Yellow leaves - new blooms

[Kathy]

I have a Phal that has new blooms coming, but some of the leaves are turning yellow. I have now repotted it since I got it last year. Could it need repotting since it looks like it is constantly wet in the container?

[mayres]

If the leaves that are yellowing are the bottom one or two it might be the normal sequence of events - most phals will loose one at a time several times over the course of the year and put on the same number (or maybe one additional). You definitely do not want media to be wet all the time - you will end up rotting your roots away if this happens. How often are you watering and what type of media do you have? Depending upon the environmental conditions some media will go several weeks without needing to be watered. Cynthia has a good thread on this forum regarding using the skewer method of determining when to water phals. It may or may not need new media. Bark for example will break down over time and eventually act like little sponges and even compress somewhat - if this is happening you should replace with fresh bark. Sphag will break down as well and become more dense and decomposed looking. You might want to gently lift the plant out of the pot and examine the roots and see what kind of condition they are in. They should all be firm and grey/white (or maybe greenish) looking.

[jerrymeola]

Paphs do not like soggy roots and also do not like to totally dry out for very long.

They need a loose medium (fine bark mixed with pumice and some people add peak) and it is recommended to re-pot more often as much as twice a year.

The yellowing leaves might be normal older growth never flowers again and is discarded by the plant when there is enough new growth. If you think the pot is not drying out then it is probably too wet and new potting medium will help.

I do not recommend re-potting orchids too often but Paphs are an exception.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Paphs?? Phal??

Cynthia

[Kathy]

Phal - I have new shoots coming but the leaves are turning yellow?

[mayres]

What kind of media and have you checked the quality of both your media and roots yet???

[Kathy]

Originally Posted by mayres

What kind of media and have you checked the quality of both your media and roots yet???

I have checked the media - it seemed to be mostly peat moss and potting soil. There were some roots that were dead so I removed them and potted it in bark. The sad thing is that it has new shoots blooming, I hope that I do not loose it. Thanks for your response

[jerrymeola]

Sorry I read the original post as Paphs when it should have been Phals.
It is a problem when I answer these posts at 3AM.

Phals like to be moist all the time but not wet. It sounds like it is time for you to reduce the frequency of watering. Letting it dry out occasionally will not hurt it, but not too often.

Phals can be re-potted at any time unlike other orchids that do not like to be disturbed, especially at flowering time. Re-potting now should not hurt the new flower stems that are developing.

If you re-pot dry the medium completely. You can even put it in the oven to dry (medium not orchid) while leaving the plant rots exposed to the air to also dry. In an hour or two after it cools, you can reassemble the plant.