Phal with spotted, brittle roots

[nicole.pryt]

Hello everyone!

This is my first time posting so I'm sorry if this isn't the right place for this question.

Anyway, I've had this phal for just over a year and until now I haven't had any issues that a quick search couldn't solve. It's currently sitting in an east window and just finished growing a new leaf. It's potted in bark and I fertilize once a month with a 25-10-10 fertilizer when it's not in bloom and 15-30-15 fertilizer when it is. I usually have to water it every 7-10 days.

Over the last couple of weeks the roots have started to look very dull and have developed these brown, almost burned looking patches. They're still firm however they feel brittle and dry. I've been watering roughly every 4 days because it's drying up so quickly. The leaves are still very firm (although they do have some cold damage from last spring).

The only thing that has changed in regards to my phal's environment/care that I can think of is that my furnace has been running A LOT lately and the air in my house is very dry. I'm not sure if the dry air is contributing to this or if the roots are really even a problem.

Any advice would be greatly appreciate!

[Miss_Cat]

Hi Nicole,
Hard to be a 100% sure. Your plant looks healthy but your medium and the roots look pretty dry. If you have to water every 4 days in the winter your orchid would definitively benefit from being placed on a humidity tray.
Fertilizer burn comes to mind when looking at the brown patches on the roots. Have you tried watering without fertilizer every 3rd or 4th watering? If you soak your plant in the sink with abundant tepid water it will wash off the accumulated salts. I also add a little sphagnum to the bark mix for my Phals. and it helps retain humidity around the roots a little longer.
I hope his helps.

[SHag42]

Hi Nicole,

Your phal looks very healthy. Heat can be hard on orchids. Cat is right they do look like they may have some fertilizer burn. I would first flush the pot well with water in the sink then When you water you may want to try letting the pot soak for a while. If the bark gets to dry it is very hard to rewet. You can also put some sphagnum moss on top of the bark to retain some moisture longer. And I do think I would hold off on the fertilize for a couple of weeks and let the roots rest. When you do go back to fertilizing water the plant well with plain water, let set for 15 to 20 min. then water with the fertilizer. It will be less likely to burn the roots that way. I am a beginner myself so hopefully someone more experienced can give you some other suggestions. Good luck with your orchid and welcome to the board.

[reliablefool]

The roots look fairly normal to me for being potted in bark. I think the tannins in the bark can stain the roots...if I'm remembering correctly. The lower humidity due to running a furnace all the time could definitely contribute to the dry/brittle feel and the need to water more often.

[Optimist]

How much fertilizer? I believe that now a days orchid folks are talking about non-urea fertilizer. Also very weak amounts.

[nicole.pryt]

Thank you all for the helpful advice! I will definitely hold off on the fertilizer for awhile and set up a humidity try

[Dendy83]

Yes, I agree with fertilizer burns. If you use too much fertilizer or soak it too long then they'll get fertilizer burn. I would suggest soaking in regular tap water for a little while to see if that helps. If not, then it may be your water. They add so much stuff to tap water that it is possible it's also your water. Ideally you would need to set out some water at least overnight to let stuff evaporate. When you fertilize use very little, hence the "water weekly-weakly."