Phrag's roots..

[prisana]

I was repotting my new Phrag this morning and there were a lot of dead mushy roots in the pot. Shoud I trim the roots like when repotting my other orchids ? See attached photos..

Also, what causes the Paphs' leaves to go limp ? the 2 paphs I repotted last week are very limp and some of the leaves in the bottom are turning yellow. The limp leaves are both new and old growth..

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

What mix did you pot them in? The mix may not be making good contact with the roots, or not be wetted enough yet. Since Phrags like lots of water, you might consider watering well every day for a while until the mix absorbs more water, and the plant grows more roots that make a better form fit to the mix. If you are absolutely sure roots are dead, remove them, but error on the side of leaving them.

[pikevi]

I am not second guessing here. But does not too much water cause limpness and yellowing too?

I just remember reading something like that in tropical plant care.

[prisana]

Cynthia, I potted my paphs in medium bark mix with med charcoal, perlite, chopped sphag, and peat. I watered them every couple of days. The leaves keep getting more limp by the minute, it seems.

The Phrag is new , it came in the large bark mix with coconut coir. The mix was very old and smelly. I don't know how long it's been since it's repotted last at the nursery. I repotted it today, but didn't cut out all the mushy roots ( not sure if they were really dead )

Pikevi, I was thinking the same thing if I might have watered it too much or maybe not enough light ?

[kmarch]

Phrag Phirst

You don't say what kind of Phrag you have but most Phrags like lots and lots of water. In the wild many Phrags live on rocky cliffs where water is trickling down the cliff or they grow near streams. Because of this, most of my Phrags sit in saucers of water at all times. The exception is the caudatum-type Phrags which still like it wet but whould not sit in saucers of water.

Use a finer-grade moisture retentive mix for Phrags. small-to-medium bark and lots of other stuff to hold moisture, also charcoal to keep it fresh. Phrags hate stale mix. Stale mix is usually the cause of root rot. So Phrags should be repotted every year, even if they stay in the same size pot but just get fresh mix.

On to Paphs
Unfortunately yellowing leaves, especially on newer growths usually means either crown or root rot. I'd check out the roots and see how they are and I'd give the leaves a wiggle. If the plant has crown rot the leaves will probably just fall off in your hand.

[prisana]

Kevin, it's the same Phrag. Grande x caudatum I got last week. You said it doesn't like sitting in the water. I removed it from the saucer right after I read your post.

I wiggled the paphs, nothing coming off in my hand yet. I don't see crown rot either, unless it's deep down in there. I keep them in the house, it's always about 74 degrees (F) maybe that's too cold ? I have a little water fountain next in the middle of the growing area and they all sit in humidity trays. I've got the fan on for them every few hours or so.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

The chopped Spag and peat should result in good contact between mix and roots, so don't know the problem with those.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by prisana

Kevin, it's the same Phrag. Grande x caudatum I got last week. You said it doesn't like sitting in the water. I removed it from the saucer right after I read your post.

Yup, now that I have had a good night's sleep and a taste of my coffee I remember your plant now. Yes, the caudatum-types don't sit in water, I grow mine just like i grow a Paph. They still like the fresh mix though and to be kept evenly moist and should be repotted every year. I suspect yourroot loos may have been caused either by being too wet, stale mix, or a combination of both.

Originally Posted by prisana

I wiggled the paphs, nothing coming off in my hand yet. I don't see crown rot either, unless it's deep down in there. I keep them in the house, it's always about 74 degrees (F) maybe that's too cold ? I have a little water fountain next in the middle of the growing area and they all sit in humidity trays. I've got the fan on for them every few hours or so.

74F is not too cold. I think your temps are probably good. Sometimes crown rot can be deep in the crown. Yesterday when I was watering I found one growth on my Paph bellatulum that had a limp looking leaf but no yellowing or sign of decay. I wiggled the leaf and it came off in my hand. At the base of the leaf there was about half a centimeter of rot, I tugged on a copule more leaves and 2 more came out. Did you check the roots? How were they?

[prisana]

Kevin, I checked the roots when I repotted them last week. There were almost no roots ,only about 1 and a half good roots on each Paph. The rest of them have rotted off .

One of these Paphs was the plant I mentioned in a different thread a over a month ago where it was sitting in the pot that was defective ( no holes in the bottom ) the new growth came off, I put the new growth in the baggie and it's growing right now. The mother plant finished blooming almost 2 weeks ago so that's why I repotted it.

I'll take the plant outside tomorrow to look at it again in good light.

In the meantime, I'm looking at my newly potted Phrag , and it's looking limp also. Is there anything special I could do after repotting Phrags..like hold the strong light or water like my catts ?

[kmarch]

After I repot my Phrags they go right back into their usual location and watering routine. No special treatment.

[prisana]

Got it, Thanks Kevin.

[MSPProductions]

I recently bought a Phrag that was from Hawaii and is in red lava. Many of the Phrags at the store looked as if they haven't been repotted in years. Is this because of the non-organic medium?