm tall and 19 cm in diameter, do you still suggest I change pot sizes?

Thank you once again.

Either that or drill the holes higher up, creating a deeper reservoir.

The LECA can only wick up the water at a fixed rate. Evaporation is variable, depending upon the conditions.

If yours are such that the LECA stays dry too deep in the pot, make the distance from the top of the reservoir to the top of the medium shorter, giving the LECA a better chance of keeping up with it.

How deep of a resevoir/watering?
 

Hi Ray,

I have been exploring your site and am interested in possibly trying some of my phals in S/H. I saw in your last post that you recommend having phals being in shallower pots and having the top of the reservoir fairly close to the top of the media (LECA or whatever). Is there a particular size that you would recommend for a phal that is currently in a 6" diameter circle pot (4.5" deep)?

Also, in general regards for the S/H watering of the reservoir, do you water/feed whenever the reservoir becomes low? Or do you still do the "wood stick" test to see if the media is drying out as with traditional media?

Bill

Hi Bill.

You can use a similarly-sized pot, but I actually do something completely different, and put my phals into pots whose diameter is equal to the leaf span of the plant. The plants do fine and I don't get aerial roots!

You can do that with LECA as it wicks so well, keeping the moisture content pretty even throughout the pot; try that with bark or moss, and you'll have a soppy mess in the middle of the root mass.

When it comes to watering a plant that is well-established in S/H culture, more is better. I prefer not to wait for the reservoir to become dry, and when I see any pot that looks low, everything gets watered. I have never been pleased with the reliability of the skewer method; observation is better.

Ray- you said that with a plant that is well-established in S/H culture, then more is better. Is there a different watering method or adjustment period method to watering as my phal would make the transition from moss to LECA or PrimeAgra?

No.

As roots grow, they tailor themselves, on a cellular level, to the environment into which they grow. If you start one way and later change, you are forcing the plant to undergo the stress of adapting a second time.

Understanding that the existing roots will not be tailored well to the new environment, they will not function as optimally, and may die over time. Hence the reason that it's best to repot just as new roots are beginning to grow.