White flakes/scales on Phal roots?

[vlhart]

Has anyone seen this before? I noticed some strange white fuzziness on this phal's roots a few weeks ago. Kind of hard to get a photo of it, but this white scaley fuzzy stuff is on a lot of the roots. It almost looks like freezer burn.

Otherwise the phal is pretty healthy. Lots of new root growth since repotting in May. Two new leaves this summer both look good. The three oldest leaves look slightly desiccated despite a solid watering routine, so I wonder if that's related.

Let me know your thoughts!

[ryrycochinco]

Looks like a normal, healthy root.

[dounoharm]

possibly some issues with your water quality....check in to that....and flush the pot with bottled water or RO water....

[fishmom]

It looks like salt deposit from fertilizer or excessive salts in the water. You will need to do substantial flushing to get rid of all that. How much are you fertilizing?

[vlhart]

How strange. I've fertilized this guy maybe 3x this year. I flush the pot quite frequently--1x a week or 1x every 2 weeks.

Water is NYC city water. None of my other phals have anything similar. But I'll keep trying to flush it out. Thanks!

[fishmom]

Well, maybe not fertilizer then. Does it feel solid and rough when you touch it? Salts will feel grainy to the touch.

[vlhart]

It's actually quite fuzzy when I touch it, and it doesn't scrape off easily.

[camille1585]

I vaguely remember having something like that on one of my Phals some years ago. As it was only one plant, I didn't get too worried about it, especially as the plant was otherwise very healthy and didn't seem negatively affected by it. It looks like some sort of physiological issue, something like the very outer velamen layer growing out of control.

[katrina]

I think it's just the velamen (spongy layer) on the roots expanding and growing. I've seen this on a few of my catts from time to time. I wouldn't worry about it.

[dangerouseddy]

I think some roots go fuzzy or hairy to get a better grip on whatever they're trying to cling to.