Help with Unhappy Phal

[zuri]

Hi,

I could use some advice on caring for my orchid!

My boyfriend gave me a phalenopsis for my birthday in August. It was very happy and bloomed through November. Since then it has seemed less happy. I noticed that it stayed wet and didn't need water for 6 weeks at a time, so I repotted it into a clay pot for better drainage and cut off the roots that were dead or rotting. Noticing that it hasn't seemed to get any happier since then (it has a root and a leaf or potential flower spike that it's been working on for MONTHS without much growth at all), today I went and bought some bark (it's been in sphagnum moss) and a smaller pot. But as I uncovered its roots today, it seems that they're still having trouble with rot, and there aren't too many roots left. I took some pictures that I'll attach.

How can I make it happy? What size pot is appropriate? Any advice on light or temperature? I'd love to see it bloom again but right now I'm worried about just keeping it alive.

[mayres]

It is definately salvageable, but it will be a long process - probably at least a year (or longer) to bring the plant back to health. Bark will not be a good choice of media at this point - not enough moisture will be retained for the little remaining stubby roots. If it were mine I'd use a coir mix, but you can also use sphag - undoubtedly many on this forum will suggest the sphag and bag recovery method that is used to bring plants back from the brink of death. Personally, I'd rather just keep the root areas slightly damp and keep in a moderately humid area - maybe on a tray of rocks (with water just under the surface). I live very close to you and it is not so dry (i.e. low humidity) that this will work in our area. Size of pot should be very small - maybe 2-2 1/2 inch. Hopefully the roots will start recovering and you can soon transfer to a three inch pot. Good luck!

[zuri]

Thanks for your response. Is there anything else that I need to do to/for the roots? I've repotted it with sphagnum moss immediately surrounding the roots and medium orchid bark around that. If this is a bad idea, please advise; but I was thinking that maybe the combination would help the roots to get the moisture that they need while allowing the medium to dry out more completely between waterings. As I mentioned above, the medium was staying wet for sometimes a month at a time and I think this is what lead to the root rot in the first place. I've also set it up on a humidity tray and moved it into a warmer room. For the last month we haven't had a heat and temps sometimes drop below 50, but with a spaceheater I should be able to keep things above 60.

Also, should I continue to check on the roots? And should I fertilize it at all while it's trying to make a comeback? (Also, does that look like a new leaf coming out in the first picture?)

Thanks again for your response.

[mayres]

Oh boy - lots to think about here...........
Actually, I can't be certain from the picture alone, but the first picture - on the right side of the base of the plant, above the root base appears like it is a FLOWER SPIKE. Of course 99% of the time when we see these we go, "WOO HOO!" In your case, if this is a flower spike we go, "BOO HOO" - Sometimes in a last ditch effort to survive a plant will send up a flower spike that will have a few flowers on it - hoping to polinate and then make seed and carry on life in the next generation. With this effort often goes a percentage of the energy your plant needs to recover. Therefor, if I'm correct I would recommend snipping this off once this is confirmed. You want the energy of your plant to go into rebuilding roots at this juncture - others may think differently, but this is my two cents worth.
Mixing sphag and bark wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea in order to keep some moisture around those suffering roots, but a ball of sphag surrounded by bark wouldn't be something I would get too excited about. I guess it wouldn't hurt too much - it will probably dry out your sphag faster (?). I'd be inclined to stick with loosely packed sphag only (I would personally use coir mix because that is what I'm most comfortable with and have found works for me - but in theory the sphag should do the same) and then just check it every day to make certain it is slightly damp but not soaking wet. The warmer and more humid you can keep it the better - the cool temps you noted probably were a factor in the plant not drying out soon enough to start with. I wouldn't be at all surprised if you were to loose one or two of your leaves before the plant turns around - just because there is not currently enough root to support them - time will tell. Many of us on the forum use Superthrive as a root stimulant - you can find it at just about any garden center - places like Walmart, Fred Meyer, Lowes, etc. A small bottle lasts forever. No fertilizer for awhile. You can take a peek every few weeks and see if your roots are making any progress - won't hurt a thing. Keep us informed - these kinds of exercises are learning experiences for others when you share of what you did and include a pic or two. Good luck! mike

[BunnytheOrchid]

I agree with mayres that in the first picture it looks like you've got a flower spike growing, and that right now flowers are not a good thing for your phal. The roots are a little too short and need to grow before flowering. The sphagnum moss should help because it does hold water so well. That being said, you still don't want to overwater. Humidity on a tray or misting under the leaves will provide moisture without having to overwater. I really hope your phal bounces back Good luck!

[Brooke]

If this plant were mine, I would sit it in a pot on a bed of damp sphag. I would pull the sphag, loosely, over the roots. You will probably need to spritz the sphag daily to keep it moist, not soppy. The remaining roots will "green up" with the moisture. This method is a bowl version of a mounted orchid where it is very easy to monitor the moisture level and the root growth.

As Mayres said, Superthrive on the sphag will help the root growth and encourage new roots. Yes to cutting the spike off as soon as it grows a little longer. Upping the temps is also needed since most phals don't like it under 65 degrees.

This is the hard part but I promise you it works. To keep your healthy leaves from dehydrating from the root loss, take the plant, turn it upside down and soak them in whatever fertilizer you use for 10-15 minutes. When finished, make sure the crown is dry and put it back on the moist sphag bed. I do this soak method once a week with whatever fertilizer solution I am currently using - in winter it is 1/4 strength and during the growing season 1/2 strength.

Here is a picture showing what was a totally rootless phal I have resurrected with this method.



During this process, the phal has grown two new leaves and only lost one leaf and they leaves were never limp.

Brooke

[kid a]

This is something that has just happened to me within the last two weeks. I noticed my Brother Sarah Gold's sphag smelled funny. So when I repotted it I was left with one green root about an inch or so and two yellow roots about the same size. Since putting in a different mix, the yellow roots have turned brilliant green in three days,and I have a new root growth. I also picked up some superthrive an put a drop in a gallon and watered it with that. Maybe rooting hormone, I'm on a rooting hormone kick right now, would help to?

[zuri]

Dear all,

Thanks for all your help. As a new member I'm impressed by both your friendliness and your knowledge. I'll try to pick up some superthrive this weekend. For now I've done a sort of modified sphag-n-bag: I potted the plant in ceramic (but am thinking about getting a clear plastic pot with slits to encourage air circulation and also so that I can see when it needs to be watered) with bark and then sphagnum moss tucked right around the roots. I put the pot on a humidity tray and then plastic-bagged the whole thing. I opened it up tonight to check on things and it felt and smelled like a greenhouse inside, which I take to be a good sign. The orchid looks just fine, and from the peak I took tonight to check on the moss moisture level and root status, I think that they're starting to green up a little bit. I'm sure it likes the warmer temperature too. I've considered trying to get new spagnum moss and doing only moss... but I worry that this area is already so damp as it is that the moss holds water for too long. I did some reading on the internet and some people recommend medium bark for phals.

The leaves currently look healthy, but I would like to try your fertilizer soak, Brooke. I'm sure it couldn't hurt.

Is there anything about my current setup that screams NO to any of you, and what signs should I be looking for (to do something different, to keep things the way they are, etc.)? Do I have to cut off the flower spike, if that is indeed what it is? I found that flower spike shortly after it quit flowering in late November, along with the little green root near it, but after late November it just stopped doing anything at all. Any chance that if I make it happy it will grow enough roots to be able to support that flower spike, or should I definitely cut it off?

Thanks again for all of your help.

[berkeleysgr8]

Your plant needs all the energy it can get to make new roots. Cut the spike. When your plant is "happy" again and has the right conditions, it will send out a new spike.

[zuri]

OK, I will cut off the spike... (As a first-time orchid-grower this makes me quite sad.) But I thought I would share with you all that things seem to be going well, as my plant is now making a new leaf!