| Lisa: I agree with Hummer. The bark mixture is probably too big. I've had this problem in the past. Since you just repotted recently, I'm not sure if it would be a good idea to start over, If it were me, I would. Phals are forgiving and I already lost one due to this problem and not doing an immediate remedy.
One of two things: You're going to have to soak several times a week for 15-30 minutes to get some moisture in the bark, OR, start over with the repot
Soak some bark for 48 hours. Take a pair of sterilized snippers and cut the bark into smaller pieces after it's soaked. Hummer is right, you need smaller pieces of media to keep the roots moist. Usually, the pre-bagged phal mixes have bark that's too big. If you have some sphag. moss, you can cut up a little and add it to the bark, along with some charcoal and perlite. The moss will help to retain some moisture.
I think Mayres mentioned, you may steer into another direction with your media. Gradually, I'm switching over to more moisture retentive media and it seems to have solved this problem of dry bark and dehydrated roots.  |