Phal Root Rot - Now what?

[cluelessmidwesterner]

had been keeping an eye on my first NoID Phal since it was my second only potting. The leaves have been floppy since the pot up but it wasn't improving after 2.5 months. As of late the leaves started to take on a wrinkled appearance but it was still holding on to its buds and pushing out more. This morning I removed it from its pot and confirm what I was suspecting was the problem which was root rot. As you can probably guess it was nearly 99% of them. I've trimmed up all the dead root, cut the flower spike. I have a couple small half dried out air roots left and one or two roots that were bad towards the bottom but were half salvageable towards the stem. Presently it is in a glass with water below (not touching) the roots to give them humidity without wetting them. I want the "cut roots" to dry and heal over. I'm not sure what I should do since obviously the plant is dehydrated but I shouldn't soak it and kill what roots I have left. Potting it up right now doesn't seem like a viable option either since it needs 1. to dry out but 2. it needs hydration. Suggestions other than the dust bin?

To add the frosting on the cake as far as a bad day. Having your spouse yelling at 5.45 a.m. waking you up really sets the tone for the day. The downstairs toilet turn into a fountain downstairs whilst adult youngest son was showering.Plumbers called promptly at 8 a.m. A plugged sewer line the cause. Two plumbers with an auger for an hour. Sighing!

[Leafmite]

What a great morning...been there and it is great fun. Our house reminds us of the movie 'The Money Pit'...it is always something.

Letting the roots heal only takes about a day, two at most. I've discovered that dehydrated Phals can often be re-hydrated by soaking for a few days in distilled water.

[aliceinwl]

Sounds like a horrible morning!

I agree that soaking it for a few hours can help get the plant rehydrated.

There are a number of options for saving it. You can do daily soaks with a clear bag placed over the plant to trap humidity. You can put it in a bag with sphagnum moss that's kept moist. Or, provided you have at least one viable root, you can pot it up. The addition of a seedling heat mat or a kelp based rooting stimulant can speed recovery.

I've lost count of how many Phals I have. But, when I end up with a rescue, if it has at least one viable root, I just pot it. I use a mix that's 5 parts fine grade bark, 1 part charcoal, and 1 part perlite in 3 inch diameter clear slotted pot (once it grows roots you can up size). When I pot I try to position at least one root against the side of the container so I can see color. When the root goes silver, I water when it's green I don't.

I don't give mine any extra heat or rooting stimulants so recovery is pretty slow. They usually stay kind of droopy for the first 3 months or so, but once the first new roots start pushing into the substrate they perk back up. Under this regime most are back to full health in 6 to 12 months.