Repotted Phalaenopsis

[rosslyn1037]

Hi flexdc ,

Please see my thread for the photos. There are 2 links there. Thanks!

[escualida]

I wansn't able to follow the links you provided, could you post the pictures directly on here?

Edit:

Never mind I saw them and agree with Bill, they look too dry. I started using a bamboo skewer in the medium so you can check when it needs water.

[Bill U.]

After looking at your pictures, your roots and potting mix seem EXTREMELY dry to me. I personally grow in a mix of 60/40 sphagnum moss to hydroton for my phals in plastic pots- they tend to just need watering once a week. From what I have read, once a phal's leaves get very wrinkled or extremely limp, they are going to stay that way. I know that after some of my phal's leaves have gone somewhat limp, they have perked up with increased watering and light.

In regards to your phal, i think that your plant may benefit from having some sphagnum moss added to its mix to help retain moisture. Another treatment may be to "bag" it so that it creates a little humidity tent, to help maintain greater moisture levels to help perk up the leaves, if possible. It seems as though in your conditions that it is getting very dry...

[rosslyn1037]

When you say "bag" it do you mean to put it in, say a clear bag, and completely close it up, to create a greenhouse effect?

[Bill U.]

Originally Posted by rosslyn1037

When you say "bag" it do you mean to put it in, say a clear bag, and completely close it up, to create a greenhouse effect?

Yes. Make sure that there is just a little bit of air that is able to get into the bag- there needs to be transfer of gases for photosynthesis. But the idea is to get the greenhouse-like effect to raise humidity. Something to watch out though is that after creating your little "bag greenhouse" is that it should not be in direct sunlight, otherwise you will end up with a cooked phal.

[rosslyn1037]

There's no direct sunlight coming into my place because my windows face north. So there's no chance of having a cooked Phal. I will either do that or add some sphagnum moss to it. Thanks.

[violetta]

Are the roots inside the pot alive or dried up? If they're alive, you should just water more often and the leaves will plump up.
But as you said that the plant moves in the pot, i'm afraid the roots are gone ?

[rosslyn1037]

ChHi, I decided to check the roots and when I took it out of the pot, a lot of roots were dead, the other half were good. So I cut the dead ones off, and repotted it in the same clay pot, adding more orchid mix, which consists of bark mulch, perlite and charcoal; there's no peat moss. Then I bagged it to retain moisture, like another person on this forum suggested (his comments are above). I put a zip-lock freezer bag over it, leaving it open at the bottom. I hope this helps. Should I get some peat moss and put some in the mix as well?

[Bill U.]

Some sphagnum moss in the mix may help as well to help retain your moisture levels. But as long as it is "bagged" you do not want to have an overly-moist or soggy medium. This condition will determine the amount of moss that you want to have in your mix. I would say do not exceed 25-50% moss to bark mix ratio, otherwise your roots will never dry out and then rot will set in for the rest of the plant as well.

[rosslyn1037]

Hi Bill,

I don't want to keep it "bagged" permanently. The orchid doesn't look pretty with a bag over it. I just want to do that until it gets established. If don't put peat moss in it, and I remove the bag after I see improvement, will it dry out again, and will I face this situation again? If so, maybe I should just go ahead and put the peat moss in it, just a little bit, as you say. Or, how about if I put it in a plastic pot, without peat moss, to keep it from drying out too quickly?