Mini phal seems to slowly wilt despite my attempts to save it - Orchid Board

delilahshines · #1 07-08-2012, 04:47 PM

Hi all,

I am abusing a mini phal, and I need help! I looked through the phal sticky but couldn't seem to find this exact problem.

I received a mini phal as a gift a month and a half ago. Unfortunately, as soon as I got it, I left on a trip. I looked up basic orchid care instructions and left them with my roommates. I don't know to what extent they followed them, but they had definitely stopped by the time I got home. The orchid was on the windowsill in the hot direct sun sun and had not been watered for quite some time.

I repotted it in bark, cut back the flowers using sanitized scissors, trimmed obvious dead roots, watered it, and moved it into my room in bright indirect sun. But it seems like it's getting worse, not better.

I live in NYC. It's been very hot (90's recently.) I've tried to run my A/C as little as possible, using the fan instead to keep things cool, but my roommates turn it on when I'm gone, and sometimes I need it to sleep. I water it twice a week, when it feels completely dry. I've been misting it, but I recently tried switching to having a tray of water under it (suspending the pot above it on a layer of shells so that it doesn't touch the water).

I tried putting a plastic bag over it but a leaf crinkled and yellowed so I took the bag off.

The orchid was given to me by a dear friend and I want desperately to save it. Any advice is much appreciated!!

The attached photos are a picture I just took (the one with the yellowed leaf), one from a few days ago, and the state it was in when I got back from my trip.

Bud · #2 07-08-2012, 05:26 PM

Its dehydrated. No water when you were away, sun and heat and dryness from AC....strange because the moss was alive and well but the Phal is wrinkled and dying....or is this because the decorative pot has no holes and the water was all this time inside drowning the plant?(this is an assumption=I dont know if all your pots have holes=the inner and outer)
NYC right now is hot and humid....so all you need to do is put it outside the window at night and let it inside in the day;that will take care of humidity issues.
Let the fauset run and drench it really wet for a minute or two....dry the crown with a tissue paper and then repeat the next day....
this is the growing months for the roots and leaves so dont be scared to water it....especially that you have transfered it to a coarse media then it needs more watering than when it was in moss.
*if that decorative planter doesnt have holes then take out the plastic when watering and then put it back after you let it drip.
if the plant drowned while you were away then just let the watering be done every other week until the plant has recovered....
because I am not sure the wrinkling is from dryness or from edema(we will know that if the outer pot has holes or not)

delilahshines · #3 07-08-2012, 05:38 PM

Thank you!

I don't have a balcony or any way to actually put it outside. I could open my window and put it next to the window, but my room faces east and it would get blasted with morning sun... is that ok?

I've been drenching it (letting the water run through under a faucet) for about 10 minutes twice a week. If I go to watering it every day, would you suggest that I cut down that watering time to around a minute?

I have to admit that I am really scared to overwater it!

Zoi2 · #4 07-08-2012, 11:29 PM

What do your roots look like?
Joann

Oscarman · #5 07-08-2012, 11:37 PM

#1 you need to check the condition of the roots. The plant is definately suffering from lack of water. Is it from lack of regular watering and dry atmosphere or non-functioning roots? Rotted or dead roots can't do much and would be my first thought.

Alive roots are firm, whitish in color. When in active growth the root tips will be bright green.

Dead roots are brown, soft and mushy or dry and brittle (depending on the moistness of your media). Dead roots have an empty tube or skin covering a thin harder wiry core.

Bud · #6 07-09-2012, 12:49 AM

I just wanted to know if the ceramic pot had holes in it....then we will know what really happened when you were away....I think it all started while you were away

delilahshines · #7 07-09-2012, 01:01 AM

Thank you!

Zoi2 and Oscarman: Is there any way to check the roots without completely unpotting it?

Bad: So sorry, looks like I completely misread your post.

In the original picture, the orchid as it was left under my roommates' care, the pot does not have a hole in it. The orchid was in a plastic sleeve with a hole that was then set inside loosely packed shells in an attempt to create some drainage. However, the medium (moss) was completely dry when I returned from my trip.

It is now in a pot with a hole in the bottom, sitting on a saucer. When I water it, I allow the water to run through for 10 minutes in the sink. I then hold the pot over the sink to allow water to continue to run out of the hole, then set it in the saucer. A small amount of water leaks onto the saucer, not even enough to reach the edges.

Bud · #8 07-09-2012, 01:16 AM

I suggest you unpot right now and do a vase culture, and put it back in the media mix if you see new leaves or roots growing....

Deep Water Culture (with pics)

Wynn Dee13 · #9 07-09-2012, 01:52 AM

Hi and welcome! Is your Phal potted in bark or moss? In your first post you said you repotted it in bark but in your pics it is in moss. If it is in moss how tightly packed is it? The trick with moss is to use a well draining pot and to pack it loosely. If your using moss I wouldn't pot your Phal directly into that glazed pot. I use unglazed clay pots or clear slotted plastic pots with moss. I also add some styrofoam packing peanuts in the bottom of the pots for drainage.

To check the roots you need to take the plant out of the pot. If it's potted in moss you can pull the plant and moss out in one piece and check the roots. You will need to look in the middle of the moss ball too. If its packed tight you will need to remove some of the moss to look closely. If it's in bark you will just have to take it out of the pot. I think it needs a new pot and medium anyway. It definitely is dehydrated from either over watering or under watering. Let us know what the roots look like and take pics if possible.

delilahshines · #10 07-09-2012, 12:59 PM

I took it out, and it looks like most of the roots are damaged. There are a few tiny firm white and green ones, however. Those feel firm, not mushy.

I've attached photos of both sides of the orchid. I also have two photos of it after I put it back in the pot -- one showing how I placed the bark and one of it back on my dresser.

The yellowing leaf fell off on its own as I was taking the photos.

Wynn Dee: It is in bark with a little moss on top.