Pics & Questions

[parrot parent]

Hi all -

I will be posting a series of pics and questions. Hope the pics post ok. First subject phals.

First 2 pics: Here are the roots my phal that I thought was in trouble. I repotted it Wednesday night and discovered all crinkly, dry roots. I clipped some of teh really bad ones, and then repotted in Aussies' Gold medium. I posted about this situ, and was told to clip more roots. So I went to do that last night, and here's what I found. The roots seem to have plumped right back up. Do they look good to you? Is the potting job ok? Plant set right, aerial roots ok?

phal roots ok-2.jpg

phal repot ok-2.jpg

[parrot parent]

More phal questions:

What are these brown dots on the leaves? Plant were outside for summer - I live In PA - and I jsut brought them in. Gave a really good cleaning first, of leaves, soil and pots. Could this simply be water damage? I have a few of the same spots on my dens too. See pics.

phal with spots.jpg

den with spot-1.jpg

group of dens_small blk spots.jpg

[parrot parent]

is this a phal spike, or just a root? Emabarassing question.

phal spike.jpg

[parrot parent]

Does this phal need to be repotted? It has a big spike that might produce flowers, but no buds yet. If it does need to be repotted, can I do it now?

phal too squished_other issues.jpg

phal too squished_wide.jpg

[parrot parent]

This phal is blooming. Is potting ok?

blooming phal ok.jpg

blooming phal ok_wide.jpg

phal in bloom.jpg

[tizzycat]

I'm by no means an expert but with regard to your second photo in the first post I would trim the old spikes back nearer to the base.

Second post: Not certain but spots could be damage if water has been left on leaves without shade.

Third Post: Appears to be a new root (sorry)

Fourth/fifth Posts: I wouldn't repot an "in spike" or blooming plant unless the plant is suffering and yours don't appear to be.

Very pretty flower by the way

No doubt someone with more expertise will be along shortly to give you more advice.

Chris

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Spots look like they might be snail damage, and maybe bush snails, tiny things that live in the potting mix. Might try a little beer in a little bowl or an upside down apple slice on the medium, just to see if there are any critters living in the mix.

Repotting should be done if the mix is breaking down (finger pushing down on top goes in). You can postpone repotting by being very careful to let the mix get very close to dry before watering, which may take a long time if the mix is in poor condition.