Please help! I am new to this!

[kdv9tb]

Hi everyone! So I love orchids, but seem to always kill them. So I have spent the last 4 months reading, and reading on how to take care of them properly, what to look for, etc.

Here is the problem. I just bought a Phal, and it is having issues. The leaves started to get limp, so I knew there was a hydration problem. Unlike over watering, I was not watering it enough. I was using an ice cube a week. People in this area told me they have had great succes doing it this way.... The Phal dropped all it's blooms, so I thought I better try and re-pot it. I got Orchid bark, and proceeded. I pulled the Phal out and noticed roots were mushy, so I cut them off, but I do not think it was me that over wtaered, but probably was I thought I did a good job cleaning it up, but the Phal did not seem to be responding. When I went to water it today, I noticed the leaves were purple.

I really do not know what I am doing wrong! I pulled the Phal back out and put a moist paper towel in a bag with the Phal, to see if I can get new roots. I have pictures, and I will try to see if I can get them attached. I do see signs of a new leaf starting, but I think I am just hoping at this point.

I also have a Dendro that my Husband got me for our anniversary. This thing is growing like crazy, and still blooming. Did I just get lucky with this one?

Also forgot to mention that I have these behind the blinds in an east facing window in my fish room. I also just got done building a humidty box for them...

[jpyerry]

Hello and welcome to orchidgeeks, this is a great site, in the short amount of time I have been on this site I have learned a great deal from everybody here.

Let me first say that new leaf growth is generally a good sign, something has to be going right for it to happen.

It is tough to tell, but it looks like one of the roots has an active growing tip (the resolution of the photo is not great, so this is a guess) if this is the case this plant maybe salvageable but it will take a bit of care and a lot of patience for it to recover.

Give, the roots a good 15 minute soak in a broad spectrum antimicrobial/antifungal (I personally use Physan 20), then, if you happen to have any kind of rooting/cloning gel (ie Clonex, K-L-N, Hormex, Olivia's, rooting powder, etc), apply it to the roots. I would find the absolute smallest pot the orchid can fit it and cover the roots loosely with sphagnum and by loosely I mean just barely enough to cover them. Water the plant, if you have any SuperThrive, throw in little, I would not use any fertilizers at this point, they can harm damaged roots. Then put the potted plant in a zip lock bag with the top opened a bit, then put the bag under the light. I only grow orchids under lights, so temperatures are not a problem for me, so if you are using sunlight, you might want to be careful of the temperatures getting too high in the bag.

I had two plants that were about in the condition yours is in, I lost one and the other I managed to salvage, it is still in pretty serious condition, but it is starting a new leaf and one of the roots is re-tipping. It has taken about 4 months so far for it to get to this point. But, I think if you are patient and optimistic you might be able to turn things around at this point. Like I said, new leaf growth is a good sign.

Generally whenever I get a new plant, I unpot it to assess its roots and repot into my preferred media, which takes a bit of experimentation, but eventually you will find something that works well for you. I do this whether the plant is in bloom or not, I have even cut spikes off so the plant can focus on repairing itself (flowering is quite taxing on the plant). More often than not, I try to get the plant out of sphagnum moss as soon as possible, because so many vendors pack it in as densely as possible, and I find stays too wet for too long, but it may work well for you, again you have to find what works. Also, I have found the ice cube thing to be hokum, I have know several people who have had phals die on them using this method. I think its basis is that phals need a temp drop to initiate spike formation, but I don't know if it is a good thing to water them like this constantly.

Anyhow, I am sure that someone more knowledgeable and experienced than I will be along shortly to offer their advice. But, welcome to the forum, you'll learn a lot, and good luck!

[kdv9tb]

Thank you for the words of wisdom! I am working hard to try so save them. I hate what they came planted in as well. I can't even make a hole to stick my finger in to check if it need water. I also HATE the pot! No drainage holes, plus they glued the saucer on the pot. Worst idea ever!

I am trying to use a terra cota pot, but the smallest one the local store has is a 2 inch. This seems huge for this plant, so I might try just drilling some holes in a tupperware to plant it in once I start to see new groeth on the roots.

This brings me to a question though.. Where do you find all those root hormones? I just moved here, so maybe I can find a place, but does Lowes or a place like that have anything? I also am wondering if Cinimon works? I read that it is a good natural product to use, but really have no idea. Also where do you get antifungals?

I thought my Dendro was doing good, but when I brought it to the sink to see if it needed watering, I noticed I have one yellow leaf. This is a problem. The rest all look good and are nice and ridged, but why one? I pulled the moss away to see some of the roots, and from what I see they are a nice silver/ white with green. Should I repot? It still has blooms..

As far as the Phal, I just have it in a Zip-Lock bag upstairs in a closed off bathroom. I closed the blinds a little so only a small amount of light comes in the room. I also have a moist paper towel in there. If I can find a store locally to get the anti-fungal and root hormones I will head that way now. I would like to just put the Phal outside, but it is triple digits here, and I dont want heat shock to kill the poor fellow.

Any pointers, tips, or addvice is welcome! I want to get good at this, because I absolutely love these plants!

[Dendian]

I agree with ypjerry for the most part - but I would not put the plant in a bag under lights - usually its too hot that way.

When I recovered my phals (with NO roots) it was in a bag on a dimly lit table - until the roots came in. Then I put it in the moss (which I use - loosely packed) and watered as normal and it grew.

Because you have two good roots I would say you could re-pot it using the soaked bark, and let it grow. I would get a smaller pot with holes though - that pot does sound like the worst idea ever! Small tupperware sounds good - get a clear one so you can monitor the humidity. You can use a soldering iron to put holes in it.

Lowes does have the rooting hormone - and the super thrive - but not the Physan 20. Cinnamon is for cuts - it is an antibacterial - but it also will dry things up - so you do not want to use it on the whole plant.

Do not put the Phal outside - absolutely not. All my Phals stay inside with me - where its "cooler" - nobody goes outside from that Genera. The heat - and the lack of humidity will crispy fry them in short order. My Dendrobiums are outside, as are the Cyms and Onc Alliance - and I am considering putting some of the Catts and Vandas.. but the Phals are not comfortable if you are not comfortable.

On the Dendrobium, sometimes one leaf will fall off (usually a bottom one)- not to worry. If a bunch start falling off - then you can worry.

[jpyerry]

By under lights, I meant around 4 feet away from a T5 fixture and shaded by another plant in a tent that's at a pretty constant 73F (that's what worked for me), I should have been more specific, sorry. And since I have next to no experience with growing in sunlight, I can't make any recommendation.

As far as the supplies go, I have to order almost all of mine. A few hydroponics shops carry some of it like the cloning gels, but nobody in my area carries Physan or K-L-N or MSU fertilizer and I have visited every home improvement store, garden store, plant nursery, and hydroponics shop in a fifty mile radius. You might have better luck being that you live either in or around a major metropolitan area.

[koshki]

Welcome to Orchid Geeks!

[1joyceh]

Welcome, so many people here to help, we are glad you came

[plantloverlisa]

I went to the Physan website and it told me who sold it in my area which was a hydroponics store.

[11Orchid126]

For rooting, you can use some molasses in water or you can use liquid seaweed. Seaweed grows a foot a day.

It sounds like you have your phal in the dark. The plant needs as much light as it can take. With it being in a plastic bag you must avoid sun or the plant will cook. But you can't avoid light. Without light the plant can't photosythesize, which is how they live.
Put the plant in good light, feel the leaves. If they're warm, move the plant back a few inches. If they're not warm, move the plant closer to the light.

[kdv9tb]

I am in the process of moving the Phal to under one of my High output t5 lights I use on my planted fish tanks. I have read they arent supposed to get much light during this time, but I am going to try! I also went and got Superthrive today, and used it on a new paper towel to put in the bag. I also have been doing some reading in "Your First Orchid", and I wish I could have got this book sooner (Library wait list)!! I am learning more than I have on the other 6 books I read. They are straight to the point and descriptive. AOS did a good job with it in my opinon.

Is there anything else I can do to make the the outcome for the Phal look better? I also am going to use the little plactic disposable cups for the bathroom for the pot. It was the smallest thing I could find that would work. The Phal should be nice and snug! Do I need to pull the Phal out of the bag and run the roots under water? I do not want it to get thirsty!

Thanks again for all the comments and help! My little Phal is thanking you!

[kdv9tb]

All my local stores are out of rooting hormone!! I do have molassas, and am going to soak the Phal in a water/ molassas mix. The roots looks brown today, so I am a little worried it is not doing any better. Looking at the roots, they still feel hard, but the tips seem to be drawing in on itself. This is why I decided to soak the plant for 15 minutes. I also will be using superthrive in the bag today, when the plant is done soaking. I want to repot it, but I want to see how the roots are doing before I try to repot it.

As far as the Denro, things arent looking so good. Another leaf is turning yellow, getting black spots, and the leaf itself almost looks like something is eating it. Theleaf has a scribble pattern to it. I tried to get a picture, but I can't get that good of revsolution from my camera.
I am soaking potting mix now, and will have to wait at least till this evening to repot it, but I am scared. The stems that I am having issues with are NOT the ones flowering, but the other stems that just have a leaf or so.