Phalaenopsis Care

[GeoRgeH]

Help please, I have purchased over the last year two Phalaenopsis from a reputable supplier and the first one died after months of flowering, the second is looking very sick. The flowers dropped a few weeks ago, so I cut back to above the next node as instructed to encourage further flowering, but then I noticed that one of the leaves was turning yellow, others followed and are dropping off. The stems were green where I cut but have lost the greeness and no flowers have formed. A similar pattern happened with my first plant. I am keeping the plant in the house and the temperature does not drop below 15C. I water about every 7-10days, and have fertilized twice since xmas. I noticed this time that the leaf that that went yellow first was facing away from the light, is this the problem? I have read a few books on orchid problems and care, but none mention yellowing leaves. I was going this morning to take it back to the supplier, then found this forum. Hope somebody can help.
Best Regards George

[BillC]

Hi George, welcome to the forum. Sorry to learn of your problems with the phals. The first thing you should do is examine the roots of the plant that is still alive for signs of rot. The roots should be firm and of a greenish colour: if they are all brown and soft then you have major trouble. If that is the case it could have been caused by over watering as the roots should be allowed to become almost dry between waterings. Is the plant in a clear plastic pot? What sort of potting media is in the pot? Post the info and maybe your plant coul be saved.

Bill

[fred]

welcome to the forum
here is a link to the AOS Culture sheets please give the Phal sheet a read you can also download the sheet to your PC.
AOS | Culture Sheets
Can you also please go to your Usercp and Update your Location as that will help us with giving you the right advice also with understanding your growing conditions as we have members from all over the world with different growing conditions

thanks

[Tobi]

Hi George and welcome to the forum. Can you tell us a little about your Phals growing
conditions? What type of media is it in? What type of light is it in? Are the yellowing
leaves the bottom ones or all over? And finally is it getting sufficient air circulation?
As fred suggested please update your location and as Bill noted, examining the roots
will be able to tell us if it's suffering from root rot.

[BunnytheOrchid]

As Bill and Tobi suggested, the specific growing conditions will have an impact on the phal's health. If the phal is planted in sphagnum moss, 7-10 days could still be too much water, especially if the water is getting into the crown or not draining well. Light could be a problem if its too little, but more likely it will be a problem if its getting too much light. If there isn't enough air circulation, this will also be a problem in combination with too much humidity and/or water. The AOS culture sheet Fred pointed out is a good guide, so reading that will be beneficial. On the positive side, if the yellow leaf is on the bottom and is the only yellowing leaf, this is normal for phals when dropping old leaves. The phal was probably not reading to flower again; the orchid has to be particularly happy to begin with to flower, and it has to be REALLY healthy to flower again. So it will be worthwhile to trim back the spike once it has completely browned; the orchid doesn't need to put energy into that anymore, and should concentrate on getting healthy again.

Good luck George. Let's us know how everything turns out

[PhalPal]

Something not mentioned yet is that 15C (59F) is at the very low end of the temp scale for Phals. If you live in a cold area and it is near a window that temp will be even lower and effect your orchid. I think it may be overwatered if you are losing more then one leaf at a time and we can help you more once we know your specific conditions.

[patlee]

Hi George, Welcome to the forum. This is the place for friendly people with a lot of orchid answers. Hope you love it as much as we do...

Let me tell you what happened to me recently. I bought a beautiful orchid from a local grocery store (not a "reputable grower"). The blooms were soooo awesome and I saw a good pricetag. Didn't examine it as closely as I should have. So I got it home and it bloomed beautifully for a few weeks, then the leaves started to turn yellow and fall off. To make matters worse the crown of the plant was blackish!
I am very careful not to get water in the crown (the area where new growth starts), but I think at this time of year the poor orchids sit out on a cold loading dock and they are not able to dry off before night. So the damp and the dark and the cold lead to crown rot...While you're checking the roots, give a look at the crown (especially if more than one leaf turns yellow and drops for you).

I hope this is not the case with your phal. Let us know what you find... And welcome again!!

[GeoRgeH]

Thank you everybody for the very quick and useful response. I am not sure what type of growing medium I am using, was supplied with orchid, will find out tomorrow with retailer. I think I have a combination of problems, I am overwatering, temperature is too low at night and I have been keeping plant in middle of room, where the light conditions are too low. It is potted in a clear pot. Hope I can save it! But, I believe in learning from mistakes, so hope I've made all mine. Best Wishes and Thankyou all again, will advise how I get on. George Hampshire

[11Orchid126]

It sounds like a light problem to me. If you can get it in a window where it can get some good morning light, or in a south or west window set back a bit, I think you'll see an improvement. Phals can go for weeks in bloom without being near a light source and not show any aparent stress, but eventually the plant will start to suffer.