Stumpted by this phal problem

[risa59]

Sorry, that should say "stumped!"
I received a phal for my birthday this summer from someone who didn't know much about orchids and picked one with nice blooms but strange looking twisted and somewhat limp leaves. It is Dtps I Hsin Panda "MP 0534" CR.
I repotted it a month ago in bark since it was in sphag and the leaves still looked limp. The roots looked good then and still do now (putting out another root) and its held its purple and white blooms nicely. However the leaves are still limp and twisted and now pebbled looking. Is the twisting what Jenny means by "pleated" in some other posts? Does this need more of something?? Less of something? or just patience Thanks Geeks!

[brookn]

I would say that if the roots look fine, which they do, it needs to be watered more often. Limp leaves may not recover and be anything but limp, but I have had some success. I do not recommend going overboard, but yes I do suggest you water more often. I see that you are using the skewer method, I am not sure how well that will work in the hydroton, as I do not use it on Phals. Perhaps Psych will see this post as she uses it on her Phals. Are the newer leaves limp as well, I cannot tell from the pic. The pleating that Jenny has referred to is usually seen in Oncidium types, it looks like someone has accordian folded the leaves. Hope that helps, a pic of a couple different angles of the plant would help me tell a bit more about the plant.

[11Orchid126]

Dyna-gro puts out a product called Protekt which helps shore up leaves. I use it once a month, regularly. You can research it on their site.

[risa59]

I don't yet have new leaves on this plant so I don't know their condition. I will look for the Dyna-gro product. Thanks!

[patlee]

I don't know if you can rely on this book. I just picked it up and have not even finished reading it yet. It is by Miracle-Gro and so far seems to be pretty good. They talk about that "pebble" appearance and say that it is caused by over watering. I have a plant that was fully grown when I got it and there may be a difference in watering schedules. The old growth is "dimpled" and the new growth is smooth.
I also have a phal that has "twisted" leaves(but she still puts on a great display) and will follow this thread with interest to see what might be the cause... Good luck with your baby! Hope you have good growing

[articuno75]

The pleating can be caused by either over or under watering. Either way, it's an indication that the plant is not getting water, which is the stumper because you say the roots are still good.

The new root coming in, is it an aerial root? Also what did the roots in the medium look like? What is the watering schedule for the plant?

The new medium that the plant is in now appears to be Alifor or Hydroton. This medium does dry out quicker and the watering schedule might have to be adjusted to suit the medium.

[psyc1210]

I use all aliflor for my potting, and that looks like it just needs watered more often. How often are you watering?

Also, I've had a few, trial and error, when I first started potting in all aliflor when I was trying to figure how often to water, that became a little dehydrated...and when that happened I soaked the entire thing in water for a few hours, and that solved all dehydrated issues.

[mayres]

Put me on the list of MORE WATER - YES, as JoBeth says - soak water too..........if the roots are good you just need more water for your conditions/media.

[Hummer344]

IMHO, when the leaves of my phals get like that they don't recover, rather they just stay like that until they die off. The new leaves don't show that problem. Sorta the same thing with my other plants like the Oncs. If underwatered, the leaves will shrivel and show like an accordian. They don't recover but newer leaves don't grow like that if the problem has been corrected. I would be careful of going over board with the watering.

[psyc1210]

I agree Hummer. I have a Phal that the roots got messed up so bad, the leaves are all wrinkled, and it's permanent. The new leaf growing is nice though.

[risa59]

Thanks everyone. I will try a bit more water.
The large nuggets you see on top are only part the mix as per instructions I followed from the local orchid society (white stuff (name?) and bark make up the rest of the medium). I water when the skewer is dry (around here about every 7-10 days). No new leaves yet and the root that is forming is a blip on top of another ariel root. I will try more water. And check the roots again. Hate to lose this one since it was in honor of a BIG birthday! At my age they ALL are big :-)

[psyc1210]

Ok, well since you do have it in bark mix, couldn't tell from the pic Be careful with overwatering. That's one thing you don't want to do. I thought from the pic it was all in LECA, which would need more frequent watering than a bark mix.

Maybe the leaves are just permanently damaged from being wilted for so long. I say if the roots are good, then you are probably doing all things right...when a new leaf comes in you'll see if everything's good or not.

[violetta]

I vote for more water too..
The same thing happened to me, my phals are planted in bark and because I was afraid of overwatering, they ended up with limp leaves. So I stopped running water through the pots and I soak them for 30 minutes instead, once a week. All the leaves now have perked up.

[kmarch]

Your roots do appear healthy to me too, at least what I can see of them. As others have expressed, I too thing this is a (rare) case of under-watering. These clay pellets can dry out very fast under certain conditions and I suspect this is what is happening here.

[patticake]

To those above.