Please Help!

[c.lew122]

Hello All!

My husband got me an orchid about a week ago for our first anniversary and I have set out on a personal mission to keep it alive as long as possible. It would be safe to say it has already become a small obsession of mine.

I am completely new to the orchid world and have been doing tons of research. But I do have some questions.

The bottom 2 leaves are turning yellow and becoming soft. There are 3 sets of leaves total. Since I had never had an orchid before I am afraid I may have overwatered it in the beginning, but after realizing my mistake I have not watered it since and am waiting patiently for the media to dry out. Was this mistake totally detrimental? I did try to dry the crown after watering. =)

The top layers are almost completely dry, while underneath is still pretty damp. Could this be a sign that the media is packed too tight? I have also done some poking around and found a root that seems to be hollow and crunchy. But others seem healthy. I remember reading that you should wait until the blooms fade to repot, but I am afraid that it may die if I wait that long. (It is currently blooming, with more to bloom). If I take it out of the pot to trim roots and readjust media, would it be too much of a shock?

Sorry for the overload of questions. I just really don't want it to die.

Thanks in advance!

[c.lew122]

I also plan on posting pictures, but from that I have gathered from this board so far, I may have to wait a few more posts. =(

[Tarad]

WELcome to the forum!!! Can you post pics? You must post 5 times before you can put a pic on here. I think repotting is in order but need to see pics. If you think you over watered you probably did. Tara

[c.lew122]

Thanks Tarad. You were reading my mind about the pictures. =)

[kmarch]

Also we'd need to know what kind of orchid it is in order ot give useful advice.

[c.lew122]

Kmarch, I did forgot that tiny detail didn't I?! =)

It's a Phal.

[lmartiny]

If you have only had it a week I would have to say that something was already going on with it. Many times the retail plants are packed in with moss and causes rot in the middle of the roots. It will help to know the type of orchid.

[c.lew122]

Okay, here's my 5th post so I can add pictures...

[c.lew122]

This is the healthy root.


The end of this root is hollow.


Just a side shot of the pot. There seems to be some kind of algae growing in there...

[syndywindy]

Hi, welcome to the forum. When you post pictures we'll be able to tell more as to whats going on. If it's potted in moss, sometimes that inner moss ball is so tight, it never dries out even though the outer area may seem dry. And by the time you go to repot, the damage could already be done. As Lynne said above, if you've only had it a week, something probably was going on when your husband bought it. But let's see it and we can tell more.

[syndywindy]

I made my post at the same time you posted your pictures. From what I can tell, it really doesn't look too bad. From the last picture I can see a nice root, can you see others like that one through the pot? Hard to tell, but it almost looks like a combination of bark and moss. Have you tried pulling the entire plant out of the pot to see whats going on down below? If it's all moss and you are uncomfortable repotting right now, you could just loosen the moss some to give the roots some space to breathe. Orchid roots need to be able to breathe so tight wet moss is not a good thing. Or if you are comfortable repotting, a bark mix would be good. I personally repot almost all my new orchids when I get them home and haven't had problems in terms of loosing blooms or buds. If you choose to repot, check for any soft,black, mushy roots and cut those off. Sprinkle the cut ends with cinnamon, it's a natural dessicant. Choose a pot that is just big enough for you plant to fit, you don't want to overpot. After I repot, I usually don't water for a few days to give it time to adjust. You have a phalaenopsis and its very pretty. Does it have a name? Those don't need a lot of bright light, I have a few of mine in a north facing window and they do just fine. There are many geeks on the forum who live in Florida, they can probably tell you how they grow their phal's for your area.

[Tarad]

OO very pretty! Like Synda said it dies not look bad at all. I live in Wisconsin, if here I would repot it in bark with afew moss pieces chopped in. Follow Syndas directions involving tight moss in the middle.

[berkeleysgr8]

Oooh... it's a pretty one. From the pictures that are posted, it looks like it's in decent shape. It's not uncommon for the lowest, oldest leaves to yellow and drop off (usually it happens somewhat gradually). Also, the blooms and buds all appear intact. When I've had root problems with a Phal, I've often been tipped off by bud blast (buds dying before they've matured and opened)... and NONE of your buds appear to be in bad shape.

[c.lew122]

Thank you for all your responses.

SyndyWyndy - I have not yet taken it out of the media to look at it. I didn't know if that would be a bad idea or not. But I think I have done enough research and feel pretty confident to go ahead and take a look. The media that is in there seems to be in decent shape. It's not decomposing. Should I let it dry out a bit and put it back in looser, or just start over with new materials?

Also, I have not been able to see any clear pots like the one it is currently in. But I think the size will still work. Is there a way to disinfect and clean the current pot so I can reuse it? (I'm all about recycling when possible.) There do seem to be other healthy roots down in there.

p.s. It does not yet have a name. I have been racking my brain, but haven't discovered "it". I will know when I have stumbled upon the perfect name. :P

[syndywindy]

I would use new materials if it were me doing the repot. As far as disinfecting the pot, I would soak it in a bleach solution. I use 1 part bleach to about 8 or 9 parts water, then I rinse real well and if possible I soak it in clean water for a bit just to be sure there is no bleach left over. As for the name, I meant is there a tag that came with your plant that tells you what kind of phalaenopsis it is? Not that you couldn't give it your own name, some people do name their plants.

[c.lew122]

oh, haha. It did come with a tag, but no description or name.
But since it's my first orchid, I do plan on giving it a name. Just haven't been inspired yet.

[dounoharm]

you have been given good advice so far...nothing much to add to it, but i think the media looks good that its in, the roots look good too, and i would wait till after it flowers to change it around.....it looks surprisingly good for a commercially prepared plant! gl and enjoy!

[Tarad]

Yes definately take it out and give it a look. No worries we all do it all the time. I always repot when I bring home a phal.

[mytwogirls]

All the useful posts have been posted so I am here to just "root" you on. Keep us posted! Good luck!!!!!

oh and WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!!

[c.lew122]

Thank you all for the warm welcome!

I repotted my Phal today. In fact, I just finished. I was scared to at first, because I didn't want to shock it and shorten the bloom time. But I am glad I did. I don't think it was in good conditions.

When I pulled it out of the pot, all the media fell right down, but this big glob of junk was left entangled in some of the roots.


After some delicate soaking and tugging, I got rid of it all...trimmed off the dead stuff and capped it with Cinnamon. This was before.


Then put fresh media back in after soaking it in hot water...


It ended up a little crooked, but I'm hoping that's just an aesthetic issue, not bad for the Phal. After I trimmed the roots, they ended up being pretty short for the pot, but the width was okay. So I rinsed some stones in diluted bleach then rinsed them with hot water and put some in the bottom to bring the bottom up closer to the roots. I made sure several times that they wouldn't inhibit the draining ability, and they dont. How do I know if I have packed the media in tight enough? I think I did, but wouldn't mind some reassurance. If I try to wiggle or pull up the Phal, it moves a bit, but not alot. After packing it, I rinsed the media with water and a low dose of Orchid food. Was this a good idea?

How long after this will it take to find out how it has reacted to this change?? There is a bud that looks like it will bloom in the next day or two.

Thanks again for all your warm welcomes and helpful advice!

[maiseymoo]

Originally Posted by mytwogirls

All the useful posts have been posted so I am here to just "root" you on. Keep us posted! Good luck!!!!!

I second that! Everyone has given great advice & I love the colour.
Your collection will soon increase from one phal (just ask mytwogirls!)

[maiseymoo]

I posted at the same time as you! That yukky stuff in the middle is where the moss has been wedged into the pot and it will never dry out. Apart from that the roots look good Sometimes after a repot you lose flowers and sometimes you dont, there is no way of telling really until a couple of days later. keep us updated as to how you get on.

PS congrats on your first repot, I was worried that I was going to kill mine when I first attempted it!!!

[c.lew122]

Haha, I definitely know I will end up the more Orchids. I went to Home Depot this morning to buy the Media Mix and was distracted by a big huge table of them. I fell in love with a specific one and seriously contemplated buying it. But I decided to wait and see if I can bring this one back around to another bloom before buying another one. =) We will see how that works out.

And yes, I was and still am scared that it won't survive. But hopefully it hangs in there!!

[maiseymoo]

Originally Posted by c.lew122

Haha, I definitely know I will end up the more Orchids. I went to Home Depot this morning to buy the Media Mix and was distracted by a big huge table of them. I fell in love with a specific one and seriously contemplated buying it. But I decided to wait and see if I can bring this one back around to another bloom before buying another one. =) We will see how that works out.

And yes, I was and still am scared that it won't survive. But hopefully it hangs in there!!

And here starts the obession, sorry 'hobby'

[syndywindy]

You might have been able to get by with a smaller pot, but if you don't have one, what you did is fine. Overall the roots looked pretty good, hopefully you left most of them. When you are repotting and trying to get the bark down into the roots, you can gently squeeze the pot so the bark will get down more or gently tap the pot on the table to get it down into the root system. It looked like the roots were in a moss ball originally and they are packed so tight that once wet, tend to stay wet for some time and people tend to overwater. They can't see whats down below and assume because the top is dry so is the rest. As I said earlier, once repotted, I don't wanter for several days to give it a chance to acclimate. There is a sticky about using the skewer method for determining when to water. I use this method and it really is helpful in not overwatering.

[koshki]

Originally Posted by c.lew122

I fell in love with a specific one and seriously contemplated buying it. But I decided to wait and see if I can bring this one back around to another bloom before buying another one.

This may be the last time you have the willpower to say "wait"!!

Welcome!

[kmarch]

I think you have done quite well, c.lew. You did well taking your phal put of the pot for a look. It's good that you found that compact mossy ball in the middle and removed it. These are the cause of much root loss. The rest of your roots look to be in pretty good shape and the rest of your leaves look healthy. It looks like you have done a good job of repotting.

If you have not already done so, get yourself a good culture sheet for Phalaenopsis from AOS | Members Only Area or from the Orchid Care section of this forum. The culture sheet will give you allsorts of useful information about the conditions/culture your phalaenopsis needs. Give it a read and let us know if you have any questions.

You're off to a very good start!

[uffe3667]

I was already suspicious when looking at the pictures it looked like a sphagnum ball topped up with a re-topping of bark, also with some decayed medium lower down in the pot. Since i have seen this a couple of times before myself i think repotting was a wise choise. Looking at the pictures i think you got out all the old sphagbum and replaced it with bark. I tink having 1 type of in a pot gives you better control over how to water etc. You did a nice job of repotting.
Gr Erik

[Tarad]

Good job! See that wasnt so bad was it?

[c.lew122]

Tarad, It did seems to end up being alot easier than I was thinking it would be. I guess the next few days will tell me how bad it was in reality...

A petal seems to be separating from one of the buds this morning, I think it will bloom. Last time a petal started opening, it was a full flower by the time I looked at it again that same day! They seem to open so fast. I'm making sure to keep an eye on this one today.

[mytwogirls]

Originally Posted by maiseymoo

I second that! Everyone has given great advice & I love the colour.
Your collection will soon increase from one phal (just ask mytwogirls!)

Ummmm, yeah I laugh now at when I was newbie and everyone told me the SAME thing.

[11Orchid126]

Congratulations on your repot. A few things to note. One, as Synda says, the pot is slightly too big, so be careful watering. Too much media can stay wet too long and rot the roots. Poke your finger down into the media to check how wet it is before you water.

Next, if you're not sure if you repotted firmly enough, poke a pencil down into the pot in several places and see if the media goes down farther. If so, just add more media.

And lastly, never, never let water sit in the crown. If you get water in the crown mop it up with the corner of a tissue or paper towel. Water in the crown will cause crown rot and your plant can die in a matter of days.