help! my phal is not happy and I'm new to orchids

[inesita25]

I received a phal as a gift a couple of months ago. Within a month, the new buds in my phal were not blooming but wrinkling up. My leaves were also a bit wrinkled, so I figured it was receiving too much light. I moved my plant and started giving it weak fertilized water once a week. New blooms started to grow and were just about to open when suddenly one of the spikes suddenly turned tan and died. I saw it had what looked like white spots at the base of it. I cut off the spike at the base and wiped the white spots. The other spike is sill alive but the blooms are whithering again. Someone told me that my phal has mealy bugs but I don't see any of them (I looked at several pictures of mealy bugs). I did see a very small, slender grey bug running around the bark. I would be very grateful for someone to help me figure out what to do for my plant.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Keep looking for the mealy bugs. Often the only thing you see is the white material they leave behind. They like to make a mad dash to cover when ever the pot is disturbed. You probably need to verufy that the roots are good. This can often be done by flexing the pot, assuming it is plastic, and sliding the root ball out and looking for living roots. I would recomment having some orchid bark ready incase you find badly rotted conditions of the bark and roots. Bugs running around the mix may indicate that the mix is broken down and the plant is ready to be repotted. One solution, if you find mealy bugs, is to use neem oil sprayed thoroughly on the leaves and roots, and then keep it out of heat and high light for a day. The need to spray the roots and the possible repotting coming up may be a good combination. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

[inesita25]

Thanks, Cynthia. I'll try what you recommend.

[inesita25]

Just as a follow-up, when I repotted my orchid, I found that the people who had sold it to my friend who gave it to me had been terribly careless and left packaging foam in the pott along with this terrible spongy mossy material that was stuck in the roots and rotting. I was very angry and glad I repotted. No mealy bugs but I am spraying the plant anyway. Thanks for the advice!

[janet_a]

packing peanuts in the bottom are ok, as they add space for air to circulate. long fibre sphagnum moss is OK too, as long as it hasn't rotted. spongy masses of potting goop are not good, however. you often see this in commercial plants--they aren't repotted enough and the medium turns to glop. repotting is a good idea.

[inesita25]

Janet- Thanks for letting me know about the packaging peanuts. Those scared me when I saw them in the pot. The mossy goop, however, I was sure was a bad sign. I think my plant will be happier now.