Phalanopsis with small purple spots on stem

[Heebs]

Hi Roberta...l can't seem to make sphagnum moss work for me... it always ends up rooting the stem and the leaves fall off.... the orchids l have that are doing well are those that came in medium size bark and i didn't repot them.. they are doing well... but the ones i repotted into large bark.. as medium bark is not available easily... are struggling from their transition from moss that they came in.

All the orchids l purchased that were in moss had completely rotten roots as the moss was too compact.... if l mist the ones in large bark.. that are all in clear acrylic pots with several air holes... they still rot..l dont get it..... but l am still only 6 months into this and maybe the orchids need time to adjust to the environment in my apartment.

Thanks for the info...


Any idea if the my birthday phal pictured above has any chance of recovery?

[Roberta]

Go with what works for you! Medium bark. You'll certainly need to water more often in Abu Dhabi than you did in the UK. Your birthday Phal might make it... there are the beginnings of new roots and the crown (growth point) appears to be intact. But with so few roots, the challenge will be to keep it from dessicating completely before it gets a new root system. That was where loose sphagnum could be handy - loose is important, to get air flow. But perhaps you can use a different approach, place a plastic bag over that vase (open at the bottom) to help maintain humidity. Or utilize the semi-hydroponic approach There is lots of information about the approach in the Semi-hydroponic forum, and also Semi-Hydroponics™ >> First Rays LLC for a detailed description of the method. Many people have had good success with that approach.

[aliceinwl]

You may be having a combination issue of root rot and roots getting too dry in the large bark. There are going to be many ways to grow, but this is what has worked for me.

Make sure the plants are in a bright spot but don’t get direct sun. Get a well ventilated clear pot (lots of holes or slits in the side and bottom): if you can’t buy one, you can melt holes in something like a clear plastic cup or similar container. If you keep the orchid in an outer pot, make sure it doesn’t sit in there snugly: you want air flow. I frequently have to put a rock or something similar in the bottom of my cache pots to make sure there is an air gap at the top. If this isn’t doable, ditch the cache pots for a bit.

If you have a good root, pot the plant so that the root is visible through the plastic. Whenever the root is silver, water by flushing: hold under the tap until the root turns green and the bark is wet. If you don’t have good roots, water whenever the bark looks dry. When you water let the water hit the base of the plant but try to keep it out of the crown.

In coarse bark, in this set-up, you’ll probably be watering daily or every other day. Phalaenopsis are not fast growers, it may be at least a month before you start to see new root growth.

Good luck!

[Heebs]

Yes, Roberta...l would've thought the same and even spent lots getting nz spag moss flown in from new York.. but for some reason, even though sp.moss is supposed to have anti bacterial/fungal properties, l always ended up having mould growing on the roots when potted in moss. Not sure if l am doing something wrong... even tried putting the moss in the microwave to disinfect... just the other day i soaked in a part solution of bleach but it still grew mould while soaking in the bleach !!!

I suspect that having steady day and night temps might be an issue.. infact sometimes we have 22oC in the day and more at night as no one is in the lounge so no ac at night so it might go up to 25oC.

Maybe that's what causes the mould..l do try and keep all watering in the morning but l just thing l will eventually find the balance after trial and error and also the orchids will also adjust...

This is why l am reluctant to put my rootless orchids in moss and prefer to keep them in a vase sitting on top of pebbles with water under..

Thanks for the tips on pots..l use acrylic orchid pots and a hot iron to melt even more holes all along the sides... will attach a photo here.

If my rescue phal buds progress on to become blooms l will post a photo here... just hope that day comes.. and hope the blooms are purple

Thanks all..

[SouthPark]

heebs ..... for the moment, or just to begin with ----- you could look into methods for avoiding root rot and root death. Look into the information here to compare with your current method of potting and watering.

In the photo you posted, your orchid pot appears to have no drainage holes ----- unless the clear pot is an external one.

Sometimes - even with no drainage holes, some growers manage to grow their orchids successfully ----- but I think that, just to start off with --- we could certainly begin with methods based on good drainage pot, adequately airy media, adequate air-movement around the plant (including around the roots and media), good growing temperature range, adequate humidity, good lighting level.

If these conditions are provided, then it will help to avoid the root rot issues, especially if you take a look at those tips in the given link.

Once a few beneficial techniques are known and understood, we can then (if we want to) look into other methods - to maybe optimise or customise the potting and watering method ........ to suit a particular type of environment ------ such as super dry environment may require humidifier or may require addition of spaghnum moss, and usage of bark/perlite mix etc.

Also - 100% sphagnum can be outstanding for orchids. But how firmly it is packed, and knowing how much water to apply, and when to apply it (for particular environments) ------ will decide whether the orchid is going to do well or not.

[Heebs]

Hi Southpark... thanks for the advise... the clear pot in the photo is an orchid pot.. it comes with a drip plate and huge amount of holes and long slits on the bottom...i additionally made more holes all the way along the sides. I will definitely try again with moss... as soon as l build up my confidence... have had quite a few orchid deaths recently so am using kid gloves so to speak...

Cheers

[Heebs]

Hello all.. greetings from Abu Dhabi.
Hope you are all well

Just an update to let you all know that tonight a couple of the buds opened..i have 5, potentially six buds.. it was my first rescue phal project to bloom after many fails and 7 orchids dying...i didn't even know what colour the bloom would be and hoped for purple.. but it turned out even better than l imagined.

Thank you all for your support and the kind lady who told me not cut the spike ad the bloom is what l strive for..

I dipped them in orchid bloom fertiliser every day and let them aur dry without medium.. the buds grew .

These are my first rescue phal blooms.. im officially on my way to graduating as a full blown orchid parent now.

[SouthPark]

Beautiful colours and spots on this one Heebs. That is awesome. I like that one.