Think my Phal is dying . . . - Orchid Board

Hiders25 · #1 03-07-2011, 08:32 PM

I've seen other threads where folks have talked about their leaves being soft & rubbery . . . I have that too, but I think my bigger concern is the growth in general. I got the plant last summer, and last fall I repotted it in orchid moss after the flowers had died. My husband read to put it outside in shady 55-60 degrees to "kickstart" it, so we did that until it was getting too cool in the days. A few weeks ago it appeared to be creating a new spike/root b/c the stem ball (my words) had split & it seemed something was going to come growing out, but nothing has happened since then and now the leaves are super soft. Is it dying?? Anyone who can help would be awesome!

Paul Mc · #2 03-07-2011, 09:10 PM

Without pictures to see the plant and leaves overall, it might be hard to diagnose it. But soft and rubbery is not a good sign, especially if all of the leaves are like that.

BTW, 55 may be too low for phal's to go. 60's is safer. If you are referring to the kickstart as signaling the phal to produce flower spikes, then while it does need lower temperatures it also needs about a 10 degree defrential between daytime and night. Placing it in a windowsill for me has always done the trick. I don't close the screen portion of the window until it dips into the 50s.

On another note, some people have success with moss and phal's, but a lot of people don't. Ultimately, the choice of a medium is up to you, your watering/growing style, and environment. I personally have had far more success with bark and have killed every phal I've planted in moss.

Hiders25 · #3 03-07-2011, 10:10 PM

Thanks Paul Mc! Any insight is welcome, as I failed to mention, this is my 1st phal! Took me a few minutes to take some pics & upload them - one is of my sad droopy leaves (the littluns are the only thing that has grown since repotting & they grew about a month ago, nothing since) & the other pic is the ball stem (again, my words) splitting. I also tried to take a quick peek in the moss and I hate to say I wasn't seeing any healthy roots, more like shriveled & white/gray. Is there any hope?

PS - just realized I can't figure out how to attach the pics??

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #4 03-07-2011, 10:16 PM

Your pics are a no show.

Try and make sure they're under 600 pixels in width or length.

Val · #5 03-07-2011, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hiders25

I wasn't seeing any healthy roots, more like shriveled & white/gray. Is there any hope?

Sounds like your Phal has been underwatered - which is way less bad than the alternative, and can be easily fixed.

The really bad news would have been brown and mooshy roots - i.e. rotted.

If underwatered is the case, you just dunk the pot in water (room temperature, rain water) for 30 minutes, taking care to drain completely afterwards. Repeat after 1 week. At least this what I would do - but I grow Phals in bark. Moss is notorius for retaining more water, for a longer time.

Hiders25 · #6 03-07-2011, 11:01 PM

Alright, finally!

alsorchids · #7 03-07-2011, 11:09 PM

This doesn't look bad to me at all! I tend to agree with Val and I would follow his advice on watering. The plant should be fine, but I prefer bark medium also over the longer term. AL

Hiders25 · #8 03-07-2011, 11:30 PM

Thanks to all! I think I'm definitely going to repot in bark (is it safe to do it now when it's really not doing anything?).
And Val when you say dunk do you really mean dunk, as in the whole pot in the water, or just the base to soak up the water? I did line the pot with small stones on the bottom for drainage when I repotted in the moss.
Thanks again!

Becca · #9 03-08-2011, 12:15 AM

How big is the root system compared to the pot size it is in? It looks like the pot is way to big and no matter what type of medium you use, if a pot is to large it will not dry out quickly enough and cause the roots to rot.

silken · #10 03-08-2011, 12:42 AM

I agree, the plant doesn't look on death row quite yet. The good news is even tho it is over-potted and in moss, it looks like a clay pot, which will breath somewhat. I think you should dunk (completely) the pot into room temp rain water as Val suggested and see if the leaves plump up. Then re-pot into a smaller pot and perhaps with bark. I have had great luck with a mix of bark and moss for some of my phals. But many people do rot the roots with moss and it depends on your growing conditions and also how packed the moss is. A large greenhouse orchid grower just told me that there is a big difference between planting in New Zealand sphagnum moss loosely packed and the way they come shipped from Taiwan in the tight wad of soaking wet moss that you see them in when buying them from big box stores. He said that the moss they use is low grade and so tightly packed in the centre, as many here can attest. So if it is loosely potted in NZ moss and watered properly, it is not a death sentence necessarily.

That split on the stem, is just the leaf splitting as the stem grows thicker. Maybe it is getting ready to send a spike out. It shouldn't be a problem.