Phal Trouble...

[peacephal]

I recently got a Phalaenopsis Taisuco Bridian for my room that I've been having some concerns about. I've had it for a little over a month now and have been watering it every 6 days, and keeping it inside. The first week, it sprouted 2 more flowers, which was really exciting, however the next week two of the flowers (not the new ones) stems turned yellow and when I touched them, pretty much feel off. A little after that, two or three of the leaves turned yellow, as did the remaining two buds. If you have any idea whats wrong, or what it means, that would be great if you could help.
Thanks so much!
P.S. I've never done any kind of gardening, or had an orchid before, so simple non-technical help would be great.

[Ellen]

If the plant was in flower when you got it and the old flowers fell off, it's likely that they had just been blooming a long time and had reached the end of their life. This is normal. If the buds turned yellow and fell off, there are a lot of possible causes. It could be stress from moving the plant from a greenhouse or store to your house. It could be a big change in temperature, too much sun, too much or too little water ... However, if many of the leaves are suddenly turning yellow, you might want to check the roots. Carefully pull the plant out of the pot - don't be afraid, because it won't hurt it - and look at the roots. If they're whitish or greenish colored and firm, the plant's in good shape, so put it back. If they're brown or black and soft, you've probably been overwatering, or they had overwatered it in the store where you bought it and caused root rot, which is just causing symptoms now. If the roots are bad, cut off all the rotted roots and repot in fresh medium. Right after repotting, water with a SuperThrive solution and then let the plant dry out completely before watering again. I hope your plant's roots are fine and all this advice is unnecessary.

[peacephal]

Thanks you very much, I actually entirley forgot to mention, but I also noticed earlier that the roots seemed kind of werid, with the outer part coming off. Also, there seems to be somthing else growing in the pot, maybe moss?
I'll re-pot it and cut off all the roted roots, btu also, how much should I water it, what sould I plant it in, and what size pot.
Thanks so much!

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Keep the pot small. Do a search on 'skewer'. This is a method of testing the moisture in the pot with a wooden or bamboo barbeque skewer. Cynthia

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Hi Abby. You say your plant has lost 3 leaves. How many leaves are left on the plant and are the lost leaves the lowest leaves? Some times a change in environment causes the plant to rearrange itself to handle the new conditions, which sometimes involves a reduction in the number of leaves, sheding bottom leaves, and/or the termination of blooming. However, there is also the possible problem of unseen insects. If the problem seems to be spreading to more recent leaves, then it would indicate insect damage. If you suspect insect damage, check out the instructions in this thread for neem oil use. White, Dusty Splotches on leaves? . Cynthia

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Abby, here is my latest work on the use of skewers.
Skewer use for watering of orchids
Cynthia

[peacephal]

no it wasnt the lowest leaves, it was a few random ones, and they didnt fall off, the outer rims started turning yellow (about an inch in) so i took them off, which may or may not have been a good idea.

[philliptan]

Sounds like a fungal attack? My Taiwanese phals did the same and now all of them have suffered the same condition and died. All the leaves basically rots off the plant. Decided not to get any more phals...

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Is the problem continuing? Or are the remaining leaves keeping their color. If any more leaves start to turn yellow on the edges, don't cut them off. It could be an insect problem. If it is getting worse, see if you can find someone with a digital camera. If you can't up load the pictures, you can send them to me directly. Cynthia

[peacephal]

i have a digital camera, and will take pictures if it gets worse. last night i re-poteded it in a larger pot with finer soil and when i took it out of its original por, there was lots of moss in the roots, which i took out, and i cut off all the roots with black on them or colapsing, but there are still maybe.. 6 healthey roots left, a few of which seem pretty strong, and then i gave it a little water (dont worry i'll let it entirely dry using skewer before the next watering).

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Sounds like it is in good shape. How many leaves does it have left? Cynthia

[peacephal]

I'm not positive, since its not with me, but I think 3 big ones and 2 little ones.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

That is probably enough leaf area. I think the amount of leaf these plants need depends on light levels, and the same for roots. Harry Phillips of Andy's Orchids always talks about how stick mounted orchids always have such large root systems. And my comment to my husband, who has no interest in orchids, but was impressed by that statement, was that orchids grown in pots don't need such large roots systems. Cynthia

[peacephal]

Actuallly, only 2 big ones and 2 small ones, as it turns out. Ha, yeah, theres not many roots either. Would putting it in better light be a good idea?

[Ellen]

I'd go easy on the light if I were you - you don't want to add sunburn to the list of things wrong with your phal. Now that you've repotted it, it's probably best to just leave it alone and see what happens.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Ellen is right. Stressed orchids need less light for awhile. Being in relatively high light speeds up everything, like water loss through the leaves, growth that requires good roots, just a lot of things the plant can't handle yet. Let the plant grow slowly for awhile. Cynthia

[peacephal]

okay cool, also, should i use any kind of feed or anything when i water? (which will be in a long time, once the skewers dry)

[Ellen]

I noticed in an earlier post you said you put it in "finer soil". You didn't use potting soil, did you?

[gerneveyn]

A little Superthrive with the water will help the plant in growing new roots.

[peacephal]

yeah, i did.. oh dear. should i repost it in somthing else? if so what? and when? gosh i really am not very knowlageable about this.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Well, if you have been carefull with the watering, you may not have done any damage. The reason we do not use regular potting mix is that some of them hold too much water and take too long to dry out. But, not all potting mixes are so heavy. The good news is that potting mix is very easy to wash out of the roots of your plant without doing any damage, what little roots you have. Use a gentle spray or jet from a hose to wash it out. I would recommend a bark mix, either a medium bark straight, or a mix that also contains perlite and charcoal. But, avoid any mix that has very fine bark bits or peat moss as this would be a semi-terrestrial mix. You want the epiphyte mix, which is more airy. Just remember, that to get this mix wet, you will have to give it a good soaking, and running it round and round under the faucet for a while works pretty good. Infact, you may want to do this, wait a 1/2 hour, and then give it just a little more doucing. Cynthia

[peacephal]

so i should re-pot it? is it okay to leave it in soil, as long as im caful with watering, or not?
thank you again!