Keikei trouble (i think)

[Apsara]

Hi everyone,
Im new to orchids and i think i need some guidance.....i was doing good for the first year i had my orchid, but this year is different. I have a Phal. I bought it when it was in bloom....all the buds fell and it rebloomed.....now when all the buds fell i cut the stem as i was suggested to do. My plant seems to have developped two keikeis (one on each side) about 6 months ago but the growth seems to have slowed down and i have no roots forming. These new growths are green and seem very healthy, but my mother leaves are a little soft and one seems to be turning yellow. I have not changed my care for my plant and i have not changed its location. Im getting worried i will lose my plant all together!
I hope somebody has some answers to my questions.
thanks!

[jbigio]

Hi
when you can please post a picture that would be helpfull. I would check the roots thats usaly the cause of soft leaves. depending on the potting mix and your waterg habits that would be the first thing I would do. A lot of Phal are sold with just moss as a potting mix and I have always found that thats a problem. If the roots are firm and look good then you need to water more often on the other had if you find the root are all soft and decayed. then you are over watering. If thats the case you will need to remove the dead roots,. If there are still some good roots repot the plant in to the smalles size pot the roots will fit in with new bark and water only when the mix is dry. If you have no roots left then I would wrap the base in moss and put it in a zip lock bag and keep it damp. New root will start after a bit. When they are a decent size repot in a good bark mix and watch the watering. As for the old leafe turnning yellow that could just be the leaf reaching its life span.
Good Luck.
Joe

[mayres]

As joe noted - a picture would be good.
Can you also update your profile so that we can see where you live? Sometimes this affects the kind of cultural care that members might give you.
Also as joe noted - you might want to knock it out of the pot and check the roots before writing your next post to see how they look - even if you just place it back as is -won't hurt a thing.
Oh and.......welcome to orchid geeks! Look forward to chatting with you in days to come.............

[Apsara]

Thanks guys...i will definately take a look at the roots and maybe repot, but before i do....i dont have any earth handy, as i live in montreal and it is winter now. Should i go buy some? Oh and the trick is to not give the roots to much room right?

[janet_a]

by earth do you mean potting soil? you want to avoid that for orchids--how dry is it in your area? if it's really dry, you may want to repot in loing fiber sphagnum moss, otherwise use a bark mix. (the problem with sphag is that it can become "conretized" over time and hold less and less water, thus lettng the plant dry out.) you're right that you don't want to overpot--the pot should hold the rootball, but not be much larger than that. somewhere on here i'm sure there's a basic "how to pot up phals" that someone will point you to...

[mayres]

If you purchase bark be sure and soak for at least 24-48 hours before using - longer rather than less - the bark needs to become conditioned to holding moisture. Depending upon the quality of bark you obtain you may even need to soak the roots AND bark together in the pot until the bark does a good job retaining moisture - pot, environment, quality of bark, etc. all affect this. If you find mushy, black, dried up, etc. root material - remove all that and only keep the plump fleshy ones. Good luck - mike

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by janet_a

by earth do you mean potting soil? you want to avoid that for orchids--

This isn't entirely accurate as some orchids require conventional soil. There are all sorts of orchids, 35,000 species and more than 125,000 hybrids, found in almost every climate on the planet. What you say is correct for the epiphytic and lythophytic orchids, but not for the many terrestrial and semi-terrestrial orchids which grow in conventional soil or soil mixes.

[janet_a]

i stand de-generalized.

[Apsara]

Ok so i got some root rot......since i work crazy hours and cannot get to a flourist or plant store for the next week......can i clean up the roots (cut off the rotten ones) and replant my orchid in the same soil it wa in?
(man you guys must think im stupid or something..but like i said im really new to orchids...plants in general!!!)

[mayres]

Media that will work for orchids can be obtained at many grocery stores in the plant/floral department, at big box stores like Lowes & Home Depot, Walmart and other all in one stores - it is usually called "Orchid Bark". If you continue to grow orchids you may find other options you prefer, but this will work at least short tem. I would not use the old media you have now if you have lots of rotten roots - there will be disease organisms in it from the rot issue. Better to just put off the repot for a week,

[Kindrea]

Hi Apsara!

Unfortunately, I don't have good advice. But I wanted to say hi since we're practically neighbors. (I live in Québec city!). :

I'm also going to repot a phal so I'll wish beginner's luck to both of us