Phalaenopsis in VERY bad shape

[cra323]

Hi everyone!!

So, my neighbor brought me his Phal. last night because he said it wasn't doing so well, and he hopes that I will be able to save it...

Well, the poor thing looks TERRIBLE!

Now, I've revived a few phals over the past couple years (even a severely sunburned one that I posted about last year--- it is doing amazingly and even bloomed!!), but I'd like some advice on where to start with this one.

Now my neighbor mostly pulled the phal out of it's pot, so I was able to see that the roots don't look TOO bad (only a few will need to be cut), but the leaves are all wilted and wrinkly, one top leaf has this gross black spot on it (sunburn?), and the spike it tried to grow is all distorted and has a clear sticky substance on the tip (ew!).

I posted a few pics for y'all to see.

Now, clearly, this thing needs to be repotted. But what should I do about these leaves? And should I go ahead and cut the spike off-- I really don't think anything is going to become of it.

Please help!!

Thanks,

Christina

[mimigirl]

I hope you get some great advice. But if it was me I would probably send it to orchid heaven. Sorry

[sbrofio]

mmmm I'd unpot, cut all dead & dried roots; leaf damage looks like sunburn, so no disease to worry about, but I'd put some antifungal or stuff like that.

Then I'd put it in sphagnum-therapy: a pot (with no holes), with well moist sphagum moss; the plant on it with the little roots a bit in the moss and, up on all, a plastic transparent bag to keep humidity always high. In 1 week- 10 days you sould see some differences. probably in 1-2 months plant should be saved.

I cut the stem: energy spent for nothing.

something like this Blackjack in sfagnoterapia

[dangerouseddy]

id take it out and soak the roots in some tepid water with some superthrive in it for an hour or 2 before you repot it.

then check for dead roots , as some shriveled ones can bounce back if given chance to absorb water.

personally I wouldn't put it in a bag if the roots are ok, its only inviting the chance of rot etc.

[astrid]

I'd cut off the burned leaf. Phals don't seem to mind much if you lop off a leaf. Leave the rest of the leaves alone.

But I mean, look at all those roots! There's so many fatty roots!
I would not pot it in sphagnum- it doesn't need it. I would trim off any dead roots (the ones that don't turn green when sprayed with water, and the papery hollow roots) and leave the rest in place. Just pot it according to its root size.

I totally agree with soaking the plant in superthrive. That stuff works well enough in my experience.

This'll just take years of patience. I would cut the flower spike, too.

It has so many roots that it doesn't need sphagnum moss, imo. Just normal phal potting mix that you like to use! It should put out new leaves soon once you get it in a happier environment. I'd just pot it properly and treat it like a normal phal.

[RandomGemini]

I would send it to orchid heaven for a couple of reasons.

1. Phalaenopsis of just about every color in the rainbow can be had at your local grocery store, hardware store and garden center for fairly cheap. The amount of time and money you will spend recovering a plant this badly desiccated exceeds the value of the plant.

2. It may not make it regardless of what you do and the fact that it is in spike tells me that it seems to recognize that its life is at an end.

If I were determined to try, I would quarantine it and hope for a keiki from that spike, because that doesn't cost you anything to do. Leave it potted as is, put it in a spot where it gets some good light, water it when you water your other orchids. Let that dead leaf fall off naturally and see what happens. Don't go to great lengths. Either it will live, or it won't.

[astrid]

Originally Posted by RandomGemini

I would send it to orchid heaven for a couple of reasons.

1. Phalaenopsis of just about every color in the rainbow can be had at your local grocery store, hardware store and garden center for fairly cheap. The amount of time and money you will spend recovering a plant this badly desiccated exceeds the value of the plant.

2. It may not make it regardless of what you do and the fact that it is in spike tells me that it seems to recognize that its life is at an end.

If I were determined to try, I would quarantine it and hope for a keiki from that spike, because that doesn't cost you anything to do. Leave it potted as is, put it in a spot where it gets some good light, water it when you water your other orchids. Let that dead leaf fall off naturally and see what happens. Don't go to great lengths. Either it will live, or it won't.

I mean, it's a fair way to think if you want to.
However, some people love to rescue phals, and others wanna just toss them and buy a new one.
I'm in the middle of that spectrum. I have about 4 rescue plants in my collection of over 20 (what a baby collection that is compared to some of you guys haha!!).
The healthy plants make me happy when they bloom, and the few rescue plants are satisfying to see when they improve!

It's a matter of patience. I would personally throw this one away, but OP seems to want to save it and it has quite a number of good roots, and it might recover more quickly than you'd think?

Even if it dies, sometimes it feels good to try!

[RandomGemini]

Yeah, I just gave away a bunch of my NOID Phal hybrids because I am focusing on growing species now. I have a couple I will keep, because I really like them, but otherwise, I've got a finite amount of space. I have 50 some odd orchids these days and just not enough space to keep NOIDs unless there is something sentimental about them.

[jai_star]

If this plant has significant value or a rare NOID which I have one myself that you must save at all cost then try and save it otherwise don't waste too much of your time. It's far from flowering and will take a long time to recover. If you do decide to save her then I would suggest you don't let her dry out from now on and slowly feed her high in Nitrogen. Keep in bright indirect light

[cra323]

Thanks, everyone!

Since this orchid isn't mine, it really isn't a huge loss to me--- other than the fact that it makes me sad when one dies because it hasn't been cared for

I've been successful with rescue phals before, so I'm going to give this guy a shot and see what we can do.

Thanks again for the advice, guys!