Re- repotted phal, bad news bears- need your help again

[hillarykat]

I received my phal three and a half weeks ago. A week after I got it, I repotted it- which can be seen here: Repotting my phal- newbie style

Everything was going very well for the first week and a half after repotting, the blooms all opened and it seemed very healthy. About a week ago I started to notice a little yellowing on one of the leaves. Over the next couple of days it seemed to spread so I now have three yellow leaves, and four green.


I decided it was definitely time for a repot, as it must have been too damp in the soil I put it in, although the skewer seemed almost dry... Should I not be using the plate with rocks and water under the pot?


I went out to Plant World and bought Uni-gro Orchid Bark:



I soaked the bark in the kitchen sink for about an hour, and then placed it in a strainer.



I then carefully took my phal out of the pot and rinsed/soaked the roots in room-temperature water.


There were several roots that were squishy and needed to be removed, I put cinnamon on the cut ends.




Once the plant was ready to be put back in the pot, I took some of the soaked bark and made a nice loose layer over the bottom of the pot:


I asked my boyfriend to hold the phal in the center of the pot while I added the bark. I made sure to get bark into the root ball and pack it all around to ensure stability, but also not so tight that it would damage the roots.
Finished product:






Is my phal going to be okay?

Also, some of the blooms have fallen off, what do I do when they all fall off? Am I supposed to cut the stem?

[englandfx]

All the steps u did are good, except one thing. Bark should be soaked for more than 1 hour. (Bark should be soaked for 24-48 hrs.)

The yellowing does concern me, from personal experience, you will lose quite a few leaves over the next few weeks :S

Once all the flowers have fallen, you should cut back the stem at the base. Your phal will need all the energy it can to produce new leaves since you have many leaves turning yellow.

[riyokotsu]

Bark is a much better choice! That old medium seems almost like dirt!

Phals are epiphytic, which means that they grow on trees, not in the ground like most houseplants. Therefore, bark is closer to the conditions they enjoy in nature.

I made the same mistake when I first moved my plants into bark, I didn't even know I was supposed to soak it. You'll just have to pay more attention and water the plant more frequently until the bark begins to retain more moisture. I'm not sure what your watering methods were before this, but soaking the pot in water for about a half hour instead of just pouring water through the top will help too. Might be difficult with the size of your pot though.

In any case, good luck!

[mayres]

What kind of light are you giving your plant? Excess light could yellow leaves like that. Normally most phals will only yellow one leaf at a time (bottom one).

[LouisW]

Firstly, It is not unusual for a phal to drop a leaf or two on occasion and more if the plant is stressed.Because you repotted, it is to be expected that you might lose a leaf or two.

But I think you did the right thing to get it out of the old pot. The media did look too water retentive and not airy enough and over-watering is another major cause of leaf drop. I think your plant will be happier in bark.

I know you just potted it up but I have a suggestion... Wait till the yellow leaves fall off (they are useless to the plant now) and pot it a little lower in the pot, so you can get all those exposed roots into the bark.

[E-Jag]

You've done about all you can do right now, including the bark soak; HOWEVER, your phal appears (to me) to be planted way too high in the bark. The roots are barely covered. Plant it deeper, so that the bark comes up to the point where main stem (?) meets roots. I like to do this in a plastic pot so I can see the roots without removing the plant. Good luck!

[Irene]

It appears that there is another leaf, lower down on the stem. Should she cut this off to plant it lower in the bark?

[flowerpower]

It does look like it is standing a bit too high but this is a big improvement!

We learn through experience. Perhaps the roots weren't that damaged but they were just smothered with water and heavy compost, unable to get air. I've got everything crossed for the orchid!

[11Orchid126]

A question about the picture with the bark in the bottom of the pot. What is that around the sides of the pot? Is that old medium? If you do repot to lower the orchid, scrub that all off first and soak the pot in water with a touch of bleach. A pot that is not scrupulously clean can harbor all kinds of nasties like insect eggs, virus, and bacteria.

Also, when you do go to plant the phal lower, you may find that the center core is too long. This can be trimmed and coated with cinnamon. And trim off all soft, mushy roots.

[Phalcycle]

Well I've looked at your first re-pot and see many problems.
I particulary don't like Miricle-gro potting mix for orhids because they retain to much moisture which leads to over watering. Because you are new to orchids, I would recommend bark, which prevents overwatering .
Also, the pot is too big for it. A phal coming out of what seems to be a 4-6 in pot should planted in a pot no larger than 1in that the root ball.
Also the skewer method. I have not liked this method at all because of some porblems ive been facing. There always seems to be mold growing on the skweres, and Im always worried it would effect my plants so I dont use them
I use clear plastic pot, nd when the medium seems relly dry I water

[maiseymoo]

The phal needed to be repotted, however the bark should have been soaked for at least 24hrs (I have learn't this after nearly losing an phal after I only soaked the bark for a couple of hours). It also seems to be sitting a little high in the pot and I agree with 11orchid126 that the pot should have been cleaned before use. The pot does look a little big, you can use styrene pieces to fill the bottom of the pot.
Think of this as a learning experience!!

[hillarykat]

When I first repotted my phal, I did scrub the pot with anit-bacterial soap very thoroughly. I didn't do it this time because it was the same plant going back into the same pot. The roots are up so high because the phal has a very low leaf that is already sitting on the rim of the pot. In order to cover up the roots more, should I just pile up the bark over the roots, or trim the the lowest leaf?

[riyokotsu]

Personally, I would probably cut the bottom leaf off, purely for aesthetics. I'm certainly not an expert, so I would wait for more opinions on the matter.

[maninair]

Hi Hillarycat, How is your orchid now. I was very happy to see your orchid in the original post, but shocked to see the second post. The yellowing of leaves could be due to over watering or due to too much direct sunlight. Hope your orchid is in good health now. It is okay if the roots are exposed to light as the roots also contains chloriphyl to make its food.
Mani.

[hillarykat]

Since posting I have two leaves left, the top most and bottom most leaves. I haven't watered since repotting and the skewer is still damp, so I think [I hope] it's on the road to recovery... The spot I have my chid in does not get direct sunlight, on the contrary, very dim, but sufficient (I think) light.

[englandfx]

Originally Posted by hillarykat

Since posting I have two leaves left

I had a feeling about that happening.
It will be a very difficult and long recovery for your phal.

[mytwogirls]

Hi there. Good advice has been given. I would repot AGAIN, this time putting the orchid in deeper into the mix. I had to do this with my mini mark 'holm' as it was hard to get the center in deeper. Gently push it down a bit more to cover more of the roots. Also watch the watering, you may need to water a bit more at first. Good luck and don't give up.

[yokurt]

Originally Posted by hillarykat

I decided it was definitely time for a repot, as it must have been too damp in the soil I put it in, although the skewer seemed almost dry... Should I not be using the plate with rocks and water under the pot?


Is my phal going to be okay?

Also, some of the blooms have fallen off, what do I do when they all fall off? Am I supposed to cut the stem?

From your picture, it seems that the water touches the pot.. This is a BIG no-no. The water is easily wicked up into the pot, especially because you have a clay pot. Phals like their medium moist, but not wet. Think squeezed wet sponge.

Orchid roots need to breathe alot more than you think and water prevents this, thus weakening the roots which manifests its symptoms in the form of yellowed leaves.

I suggest using a deeper pan, fill with gravel to about 1" and water to about 1/2". All is fine as long as you dont see the water, but can feel the water when you probe the gravel with your finger. You could use a wider diameter pan which is bigger than the diameter of your plant to provide more humidity as well, since your climate is very dry.

As for the flowering stem, I suggest cutting it to about 1" above the main stem. Your plant has suffered quite the trauma, and I wouldn't recommend a second flowering or inducing keikis at the moment. The plant could use a well deserved rest.

As for repotting,

You could tear up the bottom leaf right in the middle towards the centre of the stem and take it off before planting the phal deeper in the bark the next time you re-pot.

I wouldn't recommend topping off the main stem at this stage until you are more familiar and confident of keeping phals alive in an arid climate.. =\

[yokurt]

hillarykat, please get back to us.. we are all anxious for the health of your plant (i hope).

[mytwogirls]

Any news?

[hillarykat]

Thank you all so much for your help, sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you all. I did a quick repot with the phal to make it sit a little deeper in the pot. All of the blooms have fallen off so I did cut the spike. I am down to one leaf left :-( During the repot the bark felt very dry so I watered it today and am holding onto hope for a healthy recovery. Is there anything else I can do to help my chid?

[englandfx]

Ok, this is where the sphag and bag method comes in.... It is a very grim survival for this phal now =/

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by englandfx

Ok, this is where the sphag and bag method comes in.

I think you're confusing your techniques englandfx. The sphag-n-bag method is used for plants that have no roots. This plant appears to have plenty of roots, even healthy ones.

[dounoharm]

i think its time to give up on this poor plant.....it looked like a case of drowning to me at the beginning....

[11Orchid126]

You should not blame yourself for the failure of the plant. It's evident that something was wrong with it when you received it, and it was in the process of comitting hari kari when it came under your care.

[englandfx]

Originally Posted by kmarch

I think you're confusing your techniques englandfx. The sphag-n-bag method is used for plants that have no roots. This plant appears to have plenty of roots, even healthy ones.

Doh! yeah I got it mixed up.

[hillarykat]

There is no way it could have gotten too much water or too much light. I only watered it during the first repot and not again until the second repot. The room it's in gets very dim natural light. When I took it out yesterday to do a quick repot to put it in a little deeper in the bark the roots didn't look bad. They definitely aren't what they were, but there are still a lot of healthy looking ones. Is there anything at all that I can do to help the poor guy?

[yokurt]

Originally Posted by hillarykat

There is no way it could have gotten too much water or too much light. I only watered it during the first repot and not again until the second repot. The room it's in gets very dim natural light. When I took it out yesterday to do a quick repot to put it in a little deeper in the bark the roots didn't look bad. They definitely aren't what they were, but there are still a lot of healthy looking ones. Is there anything at all that I can do to help the poor guy?

As long as it is not dead, even if it has completely no leaves, dont give up if the plant really means something to you.

Your plant still has a lot of healthy roots. It may produce a keiki or two from the stem, or the crown may resume growing if it is not rotten/dead yet. Keep it moist, I would suggest. MOIST! not wet!

since your plant has no leaves, do not soak it in water and what not. Just water enough to keep roots from drying out will be good.

[flutepic15]

Hillarycat,

Certainly, don't give up! I bought 8 or 9 phals off the clearance rack at Lowe's in late January/early February for $.50-$1.00 a piece. All were so underwatered, I thought I'd probably just get 7 or 8 nice pots out of the deal. So far, I haven't lost a single one. There are two that are clinging to life and not looking so hot, and there are also 3 or 4 that looked like crap when I bought them that are sending out new spikes and subspikes! I discovered that the more I "fussed" over them, the worse things got. Once I said to myself, "Oh well, I probably only got a few nice pots out of this", they just took off. My dog even ate 1.5 leaves off of one of them, and that plant has some of the healthiest roots I've seen on a phal today! Do what you can to provide near perfect conditions (good humidity, proper light, and good watering). Many orchids have an extremely strong will to survive! You may be surprised! Good luck