Mini Phalaenopsis - continued problems, roots rotting below medium - Orchid Board

Firebee · #1 09-13-2022, 07:59 AM

So I posted on here a while ago because I was worried my orchid had stem rot, read the suggested phalaenopsis care thread, figured it seemed like I was over watering, and so I reduced the amount of sphagnum moss in my mix and started using the wooden skewer test to tell when to water, and I thought I'd been doing okay with my phal. The leaves never really stopped being wrinkly but I'd read somewhere that sometimes they never recover from damage, and the little new leaf on the top was still firm and healthy looking, and it was also growing quite a bit so I figured everythign was fine. But I decided to check on the roots today, which i guess I should have done before but I didnt want to disturb the plant much after a ton of handling before and it seems like all the roots that were under the potting medium have rotted away.

I had had the Phal sitting so that the stem was on top of the medium because when I repotted it before, I was still worried about the possibility of stem rot so left that part exposed so it wouldnt get too wet no matter what, but there were a few roots that went down into the medium. (I had intended to add more medium after a month or so but forgotten - kind of glad I did) so now Im wondering if perhaps the medium I am using is bad?? I've been very careful to not over water, leaving a wooden skewer in and not watering until it feels dry when touched to my lip. The medium Im using is sphagnum moss, and fir bark chips I gathered in my back yard, then sterilized in the oven. I did this over a purchased mix for a few reason; I live a bit far from stores and work nights so getting to a store that sells an orchid mix in my area was looking to be a huge pain, things I found online kept having weirdly high shipping costs, and I figured something i sourced myself wasnt going to be a problem but I dont know.

Is this my issue? Here are some pictures of the orchid now

Ray · #2 09-13-2022, 08:51 AM

What you have there is a bunch of nearly- to totally dead roots.

There could be a number of reasons that has happened:

They were so-so when you acquired the plant.
Changing the potting medium might have rendered existing roots as suboptimal, so they faded away,
They were suffocated by too dense of a medium. That's the way overwatering kills roots, through suffocation (drowning), not due to contact with the water)
You're growing it too cold. Most phalaenopsis love heat.
Maybe you're correct that there's something in the yard-collected medium that is toxic.

No matter what, you need to stimulate new root growth and try to keep the plant from desiccating further while it does.

Contact C&C Orchids in Hamilton via Facebook or email (cvarady@cageco.ca) and get a bottle of Kelpak, then follow these instructions.

tmoney · #3 09-13-2022, 10:58 AM

howdy. probly not the answer you want, but, sometimes plants just die. obviously there are reasons, but it’s probly a result of some combo of several reasons. this plant looks salvegable tho, imho. agree with ray, if you can get some kelpak it will help stimulate new root growth.

just from my experience with all plants in my life, using media i gather myself has never produced good results and nearly almost ends in catastrophe, including the introduction of unwanted pests. even with sterilizing in an oven. so, how you can avoid that in the future given your circumstances, i am not sure. but if i were you i would avoid collected media.

best of luck with the save! if it were ours, i would pot it up in slightly more airy, inorganic media, and put a loose clear bag over the top to help keep humidity up. then check everyday for new roots coming out. as soon as you can get those, the plant will start to rebound. again, kelpak helps wonders here

Dimples · #4 09-13-2022, 12:54 PM

Keeping it very warm, 24-28C/75-82F, will also help encourage new root growth. Seedling heat mats are very helpful when the weather is cold or if you cool your house significantly in the warm months.

estación seca · #5 09-13-2022, 04:45 PM

Roots rot from suffocation, not overwatering, and also from being cold and wet.

Root suffocation is caused by not enough air at the roots. This can be from medium with particles too small, broken down medium with air spaces occluded with powdery old medium, or soggy sphagnum.

Phals are warm to hot growing plants. A sick Phal during growing season will almost always do better at higher temperatures.

Most Phal problems people post here are caused by root suffocation or growing them too cool. Sphagnum moss causes evaporative cooling of roots, so I don't think it's a good choice in most homes unless temperatures are higher than most people keep them.

Watering sphagnum is different from watering other media. I won't go into it here but you can use the Search function above.

I think some of those roots are still viable. I would repot into medium to large bark with no sphagnum. Raise the growing temperature if you can.

SADE2020 · #6 09-13-2022, 05:38 PM

Just place it on top of a bed of pebbles/rock with water (not deep into a medium) in a dark place, to see if you can get some new roots.

Firebee · #7 09-14-2022, 07:32 AM

Thank you every one for the help! Looking at the medium I have I do think the suffocation might be an issue and Im going out today to get a mix with no moss to fix that. Now though I am taking into consideration the comments a few people have made about warmth and I am wondering if any one has suggestions on how to keep my plant warm without using something powered? I can use that, but the place with the best light in my house is a bit inconvenient to get a cord to so if theres something else thatd be great! I imagine using a ceramic pot cover would be helpful though I wanted to stick with see through pots so the roots could help with photosynthesis I'd rather it be cozy and warm.

I am in canada so it does get cool, and my house is old so that also doesnt help, but its on the 'warm' side of the house that stays warmer then the rest. This is my first orchid and Im still figuring a lot of things out, thank you all for the help!

tmoney · #8 09-14-2022, 11:11 AM

hey there. i think certainly outer cachepots help to regulate major changes around the root zone, but it’s not a major thing. if anything it might help with consistent watering, if you use the soak method. otherwise, i don’t have any suggestions for passive heating, other than leave it in the warmest spot!!

best of luck

estación seca · #9 09-14-2022, 01:14 PM

If you have a cool house it would be better to have orchids that do well in those surroundings. I suggest intergeneric hybrid Oncidiums.

Firebee · #10 09-15-2022, 11:16 PM

I don't think my house gets too cold, I'm just a bit of an over worrier. The thermostat is set for 65 but it being an older house that's not always consistent. I think Im going to wet up a thermometer to check before doing any major changes.

Also, should I trim the damaged roots? Or leave them so I'm not cutting them part way? Also a lot of things say to sterilize the cuts if you trim them but I've seen here that peroxide is not good for the plants, so should I skip sterilizing? Or use something else?