Repotting for the first time
 

Hi Everyone

After posting on the diseases and pests forum my Phal was diagnosed with rotting roots so it need an emergency repot. I have bought some bark and some cinnamon and my plan is to cut off all the rotting leaves and roots, use cinnamon as a anti fungal and then repot. Its in bloom but I think this has to be done before the whole plant rots. Should I cut off the bloom? Any hints and tips appreciated. Photo of the roots below...

I see more healthy- than rotted roots in that image, so would not repot at this time (in bloom), but would definitely cut back on the watering to let that moss open up and "breathe" more, allowing better air flow to the roots. (You might consider putting it as-is into a mesh pot, for the time being.)

When you do repot the thing, there are a couple of things you'll want to keep in mind.

• After soaking, then extracting as much of the moss as possible, only trim away the brown, mushy roots. If the root has grown well below a damaged part (2nd root from the left), leave it alone.
• DO NOT apply cinnamon the the whole root system. It is a marvelous fungicide, but if over-applied, is a tremendous desiccant that will stop all root growth. In the rare case when I use cinnamon on roots, I only dab the broken or trimmed ends. (Normally, I just let them dry for a day before repotting.)
• You mentioned buying bark for the new medium. The conditions within a pot full of that are entirely different from the moss the roots were in, and that means the existing "good" roots won't work as effectively, so the plant will need to grow new roots to adjust. The implication there is that you'll need to keep the plant warm and very humid after repotting, so it won't be too stressed while it makes the transition.

Thanks Ray. Unfortunately I repotted it before I read your advice. The roots looked very squashed and the moss was almost dripping so I was worried about more roots going bad. I only cut off the rotten roots and there were a lot of healthy roots. I treated the places I cut with a dab of cinnamon. So now its potted in soaked tree bark. Hopefully it will be ok.

Hi hatter :)

Ray gave some good advice, as usual ;)

The description of what was done in the repotting sounds like you did a good job...I wouldn't worry about it.
I've repotted plants in full bloom many times and they have all made it through fine :)

I agree - sounds like you did OK.

you should be just fine. Sometimes the growers pack in the moss.

Happy Growing!
Lee