40+ orchids definitely suffering from root rot. Please help
 

Over the years my parents (mom) has bought a collection of orchids and never repotted them. I've told them that they need better pots but never listened until now since my mom decided that they needed a repotting and so on.

What we bought today was liquid bloom and growth food, mulch, and super airly plastic pots. I have some perlite left over that I bought for repotting my zz plant and peace lily earlier this week.

(1)So this evening we decided to at least take off those flimsy plastic containers and the old medium and realized that we got no fungicide and already went through around 15 ish orchids so is it fine to leave the roots out in the air through the night? I did give em a light misting just incase.


As for the roots, I took off the decaying outer covering of the roots and trimmed the ones that are black along with the ones that are dying. I also cut off the stems that doesn't have any new budding nodes on them. (2) What do I do with the ones that are going from yellow > green > black > green? (3) What to do with the yellow ones which is probably one of the last viable ones? (4) What to do with the ones that have buds and are currently blooming?

(5) Should I go get bark instead of those woody mulch?
(6) What mixtures should I use when repotting?
(7) Is any kind of fungicide ok to use?
(8) How long should it be soaked in the solution?
(9) When should I use the growth food?
(10) Should I buy something that will help root growth and which ones?
(11) I currently have one orchid that has a stem with leaves and new roots on it, what to do?
(12) What should I do with the old medium? Mom wants to reuse them somehow.

Any additional advice would be welcome. Thank you in advance.

Current supply list:
Moss
Perlite
Mulch
Super airly black plastic pots
Liquid Growth and bloom food
Miracle Gro Orchid plant spray

Shopping List for the morning:
Fungicide
Sanitizer
Moss
More of those nice pots
Plant cutting shears

Some pictures: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/oxg5gaiae...2aNPtOSTa?dl=0

The orchid species are something like this but with different color variations (white, purple, yellow). https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...te_Orchids.JPG

Oh and my parents are wondering if they could go hydroponics on them. (13) If possible, what is the procedure?

Looking at those pictures I would suggest taking all out of the moss and leaving them out overnight to dry out the roots. Trimming the wiry part of the roots is not necessary if the outer cover is removed, they help anchor the plants in the new media so they wont wiggle around while establishing in new media. if the roots are still firm they are alive and should be left alone, they may have multiple colors on them but as long as they are firm it means they are alive.

I suggest small grade bark with some larger bark or lava rock chunks at the bottom of each pot, that my personal preference when potting phalaenopsis and similar plants. They enjoy moisture but need the air around the pots to avoid rotting the root, if you are going to use moss try potting them in clay pots to keep them from staying too wet between waterings. Another option is to use redwood mulch, the more fibrous part of it is really good for potting phalaenopsis and it does not rot for long periods of time.

A good fungicide for these is immunox, I forget the brand its associated with, but it is available from most hardware stores with a garden section. Spraying the foliage and roots thoroughly and allowing them to dry out for at least a day should prevent further rot.

To prevent unnecessary stress it may be good to remove all of the flower spikes and allow the plants to recover. They will begin blooming soon after they establish, but at the moment the spikes will slow their recovery down.

The plant with a keiki growing on it should be left with the stem attached until the keiki has a few more large roots. Once it is growing strong you can remove and repot just like the mother plant.

Old media should be discarded or maybe reused in a garden bed, if you have azaleas or rhododendrons they would appreciate the moss mixed into the soil. I would not reuse it on orchids as it may contain disease that can infect other orchids.

How long should I hold off from watering after the repot or should I just mist the new media a bit while repotting?

Alot of them seem fine, health-wise. If your problem was just broken down sphag moss, simply replacing it with new stuff would probably work. Just remember that since the plants were accustomed to near constant moisture, a major change in media will cause them to sulk for some time. If it were me and the current culture is working, I'd go for a fresh 1kg brick of new zealand sphag moss and some new, larger clear pots. This is coming from a practical standpoint. If your parents don't have as much time as you like my parents are, then sphag might be the best choice in this case.

it can be tricky changing media from moss to bark some phals seem to do ok but other just lose all their roots and either stall or die :(

Read the sticky at the top of the Beginner Forum for a wealth of ideas which may help you on general care and on potting media. To my way of thinking, you have more stockpiled in unnecessary fungicides and etc than in the real basics of a quality potting mix, standard pots and a general fertilizer. Air drying will do more good than anything else if the plants are generally healthy and only need repotting. :twocents:

1) You should be okay with light misting.
2-3) Trim roots that are brown/black and limp. Do not trim yellow roots. These may have been deeper in the pot and without light. If they're firm, they're still viable.
4) Remove flowering stems and put in a vase if you like.
5-6) This will depend on your growing habits and conditions. I usually put ailing plants in sphag in clay pots until there are some good new roots.
7-8) I don't use fungicide much so cannot advise.
9-10) You can begin using fertilizer and rooting hormones now. When you go to water and feed, water the plant first and then feed. Superthrive and KLN are both good. I usually use about 10 drops per gallon of water or diluted fert.
11) Leave the stem with the leaves like Unhappykat said.
12) Reuse it in the garden but not with the orchids.
13) Wait until you have 2-3 new roots at least 2" long. I use a shorter container at first if the roots are not that long so they are in closer contact with the internal reservoir (semi-hydro).

So I finally finished repotting most of em but there are about 3-4 that are in very bad shape. One has just one yellowing leaf left and one good root. About 2 has no leaf left but still has some good roots left. Last one is a small one with 2 green leaves but no roots. What to do?

Repot the one with leaf and good roots but make sure it is repotted at the same height it was previously. The ones with roots and crowns can be repotted to the same height they originally were at. The one with leaves and no roots you can take and put over water but not in it. Use some wire and hold it in position. It may take a month or more before you see signs of roots that are emerging. Once you get several roots you can repot or mount it. Mounting will need sprayed every day.

Oh and I have the orchids in the shade outside and it goes up to over 100 degrees here; its fine if I left them there or do I have to bring them in?