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Orchid Forum Orchid Care - View Single Post - Help save my wedding phals - limp dark green leaves!
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Old 05-07-2008, 06:00 PM
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Location: Placentia, Orange County, Southern California, USA
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PhalPal is a jewel in the roughPhalPal is a jewel in the roughPhalPal is a jewel in the roughPhalPal is a jewel in the rough
Sara I have never had luck with Phals in bark in So Cal. (I'm in Placentia, OC) Yours are severely dehydrated because the bark is not retaining enough moisture for them.
Watering with a spray bottle is okay with moss but not nearly enough water for bark, especially if you did not soak the bark first. The good news is that you have great roots and with a few changes your plants can be saved.

If you decide to stay with bark, do as Jenny suggested above and soak soak soak it. Pot and all, right now! Use the skewer method (above) so you know when to water and then run lots of water through the pot every time you water. Lots of water is fine as long as the pot has holes to run out the bottom. The wilted leaves you have will not come back but may plump up a little bit. Don't cut them off; let the plant take what it needs from them and remove them when they are completely yellowed and finished. I do agree that the spike needs to be cut to save energy for your recovering plant.

Phals can be grown in almost anything if WE adjust our watering habits to fit the new medium. Spraghum needs less, bark needs more. Keep in mind that watering needs change as the bark decomposes, which is another reason I don't like it, but lots of people grow successfully in bark.

Let us know what you decide to do and we can walk you through it!
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