"New" Orchid
 

I unpotted an orchid I purchased from the grocery store in January. I repotted it from a sphag core and put it in bark and clay balls. It had gorgeous roots and I could see them on the side of the pot. I watered it every seven days. I was in probably a 5" pot.

I could tell recently that the roots were getting too dry. Today when I took it out today, 95% of the roots were brown and hollow. A few tips were green but attached to hollow ones. The medium was dry. I clipped off all the dead and put it in a smaller pot. Will water it now and my other smaller ones every five days. I feel like I am getting there but this watering thing has me confounded. Thought about semi hydroponic but don't have any pots for that. Ugh; for something that is one of my only hobbies, I am not doing so great. It is discouraging.

At first as with any new repot where bark is included (especially the chunky stuff) you need to water a bit more frequently, perhaps 2 times per 7. As the bark begins to break down it will naturally retain moisture to transfer to your plant and allow longer periods between Watering. Watering can be tricky, other factors such as your growing conditions, ambient temperature, light etc... But once you get it you'll be growing like crazy! I think you did well by trimming and repotting. Just monitor and give it time.

I’ve found when cutting off roots, even cutting the brown squishy ones can set a plant back if they still have live sections. I think the core is still carrying water back to the plant. You might see some short term leaf droop.

How are you watering? I’ve found doing a five minute weekly soak hydrates the bark and roots better than just letting water run through. I’d also suggest going to the beginner forum and looking at the sticky about using skewers to monitor in pot moisture. This really helped me calibrate and I still have them in pots where I overpotted so that I can monitor moisture levels better and not overwater.

I’d also second having to up the watering frequency with new bark (the skewer can make sure you don’t go too far). So far my Phals have been very forgiving: they’re slow to recover but also slow to sicken so you have time to fix things. If you’re able to baby the plant a bit (closely monitor when it needs to be watered) it should bounce back.

---------- Post added at 11:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:06 PM ----------

I would also add, depending on factors like substrate, pot size, temperature, and humidity you may have to adjust your watering schedule. I have some Phals I overpotted that I water every 10 days while some that I have in small pots need water every 3-4 days. The skewers can really help take out some of the guess work.

I think you cut off a lot of live roots. It can be hard to tell sometimes. I might suggest not cutting off any roots when you repot. There are almost no situations when leaving dead roots on the plant at repotting will cause trouble. I no longer cut off roots when I repot.

Depending on how warm you keep your house in winter, you might need to be watering more. Fresh bark and clay balls do not retain much water at all. As bark ages it will hold more and more water, but repotting into fresh bark usually means you have to increase watering frequency.

I don't cut off roots either. I don't re-pot as much as all that either because I mostly use inorganic medium. Someday, I would love to see the science behind repotting, especially the benefits of removing roots.