How soon will I know if my phal survived repotting?

[GGB1024]

I am finally brave enough to grow orchids! I have a phal and a den - both were given to me as gifts a couple of months ago. The phal recently finished flowering so I bit the bullet and repotted from sphag (which always seemed too wet, even with watering every 7-10 days) to bark. It has 7 leaves, the newest one is about 1/3 the size of the more mature leaves - and still growing. I just noticed that bottom leaf on the side that has 4 leaves total is yellowing, kinda wrinkled and leathery looking. I should have been paying more attention when I was repotting but I honestly don't remember if it looked like that before I switched mediums. Is the leaf dying? Do I wait until it falls off on its own? Is it a sign that my phal will not survive repotting?

It did have some brown mushy roots that I removed - but it still had lots of good white, plump roots left.

[Stelios]

welcome to the forum GGB,
i guess in a couple pf weeks you will know but i think phals are always good after reppoting. I mean repoting them doesn't hur what hurts is if they get light, water and air. Bark is a great medium for growing phals and as long as you water them just before they dry, they will be fine.

Each leaf has a set length of time to live. Every now and then the bottom leaves are dying and new ones take their place. I wouldn't worry about it. But if more leaves start to yellow especially a top one then it is a bad sign. It will eventually get brown and shrink so it will other fall or you could remove it by gently pulling it away. I would recommend leaving it to fall on its own as nutrients and water are transferred from it to other parts of the plant.

Here a culture sheet you could use AOS | Phalaenopsis

[mehitabel]

If it's got good roots, it will survive. Phals can die if they lose all their roots, but really, they are tougher than people think.

Phals can stress out from being too dry right after repotting. Did you soak the bark for 24 hours before using it? If not, your plant is being kept too dry, because unsoaked bark doesn't hold enough moisture.

I try to be careful for several weeks after repotting to make sure phals don't dry out. They need to be evenly moist, tho not wet. Make sure you don't let it dry out completely, and watch the leaves. Leaves that newly start to go limp and shrivel up are a sign it is dehydrating/declining.

The one leaf that is wilting/yellowing may have started declining while it was in sphag, or may just be getting old. If you see any other leaves starting to do that, then start worrying.

If you didn't soak your bark before repotting, come back and ask for more advice.

Don't cut off the yellowing leaf-- let it die on its own.

[GGB1024]

Sadly, I repotted before finding this site so I didn't know to soak the bark for 24 hrs prior. I have a skewer in there that was moist the first 3 days but is now feeling a bit dry. Should I go ahead and drench it again? Or just a little watering? Other than the one leaf that has gone yellow and leathery, the other 6 are nice and plump looking, all erect and not wilting at all.

It's in a clay pot, on top of stones with a bit of water (not touching the pot).

Also, when do I start fertilizing again?

Thanks so much for all your help - it's amazing how attached one can get to a plant. I just love them.

[mehitabel]

Don't fertilize til you're sure it's on the mend. If you didn't soak the bark, your phal got too dry on day one, and has been too dry ever since. Wose, it will just continue to be too dry for more than a month. Meanwhile, it can lose lots of leaves.

I would take it out of it's pot, soak the plant in a bowl full of tepid water. This will re-hydrate the leaves and plump the roots up, like soaking a head of lettuce crisps it up. It won't hurt to soak it for 3-4 hours or even overnight. If you have superthrive, put a few drops in the soaking water.

Meantime, soak the bark for 24 hours and then repot it in the soaked bark. Be sure the pot is not too big-- it should just fit the roots of the plant.

Then once you've repotted, stay watchful. Be sure to water before it becomes dry again. You don't want it constantly wet, but it has to have moisture at the roots.

Good luck

[GGB1024]

Thank you. I will do this asap. I hope I haven't killed it. :-(

[mehitabel]

Nah, they're tuffff. They want to live, so they'll work with you, and your's still has roots. My bet is it'll be ok.

[lmartiny]

Rather than unpot the plant again you could just soak it pot and all.

[GGB1024]

Really, I can just soak the entire pot (clay) and all? Do I do it overnight? Or just a few hours?

[englandfx]

do it for only a few hours. be sure to not let the bark float out of the pot.

[GGB1024]

Phal roots.JPG

Phal soaking2.JPG

Phal soaking.JPG

So I soaked my phal for a couple of hours in the pot. Do you mind taking a look to see if it looks strong enough to survive the repotting ordeal? I also did a close up of the roots on top - they are white and very plump so I'm hoping it will be ok.

I don't know if you can see, but the bottom leaf on the side that has 4 leaves is the one that's turning yellow and wrinkely - is it just time for that leaf to go - or is it a sign of more problems in the root system. I really didn't want to repot again and disturb the roots (hence the soaking in the pot) but there's a good amount of white roots like these down there.

Lastly - I have yet to cut the spike. The 2 lowest nodes look more brownish than green. Should I just cut it all the way to the bottom? Or see if I can get it to rebloom and cut further up? I would love to see flowers soon but I suppose I'm willing to wait for a healther stalk later on.

Thanks so much!!!!!!

[lmartiny]

First, relax. Let the dying leaf drop off. Clip the dried stem down to a green node about two nodes up, if green . Go ahead and soak it a couple more times to compensate for the dry bark. Maybe every 3-4 days. Then let it go. It should do fine.

[PhalNewbie89]

I would guess the leaf is just ready to go. I have a couple leaves doing the same thing and I would worry but it seems they waited for the newest leaf to be big enough to help support the plant before letting go. Plants are so smart and it is kind of weird lol

[englandfx]

Your phal does look like it is strong enough to survive the repotting ordeal.

That yellowing leaf looks like it is just an old leaf and it is dying off naturally.

I normally cut my spike all the way to the bottom, but that's just me :P

[Stitz]

GGB1024,
Your Phal looks fine. Take extra care not to overwater it. The dead leaf? Normal.

--Stitz--