24 hr yellowing leaf & pits on Phal....Newbie needs advice

[Amydillo]

I purchased my first large Phal. a few months ago to start really learning the art of orchid growing. In the last few weeks, one leaf has curled and now this big change since yesterday morning. It was repotted in bark by the nursery worker. Has now dropped all but one bud off a second bloom. It is in an East window in a warm Texas bathroom. I use a bamboo skewer to check moisture levels, and it is fine. I'm wondering if it needs to be repotted into a more ventilated pot? Too much sun? Normal leaf drop?
See attached pics, the first two where it lives and then the third pic is 24 hrs later.

[Dollythehun]

I have never had success with skewers. Your plant looks very dry to me. It would be hard to overwater in that bark.

[rbarata]

My oppinion, based on the photos is:

underwater and ambient humidity too low.
You can compensate the low humidity by watering more but, in that case, you should increase the bark size.
Have you cheked the root condition?

[Amydillo]

I have been watering about once weekly and it is sitting on a saucer of marbles and water for humidity. I am going to pull it out and see what the roots look like tomorrow I suppose. Maybe overpotted or fungus? I read to spray roots with Gold Listerine to kill fungus on roots....yes or no?

---------- Post added at 05:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:35 PM ----------

I stick my finger in the substrate and it still feels damp down below....I use bamboo, fingers, and weight to judge....still can't get it right I guess

[rbarata]

I read to spray roots with Gold Listerine to kill fungus on roots....yes or no?

I would say NO...have you put Listerine in your mouth? I think ethanol is part of its composition so it would kill the roots, unless is very small concentrations (less than 5%). I would would advise against.

I would repot into a mix of coarse bark (bigger chunks than you have) and get rid of the moss.
The saucer with pebbles is of little or no effect. It's more effective to water more but then you'll need to have high drainage that allows the mix to allow air circulation around the roots and prevents water staying in the medium.

The best option is to use a transparent plastic pot that allows you too see the root color...if green, no water needed, if silverish then water.

[Amydillo]

Also, I read that Phals liked to dry out slightly before you water again? I guess it depends on the substrate?

[rbarata]

Dry out slightly is a little ambiguous...I never let mine dry out. Root color is a good guide.
In their habitat, Phalaenopsis are constantly wet but the roots are exposed to the air. The worst enemy for the roots is lack of air circulation and all the factors that may contribute for it to happen are to be eliminated.
Basically you want to have air voids in between the medium and the best way to achieve that is to use bigger chuncks of bark to prevent those voids to be clogged but stagnant water and/or small particles common is smaller size bark.

[Amydillo]

OK. I trust this forum more that I trust the ebook that said to do that.
I will get on that plan to repot asap. I'm going to have to order more aeration pots. Until they come in, should I just loosly gather the roots in bark within something(mesh bag?) and set it back in the original big pot? I have the special orchid moss as well.

[rbarata]

How long do you think it will take?

[Leafmite]

Phals grow in trees in tropical, humid but very warm climates, the bare roots clinging to the branches of trees or, sometimes, rocks. The roots get wet from the rain, dry quickly, and get wet again. The roots are completely exposed to the very humid air that moves gently past it.

When we use medium for orchids, this is to help keep the air around the roots humid and to keep the orchid steady in the pot.

There are many, many ways to grow Phals successfully. I like to easily see my roots so that I can tell when to water. When my roots turn from green to white, it is time to water.

I grow my Phals in 'net pots' that are just slightly larger than the root ball and use NZ sphagnum moss (AAA):

Example of the pots:

Net Pots | rePotme

Example of the Moss:

AAA New Zealand Sphagnum Moss

This allows air to get to the roots, preventing 'root rot':

Root rot - Wikipedia

When you take the orchid out of the pot and medium, remove all the medium, rinse the roots, then soak the roots for about an hour. If the roots stay brown and are not firm, they are dead. If any roots become firm (they will usually turn green but could remain white or be stained brown--firm is the key) these are good roots. Remove any roots that are dead. Let the good roots dry before 'potting' the orchid to help deter Phytophthora.

Good luck!