Are these phals looking like they are doing okay?

[lindasbabies]

I have tried this three or four times and am getting frustrated so I hope this works! I have attached pictures. The first is a mini phal I’ve had since June I think. The second is either a mini or a large, I’m not sure but I’m thinking it is a large. I’ve had it for about a year and a half. It lost all its roots this spring due to root rot because when I got it I didn’t know to repot it right away. It now has little short roots. I’m wondering how long it will take it to grow long roots again? The third is one I got from Walmart last July and it was in bloom then and is still in bloom with beautiful purple ish pink blooms. All three I’ve been watering every day, all three are repotted in repotme orchid mix. All three look like they have wrinkles or lines on their leafs. Do they look okay to you? Thanks for any help you offer!

[Bill U.]

It's a little difficult to tell from the pictures, however, unless you are REALLY dry and have a lot of air movement or have them in net pots (which I do not see) then you should not be watering them everyday. Root rot and overwatering can also cause leaves to wrinkle as if they were getting underwatered, because, in effect, they are getting underwatered since the roots are unable to effectively take up moisture and distribute it to the rest of the plant. Also, not sure if it is just from the lighting of the pictures, but if the leaves are as dark as shown, probably want to increase their light levels a bit.

[lindasbabies]

Thank you so much!

[Dollythehun]

I think they look pretty good. If they're flowering, they should be getting enough light. But, to be sure, as Bil says, you might want to gently tip one out and check your roots.

[camille1585]

I agree, they look very good! Seeing as you are located in Maine, unless you are growing them in a warm place or a heat mat and provide supplemental lighting, I wouldn't expect too much in terms of root growth on the little plant until next spring.

I agree with Bill on his assessment of your watering frequency. On paper that sounds like too frequent watering, most people growing in bark in plastic pots in your climate are probably watering no more than twice a week.

Since you are growing the plants in clear pots, you can easily check this yourself. You can use the color of the roots in the pot as an indicator. When wet, the roots become green, and as they dry out they progressively become a silvery color. Usually the advice is to wait until the roots are nearly completely silver before watering again. In the winter when it's cooler and less bright, I like to wait an extra 1-2 days before watering to be sure the center of the pot has dried out sufficiently.

[Dollythehun]

I still like to peek at the roots, regardless of the clear pot. I just unpotted one last week that had way more roots than I could see from the outside! Then I couldn't find a pot to fit w/o cutting. It's waiting in a vase.

[Ray]

The key is providing moisture while maintaining lots of air flow to the roots, which can be controlled through the choice of potting medium, the choice of pot (plastic versus clay, with our without slots), and by your watering frequency. That is specific to each grower as your growing conditions are unique.

[Mountaineer370]

I agree with what everyone else has said so far. I do want to address your comment that all of them look to you like they have wrinkles or lines on the leaves. First, the pictures are quite dark, so I'm only going by what I can see. All of them seem to be just fine, but I see the large plant in the third picture, the leaf on the right side does have "lines" that might be what you are referring to. Not all Phals have perfectly smooth leaves. What I'm seeing in that plant looks exactly like some of my Phals look, they just have a bit of texture or shallow grooves/ridges in the leaves, for lack of a better term. Maybe someone else can tell you exactly what that is called. I don't see anything that I would call wrinkled, though, where a plant is either not getting enough water or the root system cannot take up the water it gets.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by lindasbabies

I have tried this three or four times and am getting frustrated so I hope this works!

As in tried 3 or 4 times to attach pics?

[lindasbabies]

Yes, I had trouble attaching the pics. I’m kinda bad at technology .

Thank you everyone for your advice! I’m making sure they get more light and have changed watering schedule to twice a week. I have them in a East facing window. During the summer I had them in a south facing window but with no sun touching them. Now the sun comes way to far into that window so I can’t prevent it touching them so I moved them to the East window.

---------- Post added at 03:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:59 PM ----------

They are potted in course bark and little clay balls and white rock like stuff that is crumbly. It’s a repotme premium orchid mix. They are in clear slotted pots as well. I believe the roots are getting enough air.