What am I doing wrong with this Phal?
 

I have had this phaleanopsis orchid for about a year. It had plenty of wonderful blooms. After all the blooms died I trimmed the spike back. Some time after that leaves started to have this withered look. When wwe returned from vacation I had decided it was too late for this plant and was actually going to toss it when I notice new growth from the node. As you can see, it is about to bloom, and there is a new leaf sprouting too. Can someone give me advice on what I might be doing wrong?

before I can advise you, I need your grow zone, the environment the plant is in=humidity, temperature, light and air flow...what fertilizer are you giving the plant and how often?
did you check the roots? do not be scared to look at the roots and repot it again....maybe there is a ball of moss at the center doing the damage

Looks dehydrated to my rookie eyes, either root rot or watering practices are where I'd look first.

Yep it's dehydrated either from too much water which will rot the roots and won't allow the plant to take up water or from not watering enough. You need to unpot it and look at the roots. If they are squishy they are rotten and dead if they are firm they are healthy. When you unpot take pics of the roots and post them for us to see. Usually people over water orchids more than they under water.

Welcome by the way!

When a phal blooms, it takes a lot of starches and sugars out of the leaves because that is where the plant stores it's energy reserves. It has no pbulb in which to store anything. That can, sometimes, lead to flacidity in the leaves. It has no detrimental effect on the plant and when the new leaves grow they can again be nice a firm. It's nice the plant has grown a new infloresence but that is going to stress it even more. I would cut that off and let the plant regain some vigor. I would also take Wynn Dee's advice and take it out of the pot to inspect the roots. At this time you can tidy them up a bit and repot it. This mix looks to be in good shape and if you can't find any new potting mix, just reuse the old potting mix. If there is a bunch of old compressed spagnum moss under the rootball, please carefully take it out. I use tweezers and just carefully pluck it out. Cut off any noticeably rotted roots. Repot it and water it well, then wait for the pot to fdeel light before watering again. Depending on the temps where you live this could be a couple days to a week. Feel it's weight before you water, and then afterwards. The difference will be how much moisture the plant and mix hold. If you would rather keep the new spike, then water the plant carefully. Don't let it stay too wet. Damp is good, while wet is not. Especially the center. Also a little air movement is a good thing. Helps the plant transpire moisture. Good luck. If you can, please show us pics of the roots.

Oh, and one more thing about phals. They need good dappled light to help keep their leaves nice and full. Too little light and the leaves get limp. I don't know where you keep this plant but give it some morning or afternoon sunlight. Shaded during mid day. If it is in a west or south window, hang a very sheer curtain at the window to filter the light a bit.

James, I agree to some extent but only when they is some underlying health or culture problem. I've never seen this in a healthy phal as they take up enough moisture/nutrients to compensate and the leaves should remain firm. I would say if that is happening either the roots are in poor shape or something is missing from your culture. Just from my experience that healthy phals cope with flowering just fine.

Agreed because this phal is obviously struggling and letting it flower again without correcting the cause and letting it recover will weaken it further.

I also agree with Whyn Dee that checking the roots is the most important thing to do now.

I don't have but maybe 250 Phals including 51 of the 61 species so I'm just a beginner, but I have never seen or heard of such a thing as described here.

Look at the roots. You'll find that you have none because they died due to being kept wet instead of moist.

I think that the roots are the problem. Attached are pictures. They are not real clear, but hopefully you will be able to tell enough. There are some rotted roots and some green. Of all my phals I have never had one with this few roots. Is this normal? When I re-pot should I use just bark or should I use both bark and sphagnum? Should I really cut away the flowering spike? If the root problem is cleared up, do you think the new leaf will grow in better? Also, it seems it's taking this new leaf a lot of time to grow.

As far as the environment: I live in zone 6 (Ohio). The room I keep this phal in has a large window facing SE. I have 5 other phals in this room that are doing well. 4 of the 5 are growing new leaves and all the leaves look very healthy. The room is warm, but not very humid.

Thanks so much for all the advice!

Sorry. Those pictures were to small. :blushing:
Let me try again.

Yeah I think the roots are the problem. They lead to lack of energy/moisture and that leads to lino leaves and the slow growing new leaf. I would cut away the spike as it will hinder recovery of the plant as it tracks energy for the plant to support, energy better used growing roots and leaves to help it recover rather than deteriorating further.

Different people have different ways of nursing Phals with poor roots but what I would do is pot it in the tiniest pot you can (one that only just fits the current roots). I would use bark but I know that's the medium I'm most comfortable with. You might get on better with something else.

The tiny pot is important as it helps it dry quickly. You want it to dry quickly but water often to help it recover. Additionally luke warm water can help promote roots and recently there has been much discussion on seaweed extract helping.

It says, "sometimes this leads to flacidity in the leaves." And it can, sometimes especially if the plant is not in the best shape. Like having root problems.

The roots are the problem. They have been kept too wet and they are rotted. And no, this is not normal. It is a culture issue with your watering. Like I said before most people kill orchids by over watering them than under watering them. It's up to you on what you plant the Phal in. It doesn't really matter what it is planted in it is HOW YOU WATER. And yes you need to cut the spike if you want this plant to live. Blooming takes a lot of energy and you want this plant to put that energy into new roots, leaves, and recovering. Once the plant becomes healthy again it will grow its leaf better. The leaf probably is taking so long because the plant is putting its energy into the spike and it doesn't have enough energy right now to grow a leaf and a spike.

When you water you need to wet the medium well, let it drain well then only water again when the plant is dry. Many people use a bamboo kabob skewer to use as a gauge for watering. Put one in the middle of the pot and keep it there. You can then check when to water by pulling the skewer out and seeing if it is wet or not. If it is wet don't water. If it is dry then water. If your not sure if it is dry enough wait another day and check again.

If I were you and all your Phals are potted in the same way and are getting the same watering schedule I would check your other plants roots too. You want to catch any root rot before it shows in the leaves. By then sometimes it's too late.

Now you need to find the smallest pot you can that just fits the healthy roots it has left and pot it in new medium. Again it doesn't matter what it is planted in only how you water. If you tend to water too much you really should learn to only water when needed but you can take out the moss since moss adds more moisture to the mix than bark alone.

Good luck and if you have anymore questions let us know.

Yes if the plant is in poor health it can. Saying it's not detrimental makes it sound like you are saying it's normal though... at least that's how I read it ;). While the flacid leaves are not in themselves detrimental it is a sign that there is a more serious problem.

Thanks for all the advice! :)

I removed all the rotten looking roots, repotted it in a smaller pot with bark. Hopefully this will help.

I like the idea of using a bamboo skewer as a moisture gauge. I usually only water about once every ten days, but obviously something is not working right there.

If you water only every ten days the medium isn't drying out for some reason. Do you have air movement around your plants? Hopefully the bark will work better. Did you soak the bark before using it? You might find that the pot dries out way faster with the new bark because new bark doesn't hold water like older bark and you don't have the moss in there too. Good luck!

You water only once every 10 days? That actually sounds a bit like under watering, yet the roots you show were clearly rotted from over watering.

I suspect that the sphagnum moss in the pot was packed in really dense and that it held in the water all too well. It also probably suffocated the roots.

If you go to an all bark mixture, be prepared to water more frequently. The bark can dry out in a matter of just a couple of days, even bone dry if the plant is by an open window.


I've made two classic mistakes with phals that I'm hoping you can avoid. The first is not changing the potting medium after the first year. It's essential to do this because most of the time the moss breaks down by then, becoming too mushy and acidic for the plant. The second is over watering. If you go by the surface of the moss, you will be tempted to water the plant when the top is dry but the bottom moss is moist. The moss around the roots won't get a chance to dry out. This also promotes fungus.

The insidious thing is that when the roots start to rot, the plant begins to look like it's not getting enough water, so you add water more frequently... which enhances the root rot! :twocents:

When you've got a bad root system, bark can be a tricky thing to use. There's not a lot of root available to help keep the plant in position. It might be better to start with some bark in the base and fill the rest with moss.

I purchased this plant from a department store. The blooms were beautiful, but unfortunately it was compacted in sphagnum moss. I have 3 phals that were like this. One of these had the blooms dying from the top down. I actually found a blog on this site that explained root rot as the problem. I repotted all three a few months ago, but the one in the pictures was still in a mess. I am hoping the bark mixture will help. Can the root rot continue, even if you remove it and repot?
I have learned a lesson about where I purchase orchids. Or at least to repot quickly after purchase if the medium is mainly moss. :blushing:

That good you changed the potting mix. Most of the time, sellers will overly pack the orchid with moss (they do this to reduce the frequency of watering and to keep them firmly in the pot for ease of moving them).

Bark mix is better, because it provides more aeration for the roots, but it's also a challenge because you have to water more frequently. That's fine for when roots are healthy, but if they are rotted then you have to be careful not to over water. The roots with velamen on them do need to dry out between watering, but those without the velamen will dry out more quickly. I feel that moss makes root recuperation a little easier, but you can still use bark.

Unless the roots are infected with a fungus, the rotted velamen in of itself won't be a problem. But it's generally a good idea to remove all of the rotted velamen just to help avoid attracting fungus. A lot of this depends upon your environment. This exposes the root cortex, which means the root doesn't retain moisture as well. But they still help feed the plant.

There are several strategies that people use to help an orchid grow new roots. Some go so far as to suspend the naked plant over water (e.g. a plastic container), so that it gets plenty of moisture and aeration. But some also find that putting the plant in fresh moss and being prudent not to over water will work fine as well. There's also rooting hormone available to help encourage new root growth. I've not yet used it but from what I've read many people swear by it.