please help

[Atriel]

I'm about to start crying and I know that might be a bit over reactionary but ...

The first phal that I got seemed to be finished blooming. The very tip of the stalk turned yellow so I cut the stalk back.
I've been thinking that the phal didn't seem to be thriving at least not the way that my most recent acquisition is.
This morning, I got up and was going to water the plants and I noticed that the roots that are out side of the pot seem to have what looks like mold growing on it.
It's little black dots all over the root.
I've been trying to get a picture all morning but my camera doesn't do macros at all.
I'll keep trying and I'll come back once I'm able to get pictures.

I have no idea what I'm doing wrong and why this plant is so unhappy.

[Atriel]

Okay, I have some pictures - they aren't great but they may help.

There's this weird blue spot on one part.

[Atriel]

[Atriel]

I think in my panic I over looked something ... that blue green spot is exactly where the stick was that was holding the spike up.
Heh.

You can't really see the spots that I was talking about in any of these pictures.

[brookn]

Atriel the roots look like they might be a little dehydrated from the bark. Bark looks dry. was it soaked for several hours before potting? Black spots can be treated with hydrogen peroxide, soak for 5 min and rinse. you can soak the plant and all in water for 30 min or so to give the bark hydration, and just soak when dry until the bark starts to retain some moisture.

[Atriel]

No, I didn't soak the bark. I'll soak the entire plant now. I just panicked when I saw mold.
Thank you!

[brookn]

hee hee i didn't soak the bark long enough when i first planted in it, and spent the next few weeks watching it dry and soaking, repeat... It takes a while, but i finally got mine to hold some water. it can be really frustating. It should be fine, i have taken to adding a handful of sphag to my bark mix it helps retain the moisture better, without staing too moist.

[brookn]

I just float the plant in pot into some water, don't make the water too high or the whole thing will float out. Try not to get the crown wet, and if you do make sure you get it dry. It should be fine, until the bark gets hydrated, i would mist the roots you can see when they start to look dry. good luck

[kmarch]

Anywhere you have organic material (orchid potting mix) you will have a little bit of mold. A little bit of mold isn't anything to be afraid of.

Apart from looking a little dehydrated (undoubtedly from the super-dry bark) your plant and roots look ok to me. Take the advice given above regarding soaking the mix good.

Phals like to be kept gently and evenly moist, never dried out. Go to the American Orchid Society website (www.aos.org) and get a Phalaenopsis culture sheet. It will tell you what kind of culture the plant likes. Give it a good read and if you have any questions let us know.

[fred]

with the first pic of the Phal repotted it looks as if if has been planted a little to deep.

here is one of our culture sheets that will help you also

Orchid Care for Phalenonopis & Paphiopedilum Orchids

[kel80]

Nothing wrong with crying over your orchids. I've done it! And I'm not ashamed.

[pikevi]

Nice photography,Atriel.

I will be very happy to have roots like that on my orchids!

I was about to suggest that the blue looks like a stain but you have already figured it out.

As kel80 said nothing wrong in getting emotional or empathetic with one's plants . I have not cried but have come very close to it and I am a guy ( I hope it is not a sexist remark!! )

[sandra]

Regarding soaking the bark before potting. I don't get this. I understand what the purpose is and its' necessity but what I'm confused about is, contrary to everything I've been forewarned, the bark begins maintaining moisture immediately when I pot a plant; there's no preparation needed for it to begin maintaining moisture. I'm not imagining this and I'm not misunderstanding what watered-retention bark is or isn't. I recently repotted a catt into dry bark and gave it a generous watering. 2 weeks later I realized I hadn't gotten all the dead roots off, unpotted it to continue removing and the bark was moist. I've also had my share of knocked-over, newly repotted plants and those too were moist from just the first watering and as well, the skewers indicating their moisutre. I live in extremely humid climate and assume this is why the water retention is immediate. Just another observation that makes me wonder....

[mayres]

Another factor to consider is not all barks are created equal. Bark that is properly prepared for growing orchids will start holding moisture in a few hours of soak and other bark (types and preparation) seems to act almost like rock - you can hardly force the stuff to hold any moisture for you. My practice is to soak at least 24 hours in advance and in some cases 48. Then for the first few months if you are used to watering from the top and letting the water flow through, think instead of soaking your pot/mix/roots & all in a container of water for at least 15-30 minutes to once again encourage your media to retain more water. Eventually return to your practice of watering from the top. Something to consider that seems to work for me........mike

[pikevi]

sandra: I think the reason for soaking is twofold. viz., 1) facilitate moisture retention( mainly oak bark,which are as hard and dry as pebbles) and 2) get rid of minerals ( mainly salt in coconut husks).

The humidity here is very low , especially in winter and I have soaked the barks for a full 24-hour period and still found them to be hard and dry except on the outside. I guess if you water them often enough there may not be a need for pre-soaking.

May be your humidity helps in maintaining sufficient moisture in the barks even before using.

This is my experience which is not much, anyway.

I hope someone else can give you more specific explanation.

[brookn]

Sandra I agree with mike, and since I can never tell if the bark I have is retaining the moisture enough I soak the c@#%p out of it. My new plants are coming either tomorrow or the next day, and I have a vat of bark percolating waiting for them. My kitty decided to get a drink of my bark soup, and I got a dirty look and told off, apparently it was gritty lol.

[chefatplay]

Sandra, now that you've said it, I agree with you. Yes, on this last plant I repotted I did soak it well, 48 hours, but that is because I wanted to do anything to help save the plant. Plus, since I haven't had a lot of experience with repotting I wanted to do everything right according to ones who have so much more experience than me..

The first time I repotted a phal, I didn't soak first and haven't had a problem at all. If you remember, it was the yellow phal that was sunburned and planted too deep. She is very happy and moist.

Do you think it 's because we're in FL that we have this happen?

[sandra]

Ellen, it must be the humidity here in Fla. that maintains the barks moisture. Pre-soaking makes sense, it just doesn't seem necessary to do here for it to start retaining the water though. In fact, the first time I start potting up my plants, I soaked the bark for 24 hours. I find there's no difference between doing that and the first watering of bark taken straight from the bag.

Brook, I agree with you, Mike and pikevi too...moisture retained bark is the goal! And lol about kitty. What kind of orchids are you waiting on? I think I need another one, myself. Post pics when you get them!

[Atriel]

~laughs~
Thank you all so much. I felt a little bit like a nut job about getting so emotional about it but ...

I'm using the skewer method now. I'm not panicked about it any more - which is very good.

Thank you all so much for the help. This community is great.

[PhalPal]

Sometimes aerial roots will dry up and die because they can't find what they are looking for. They will look a little brown to black when dying back, just cut them off if they are not going to thrive.
I eventually just gave up on bark and it's little temper tantrums! Just when you get it where you want it, it starts to go the other extreme and holds TOO much water. There are too many other great mediums to choose from that don't cause these problems.

[chefatplay]

Oh, Atriel, emotions seem to be what orchid loving is all about! I have had panic attacks, thumping heart, pacing while thinking aloud here, and just pure "you're not paying enough attention to my self perceived emergency here!". We all love each other here. You have been assimilated already!