Roots dying from the plantbase down?
 

I've seen this with phals and cymbidiums. And, to be sure, I don't even know if they're dying. But it would make more sense to me if roots died from the tip, back towards the plant. How can a dead base of a root continue to send nutrients out to the tip? It makes no sense to me.

The latest victim is a Phal gigantea that it would be a crying shame to lose. Even though it's not a large plant, it wasn't cheap (by my standards).

I don't know that there would be any fix for this, probably if this plant is sick it's a goner. But it's leaves look mostly healthy.

https://s26.postimg.org/q6siztc3d/IMG_4199.jpg

https://s26.postimg.org/tt2xq77uh/IMG_4200.jpg

https://s26.postimg.org/uenb8kdix/IMG_4201.jpg

https://s26.postimg.org/a9tr33jp5/IMG_4202.jpg

Phals and some other orchids can have pieces of their roots die and have spots where they are still allive. Usually the velamen is dead in sections but the root core is still kicking along.

In any event those arent healthy roots. I would suspect it is root rot. In general it is better to pot these in a moisture retentive but airy mix like fresh sphagenum moss and let that moss get bone dry before watering again.

You will want to repot every year because moss compacts over time and smothers roots as it ages.

Clear plastic pots work well also because you can see if the roots are wet <they are green> or dry <silver>.

I hope that helps :)

---------- Post added at 12:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:05 AM ----------

actually some of the roots dont look too bad. I have some ancient phals that have old roots which look nasty, stained and wrinkled but are still firm and useful for the plant.

if they are mostly squishy <ROTTEN> then my original post applies to them though.

Tell us about the potting medium, feeding, watering, temperatures, etc, and maybe we can help understand what is happening, so maybe prevent it from continuing.

They're not squooshy, I already clipped a few clearly dead roots. Pretty sure this never happens when roots are squooshy dead - maybe that should have been a hint for me.

They are in my mix which is about 6:2:1:1 Orchiata:Perlite:Charcoal:Leca, with maybe a cork chip or three thrown in. I water when the pot feels light, which is usually in between weekly feedings with 1/2 tspn MSU, usually in rainwater but just recently switching to 120 PPM tapwater. (It can't be that switch, this must have been going on for a while).

It was in a clear plastic 3" pot with all the holes at the bottom (not the kind with slits or holes on the side).

For humidity, it's sitting on a tray of red lava gravel that I try to keep wet, with four other phals, plus I mist 2-4 times per day. We did have a wicked heat spell over labor day and although they were misted, I was away and so all the plants were exposed to temps in 90s probably if not more (that's in the house! glad I wasn't here for that). I also have low temps that are not ideally suited to Phals, which is why I only have a handful of them left.

There is some brown leaf spotting that has been growing so slowly that I'm trying not to overreact by dumping this plant, since it otherwise looks healthy. I think I posted photos here before of it.

That's the info, but I'm only amenable to simple changes, since my freaking whole life revolves around orchid care (of my other 120 plants) and I don't have the bandwidth to do any major changes. When I started collecting I said to myself, the plants are going to have to live with the conditions I can provide them, and since then they've managed to subsume my whole life so that I am trying my best to provide them the conditions they need. Which is why I only have four Phals left, and they are the only plants that live inside from April - October when the rest are in a plastic greenhouse under a big oak tree.

Long answer, ay? :rofl:

---------- Post added at 08:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:38 AM ----------

Not going to grow in sphagnum. That's a whole different art. I'm sticking to bark, and mounting.

---------- Post added at 08:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:40 AM ----------

(I'm planning to mount this now. I figure I have nothing to lose, and they say Phal gigantea likes to be mounted.)

Do you keep it in moss or pine bark mixes? Those either, are (pine bark mix) or can become (spag moss breakdown) very acidic, and can kill the orchid roots. I am beginning to think that this is a typical way that phals (Taiwan exports kept in Spag. Moss) lose their roots. Also, if too acid Ph, the plant does not use fertilizer or insecticides properly. Orchids do like slightly acid ph, but once the bark/moss begins to break down the orchid roots are in a toxic environment. This is one reason (personal opinion) that the inorganic medium is far better for the orchid. This includes lecca/rocks/various pumice or lava rocks, as long as they do not also change the environment much over or under about 6.5 PH.

Any use of any substance on the orchid roots (in the water) including the water needs to be tested before use.

So if any of this sounds familiar, you might go over potential problems with your culture as it stands now. There is obviously something that is "burning" the roots. This could be as simple as not flushing the pot thoroughly when watering, or also having softened water (salt) or having incorrect ph as a result of combined additives, water, or medium.

Ray is right, you do need to list any causal factors.

---------- Post added at 10:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:57 AM ----------

The water that comes from MMWD's reservoirs ranges in hardness from 3-5 gpg, while the water that is imported from the Russian River ranges in hardness from 5-7 gpg. MMWD blends the Russian River water with reservoir water, so the average hardness of the water served to customers in the northern and central portions of our service area is 4-6 gpg. The water hardness for customers in southern Marin is 3 gpg.

quote from Marin Municipal Water District - Official Website | Official Website

but just recently switching to 120 PPM tapwater. (It can't be that switch, this must have been going on for a while).

Your quote. And at least where I am at, rainwater is about 7 ph, (neutral) which is closer to 6.5 than 4 or 3 of the Marin County watershed.

I would not say that it has necessarily needed "a long time" to happen. A week would be enough to cause that kind of damage.

---------- Post added at 10:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:08 AM ----------

I would actually be trying to acidify the ph by using more things like pine bark. Going from a 3 or 4 to a 6.5 is going to be a combination of a lot of things.

I'd say that switching from rain water to your tap water re: Marin county watershed, could be your main problem.

If you mount it, I would wap some moss round the roots. In the open, moss like that dries out toooty sweety, and it will hold a little mmoisture that the plant might appreciate.

"1/2 teaspoon MSU"

Is that per gallon?

Is that the Well Water or RO Water formula?

Is that powder, or the liquid ripoff from RepotMe?

Sorry, didn't clarify - 1/2 tspn per gallon. I didn't get it from repotme, I think I got it from someone selling it on eBay (maybe Amazon). I wouldn't call it a powder exactly, it has granules - but it's not a liquid.

I bought the formula for rain and tap water, I guess that means it's the R/O.

I either have a hybrid that has been selected for compactness, or a very immature plant. Not getting leaves that are anything like that size.