Phals hardest orchids to grow :(

[tom499]

today i pulled out the two biggest leaves and removed the flowering stems from my most successful phal due to crown rot. my others are not growing, one has a new leaf that is thin straight and very floppy. another has 3 stub roots and dark green leaves however much sun it gets. my mini phal has signs of root rot. i think i have one good phal, which is growing on a rubber plant

my den is out of control, my paphs are doing great, my vanda cant stop making fat green roots, my miltonia is on its 2nd loads of flowers and my onc has many new growths and roots.

even my pleione is growing nicely, i dont see where i am going wrong i have been growing them like paphs but slightly warmer with abit more light, yet they refuse to grow, and just slowly rot. any secret tips?

[mayres]

What have you been using for media? Keeping them as damp as a paph is too wet IMHO. Error on the dry side. They also like to be quite a bit warmer. They grow best in temps in the 80's and even low 90's. They will live in cool temps, but not grow much. Commercial growers keep their greenhouses this warm. Mine all grow like crazy during the summer months when temps are very warm. Do not water in the latter part of the day and keep up good air movement. Check out this thread and read the associated links for some great information and then see what you think. Grow Phals like the Pros!
mike

[tom499]

I've got the bigger ones in large bark, and the smaller ones in coarse orchid compost with moss and smaller bark. i mainly have them in the house on a window sill, watered once a week or less, misted every day, i think i may stop the misting, i guess that could have caused one to have rotted at the crown.

[Aniko]

Tom, I'm really sorry to hear about what happened to your Phals, and I was puzzled until I read that you mist them every day.
I'm 100% sure that misting was at the origin of the failure. When misting is useful in worm and dry conditions, in your climate it's a dangerous practice.
A good shower in the morning is OK from time to time, to clean and refresh the leaves, but they have to dry before the air get cooler at night.

The color can be various green according to genetic variations, from medium to dark, with a touch of purple if kept in bright light, as I can see on my plants. But floppiness is a sign of dehydration, there might be a root problem, too.
I'm my opinion coarse bark does not provide an even moisture to the roots (what a phalaenopsis likes!).
I would think of switching to something much moist retentive - even though it sounds contradictory.
(I prefer sphagnum moss, but there are several other options, too.)

I ditto everything Aniko says, especially switching to fine bark and eliminating the misting.

[tom499]

ok i shall switch them all to thinner bark with some spagnum and compost. i shall also cut down on the misting

[DDS2007]

tom , sorry to hear about ur Phal ,

for me it's the other way round , my Milt. keeps losing leaves one after the other while my Phal is doing just great !

wanna switch ?

take care

[kmarch]

Odd, there must be something in the air. Just yesterday I picked up one of my Phal seedlings, which last week when I last inspected it looked perfectly healthy, only to have all of its leaves (3) fall off leaving nothing, just a dead crown.

[Aniko]

Good luck Tom, I hope they will recover soon and you'll find them the easiest to grow

[Aniko]

Kmarch - Sorry for your lost.You are an experienced grower - how such a sudden death could happen??! Did you inspect the roots?

[kmarch]

I did inspect the roots, completely wasted. I only potted these guys up about 2 months ago. No sign of fungal or bacterial rot. The rest are all healthy even signs of new roots. Oh well....haven't got much time for mysteries these days.

Onward!

[tom499]

i have an even weirder problem

new roots are growing from one with dying leaves on, i will have pictures shortly.

another has a really bad thin long floppy leaf, bad roots, but seems determined to put out another leaf :S

i hope the pictures will help, if anyone can tell me what on earth is going on :S

[janet_a]

Originally Posted by kmarch

I did inspect the roots, completely wasted. I only potted these guys up about 2 months ago. No sign of fungal or bacterial rot. The rest are all healthy even signs of new roots. Oh well....haven't got much time for mysteries these days.

Onward!

i just pulled a seedling out of its pot for pretty much the same thing; roots are shrivelled, but not mushy. popped it into H2O2 for a while, then a KLN solution for a few mins, and now it's in a bag.

remind me never to buy seedlings again.

tom499--get those plants in bags *now*. sounds like you can still save them.

[Aniko]

Tom - new leaf and root are good signs of recovery!
Be patient, because it takes some time.

[tom499]

aye but the new leaf is on the plant with dead roots, and the new roots are on the plant with dying leaves :S its crazyy

[Aniko]

Tom - probably some good roots left. This new leaf might be smaller than the previous, but new roots will fallow it. And so, if roots are growing the new root system will promote further development. But this takes several weeks, even months.

[tom499]

that is very true every time i check them i see no sign of fungi or any kind of infection. i've found them a quiet corner to sort their lives out

[justloveorchids]

Tom

Have you tried using diluted worm tea to spray them with
It truly does seem to be a lifesaver

All of the half dead phals I was given get misted every single day with it and they are going great guns .........new roots and new leaves

If you do not have a wormerie you need to start one
I can give you directions on making a cheap one

[tom499]

my dad has a compost heap, thats got lots of worms or is that something different hehe

i would be greatful for direction

[janet_a]

see also

Worm Tea testing – follow-up - WOW

[justloveorchids]

Tom

Compost heaps do have a good supply of Brandling worms

they are the ones that "jump and wriggle " however separating them from all the others in a compost heap might be a task

Your best bet is to set up a Wormery and add Brandling Worms bought fresh from a Fishing Tackle supplier

Then you can catch the worm tea that will drip out from the Wormery
you cant do that in a compost heap