NOID Phal very unhealthy
 

First off, hi! I'm totally new to this addiction and this morning succumbed to buying a precious little noid phal from the local hardware store. (Well ok, I bought three) One of them had a couple of mealy bugs on a lower flower (which I've already treated it for) and I thought I had better check the other two out and repot them as well.
Well I peeled this little cutie out of her pot to discover to my horror, nearly all black roots.
Can you please help me? Can she be saved? I see perhaps only one aerial root nub that might not be dead/diseased. I really want to save her.
TIA x

Pics would be helpful. You'll need a couple more posts in order to be able to attach photos.

Hi! Yeop I'm working on that. I've posted in the intro's section so I hope I'm working up to being able to post pics :)

---------- Post added at 03:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:40 PM ----------

Hopefully here are some pics to help someone help me. If the size is too big, please just yell out and I will reduce some more. Thanks.

http://i1346.photobucket.com/albums/...ps548c1083.jpg

http://i1346.photobucket.com/albums/...ps923fe994.jpg

http://i1346.photobucket.com/albums/...psde25bf1b.jpg

Since it has a couple roots, then it's a little better off... When I get a "rescue" phal from one of the Big Box stores, that often have roots that look like yours, I remove them from all of their media, and set them in a cup (plastic, solo drinking cups, for example), with the leaves resting on the rim, out of the cup, and the roots hanging down inside. It helps if you can put some sphagnum moss, or a paper towel on the bottom, keeping it damp/wet... *but not touching the roots!* This way, it helps keep the humidity high inside the cup, for the remaining roots to stay somewhat hydrated... which will keep the roots hydrated for a bit longer btwn waterings, while not staying too wet (like they would if they were still in the moss).

You will need to spray/water the roots daily in this set-up, it may be more, or less depending on your humidity & your temps. Don't mist the tops of the leaves, especially the crown area (where the leaves grow out of), that could lead to crown rot, which would almost certainly kill this struggling phal. If you have any hydroponics stores around (or check online hydro stores, etc), look for "seaweed extract" or a product called KLN, will work as well... These will help your phal to grow roots (but they are not completely necessary! They just help it grow roots a little bit faster). One important thing to know, is to only use the seaweed extract/KLN once every two - four weeks, if used more often than this, they will actually inhibit root growth. You can spray the undersides of the leaves with water, &/or KLN/Seaweed Extract, some ppl say it gets into the plant that way... So it could be worth a try...

In any case, you will need to have a lot of patience, which is something I'm still working on :coverlaugh: Keeping it nice and warm will help it along (dont cook it or anything, lol... Around 82°F give or take 10°, should be fine), and don't let it recieve direct sunlight either.

Also, if you haven't done so, cut off all the black/brown squishy rotten roots, and rinse the remainder of the roots with hydrogen peroxide (the kind from the drug store). As long as the roots are firm, they are good (sometimes, a root will look bad at the top (where the root grew out of), then have just a "string" that is connected to a good, firm root - keep these! And keeping just the stringy root parts won't hurt either, just make sure you get all the rotten parts (skins, velamen, that's dried up/rotted) off. Those strings may, or may not be capable of drawing up moisture to the plant, but at the very least, they will stabilize the plant until it can grow enough roots to support itself.

The brand of seaweed extract I use, is KelpMax... Another member here on the OB, Ray, sells it on his site, & he has KLN as well (I have ordered from him a few times now, and am always pleased... Search the forum for "First Rays" or go to the "Vendor" sub-forum section, Vendor Feedback - Orchid Board - Most Complete Orchid Forum on the web !, and you will find other good reviews of this seller) : Growth Stimulants

Geez... :blushing: sorry for the novel! I seem to type/write more, be a little more thorough late at night... :dunno Lol, not really sure why :blushing: Sorry if it's information overload, if it is, let me know! Maybe I could simplify it for ya...

Thank you thank you thank you. I appreciated the novel very muchly! I have removed the dead roots, it had one or two that still might go alright but I will keep a close eye on them. I have it suspended above small rocks in a pot so that none of the left over roots are touching anything.
I actually had some seaweed extract at home so I diluted that by a fair bit and gave the roots a little spray until they turned green.
Thanks once again for the huge helping hand. xx.

Can you return it for an exchange? Did you pay full price?

Many people will knowingly "rescue" a plant for the challenge or heavily discounted price but I wouldn't recommend it as a starting point.

Hi there Anon. My family told me to return it as well as it was originally meant to be a gift for my mum who grows cymbidiums but I really fell in love with how small it was hehe. I'm rather a stubborn person when it comes to this type of thing so of course I wanted to try and save it. Hopefully, fingers crossed, things will go well. Will admit that mum will probably never get her hands on it now though ;)

http://i1346.photobucket.com/albums/...pscdd98fc1.jpg

The chopsticks are just holding it steady, it isn't putting any pressure on the phal itself, I promise.

That Phal looks in great shape compared to the one I'm trying to save. It doesn't have ANY roots except little stubs. Everything was rotten, I had to cut it all off. I keep putting keiki paste and rooting powder on it and keep the base wrapped with NZ moss. There is finally a promising bump that might be a root and the crown looks like it's maybe growing a new leaf.

Oh and cinnamon too.

Ohh that doesn't sounds good at all Laserbeak. The best of luck to you! That big green root is actually fairly black right up the top but I was loath to cut it off. I probably should of, but I guess I will see what happens with it.

Thanks. About your root, it doesn't really matter what the color is just as long as it's firm not soft and squishy feeling. It might be a completely healthy root.