Phal w/ Dying Yellow Top Leaves EMERGENCY! !
 

Hi,
First time poster. I've had my phal since this late summer and have it sitting on a table near the window with medium to low light. I repot it in Aug. I noticed about 2 months ago the leaves on the top turned yellow. I used hydrogen peroxide to clean the roots thinking there was a problem there. I also had to clip the roots and repot again in October. Nothing is wrong with the bottom leaves. The medium I use is better gro special orchid mix. I haven't used fertilizers since I got it and water once per week. I took pics of the temp of the sun room it's in. I'm just not sure what to do. The roots were not rotted when I used the peroxide a I just figured it was the medium. Some were dry and yellowed. Help!

Thanks,
Beginner

1. If I'm not mistaken, that meter is reading 35% humidity. Should it really be 35% humidity, that is really low for a Phal to tolerate well. Shoot for at least 50%.

2. Watering once a week is usually not adequate for many orchids. If you want a recommendation for orchids you can water once or twice a week I can do so, but it'll be an orchid in a genus you've probably never heard of at the moment.

3. I generally don't recommend cutting living roots off of Phals. They can get super touchy about having their roots messed with. Phals also have this wonderful ability where if they lose all of their leaves, but a large number of roots are still alive, the orchid can still bounce back and grow entirely new leaves to replace every single leaf that fell off. I've seen it happen multiple times on the Phals I grow, and I can prove it with photos or videos, over-and-over again with multiple different kinds of Phalaenopsis, species or hybrid - it doesn't matter. I no longer freak out when my Phals drop leaves, but their roots are still alive and doing well, like I used to when I was new to the hobby.

So to put you at ease, your Phalaenopsis can easily recover, you just have to learn how to treat the Phal right.

---------- Post added at 08:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:39 PM ----------

Oh, and welcome to the OB, btw. :)

---------- Post added at 08:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:44 PM ----------

One more thing, I'd be careful about rinsing roots with hydrogen peroxide next time, it might cause damage.

Just a reminder, I highly recommend not sitting the orchid's pot in standing water for more than a couple hours.

You said you water your phal once a week, it might be getting too much water. Go by how the roots inside your clear plastic pot look. When they are silver or whitish then water. Mine get watered when they need it, sometimes every 10 days. Drench the pot, keep the leaves and crown dry. Let water drain out completely, don't water again until the roots inside the pot tell you. I would also take your plant out of the decorative pot and let your phals roots have exposure to sunlight. Your humidity is in the "ok" range for a home. I have about 9 phals doing just fine in that humidity. Just my 2 cents. I do well with phals. Welcome to Orchid Board!

That looks like crown rot. You can try to keep it alive and hope for a keiki. If it were me, I'd chuck it and treat myself to a new plant.

Thanks to all of you guys!! It is a little reassuring that the leaves can bounce back when the roots are okay. I will also take the plastic pot out. There is lower humidity due to it feeling colder where I am. It tends to be dryer in the summer time. I just don't know what's causing it to occur in the first place. Thank you for the welcome!

Looks like crown rot to me as well, so the best hope for recover is some basal keikis.

For watering frequency it's best to go by the root color as wintergirl advises. Once a week can be too little or too much, depending on your conditions and potting medium.

I'm also going to go with crown rot. How are you watering this? Are you getting water in the crown? I experienced this with a NoID Phal this summer, it seems some are more susceptible than others. In my case the bottom leaves survived. A basal keiki started, I didn't keep the plant happened and keiki did nothing more. BUT I had never cut the spike off and it threw out a small branch now with buds. Another BUT, there's nothing else happening with the plant itself.

Miss jones, can you take a picture of the roots?

I will do my best to take and post pics .

Sincerely,
MsBiz