needs some advice on my phals

[ewbie]

hi there! I have attached some pictures. hope someone could help me with these phals. I got the three young ones last september and the one with the spike a month ago.
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this one has three leaves. i saw the top leaf was cut and kind of soft on it but the leaf was still green. i thought my helper was watering it too much. but later on the second leaf turned yellow and soft at the axil so i pulled it. when i did i saw so many tiny creatures. i applied soap/alcohol/water and so the top part dried up. the third leaf until now is there but it looks like it's goin to lean on the yellow color. will this plant survive?
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this one is kind of weird. the growth of the leaves is out of place? how should i position the pot against the sun?
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i'm concerned about the roots. sometimes its too dried up but can't water coz under it is still wet. the 4th picture is the flower of this plant.
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[Ellen]

The first phal doesn't look too good, but you may be surprised by it. Orchids are survivors, and can take quite a bit of abuse before calling it quits and going to the great greenhouse in the sky. You don't describe the "creatures", but it sounds as if you may have had mealybugs, which seem to love phals. You need to check all your other plants and make sure that the creatures haven't spread to them. I suggest spraying all of your plants with Bayer Rose & Flower spray, which is available in any store that sells garden supplies. You may need to treat your plants several times to get rid of the pests once and for all.

It looks like your phals are growing in sphagnum moss, which tends to stay wet for a longer time than other media. You might want to look at the postings (this fourum) on using bamboo skewers to measure dampness of your media, since a lot of people seem to find this method helpful in deciding when to water.

[ewbie]

i did put skewers if you'd notice on the side.
is it wrong to apply the alcohol/soap/water mixture? I mean for emergency. at that time i didn't know what type of pest it is. and i have a schedule of spraying insecticide that week so i thought for temporary remedy is to apply the said mixture.
thanks

[Daniel S. Barrett]

ewbie,
you did fine!, the best thing with orchids is not to panic, & do too much treating at once... just treat them, and all plants around them once a week for a month, then wait to see if any more show up! and always remember! That if you use systemic poisons, that they can be absorbed through your skin! read and follow the label directions completely!!!

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I think the alcohol may be a problem. It evaporated too fast, thereby cooling the plant more than it likes. Don't know if this could have added to your problem or not. But Phals don't like to be chilled by cold water, so this might be something to think about. Mealies are flat and white or pink. If the bugs were tiny and dark, they may have been fungus gnat larvae.

I would not worry about the roots at the top of the pot being dry. As long as the moss is wet down inside the pot, the plant can get all the water it needs so long as the roots are functional in the pot.

For those using Rose & Flower ready-to-spray and some of the neem oil ready- to-spray products, these premixed products contain a a synthetic pyrethroid. This has had some bad effects on some plants and almost all flowers.
While the Rose and Flower product contains the systemic Imidacloprid, the pyrethroids are not systemic and have been added to the product so that they can add mites to the label, which Imidacloprid will not kill. But since pyrethroids are not systenic, you must do a thorough spray when you have mites. For other pests, one only needs to drench the mix with the material to kill the bugs. I prefer to use the concentrates of both neem oil and the Bayer Advanced product Tree & Shrub (Imidacloprid) which do not contain the pyrethroids. Numbers on the internet for the Tree & Shrub are from 1 t/g to 2T/g for orchids. I'm just starting to use the Tree & Shrub, so will have to see how this works out.

[ewbie]

thank you for all the replies. this forum is really such a big help. i am learning so much from it. congratulations to all the people whose intention is to help!

[Willc73]

bummer. you have at least one dead Phal. It has core rot.
You shouldn't mist the leaves as in photo 2. Also, looks like you are rotting some roots.

[ewbie]

huh? could you be more specific, willc? it would be a big help with a little advice. thanks

[Willc73]

In the first picture, the phal has rotted from the center. That is fatal for the plant.
In the second photo, the leaves are wet, which means you have been misting your plant, which will cause rot. Water will pool in the center where new leaves come out and rot. In the third photo, there is root rot which seems to mean you have been watering too much. Water less and don't mist.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Whether misting is helpful or not is debatable, but so long as the upper part of the plant, in particular the center crown area, is dry by the time the temperature stats to fall, there should be no damage to the plant, so morning misting is safest. Misting Phals with cold water could also cause problems. So, if you are concerned about any possible probelms, you may want to take Will's advice. Also, when misting, a very fine mist would probably be better, so you are not really putting a lot of water on the plant.