At last it's growing roots - Sick Phal Update

[RosieC]

So what first brought me to Orchid Board was my sick Phal. Thanks to everyone who has helped on the various posts about it.

Of course the big up-side was I have loved every minute of being here, especially all the wonderful orchid pics which I seem to spend hours every day looking through. I would not have found this place, except for this Phal

Anyway, here is an update, and hopefully an encouragement for anyone who has lost most of their roots. It's still by no means a healthy Phal, but it's grown some roots in the last few months

(click on pics to enlarge them)




They might not look like much, but at the beginning of Jan (6 months after I first noticed it was sick) it had just two roots, the outer old looking two.

Now there are five new ones the shortest of which (poking out from the back of the top pic) is over half an inch long. I have also noticed today a new root nubbin coming from the body of the plant just above where I previously stopped it spiking, and another root nubbing branching from the longest of the new roots (on the right of the pic).

The oldest two leaves are very wrinkled and floppy and have been for months, I'm amazed they have clung on so long. But the inner two leaves (which have grown since it got sick) are stong and firm. There is also just the very point of another new leaf starting to show in the last week.

Of course yet again this plant is waisting it's energy and trying to spike again. I won't let it, and as soon as the spike is long enough to remove without damaging the plant I will.

One concern currently is that the healthy leaves are very dark and red, and grew that way. This was always a dark leaved Phal (flowers are purple) but it has got reder and reder since it lost it's roots :

[RosieC]

I forgot to say that I put the root growth mostly down to watering with warmish water.

I am also using KLN but the first signs of new root growth started before I started using that, after I started with the warmish water.

I'm also folowing what I think is an unusual pattern with this one, which seems to be working.

Once a week (roughly) I un-pot it, as it's roots are small it's quite easy to tap out the bark and remove the plant. I then spread out the bark to ensure it dries out. Meanwhile I soak the plant (roots and up to the base of the plant) in a bowl of slightly warm water and usually with KLN in it. I soak the plant for about an hour, and usually let the bark dry for at least three hours. I then pot it back up and water it by running slightly warm water through the pot.

This started because try as I might I could not pot this up in a small enough amount of bark for the bark to dry as quickly as the plant needs more watering, because the leaves have gone even more limp. (I have packing peanuts in the base of the pot to try and reduce it as much as I can).

I have been doing this since the end of last year, before any roots were starting to show, and it seems to be keeping the bark drying out enough and the plant watered enough.

[Blueszz]

Good growing!
Be careful not to damage the root tips, as it might cause them to stop growing!

Please keep us updated! It's always nice to read that nursing back to health can be successful!

Nicole

[lostonthebeach]

Thanks for the update. It looks like all your hard work has paid off.

[Kath]

I wished I'd read this a few months ago. I had a very sick phal gigantea, and I've managed to kill it off! I had practically no roots on it, and didn't know how to care for it. Obviously I did the wrong thing, but will know next time round!

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by Blueszz

Be careful not to damage the root tips, as it might cause them to stop growing!

Yes, that is something I've been very careful of. I have knocked one off back when it was first sick and I was really anoyed at myself.

I always have to remember to cut my nails before handling orchids or I find I have dug a nail in somewhere without noticing.

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by Kath

I wished I'd read this a few months ago. I had a very sick phal gigantea, and I've managed to kill it off! I had practically no roots on it, and didn't know how to care for it. Obviously I did the wrong thing, but will know next time round!

Keep reading OB Kath, everyone here has been really helpful for me with this one, because I had no clue what to do when if first got sick.

One thing to be aware of is that when there are very few roots you need to pot it in a very small amount of bark, otherwise the bark stays wet too long even when the roots have dried out.

In my case I could not use a small pot as the spread of the roots was too wide. I put an upside down yogurt pot with slits cut in it, inside the bottom of the pot. I then used packing peanuts surrounding that to fill out the space. Then there is a layer of bark just deep enough to contain the roots. It still dries a bit too slowly, hence taking it out each week.

[Blueszz]

;-) It happened to me too once, that is why I warned you. Now it's growing such nice roots you don't want them to get damaged.

You are a good orchid mom if you cut your nails first before you pamper orchids.

[nenella]

Well done Rosie! keep us posted as interesting to followyour progress.