Injured Phalaenopsis

[josterha]

Hello,

I have a beautiful white NOID phal that was at the end of a blooming cycle. One of my cats apparently thought the long spike was a good thing to rub up against. She knocked the plant over and it fell onto the floor. The leaves took the brunt of the fall. The bottom leaf on one side is essentially snapped in half, and the one above it is partially torn in the middle. I need to repot the plant anyway as it has completely filled the clear pot with roots.

Questions :

What should I do with the damaged leaves? Should I leave them on the plant or cut them off entirely?

The plant is currently growing at a 45 degree angle out of the pot. Should I re-orient it when I repot it so that the roots are all below the surface of the medium?

Thanks for the advice,

John

[Chubidubi]

John
I personally don't know much about these plants but I would leave the leaves if they were not completely broken in pieces. Repot it as soon as possible. Just watch the plant for a while until you're certain it's ok.

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by josterha

Hello,

I have a beautiful white NOID phal that was at the end of a blooming cycle. One of my cats apparently thought the long spike was a good thing to rub up against. She knocked the plant over and it fell onto the floor. The leaves took the brunt of the fall. The bottom leaf on one side is essentially snapped in half, and the one above it is partially torn in the middle. I need to repot the plant anyway as it has completely filled the clear pot with roots.

Questions :

What should I do with the damaged leaves? Should I leave them on the plant or cut them off entirely?

The plant is currently growing at a 45 degree angle out of the pot. Should I re-orient it when I repot it so that the roots are all below the surface of the medium?

Thanks for the advice,

John

I tend to take the conservative approach, meaning I'll do too much rather than risk not doing enough. That said, I'd leave the leaves on the plant but would treat the wounds with a fungicide to make sure that nothing gets in and damages them. It's unlikely, but I like safe. it's possible that the leaves will die naturally from the damage but I wouldn't hasten that; they may stay on and continue to contribute to the plant, as has been my own experience.

The genera tends to grow in a kind of lopped over way, but the aesthetics of how we grow them is different - we like the plants to stand up. I'd be inclined to repot the plant so that it stands straight, with the roots below the surface. It will grow aerial roots, of course, but that'll come later.

[susiep]

John, I do repair work on my plants broken leaves all the time. I only cut off leaves that have turned yellow. Those aren't coming back. Green leaves are still working and the plant probably needs them. What I do is make a soft splint out of tape on the back side (only) of the leaf. The best tapes are strapping (with the little threads running through it) or duck tape (from Walmart). These are really gluey and tend to stay on. This works especially well for split leaves and if you do it quick will sometimes prevent the split getting worse. You have to get someone to help you reposition the leaf to it's natural shape then place the tape securely on one side of the center spine and rub it and press it to get it secure, then fold it over to the other side of the back. If you do it too tight, it will flatten the leaf and it will not have a natural shape. You won't even see it if you do it right and you can add a year or two to a leaf this way. Just my

[Bird Song Farm]

Originally Posted by susiep

John, I do repair work on my plants broken leaves all the time. I only cut off leaves that have turned yellow. Those aren't coming back. Green leaves are still working and the plant probably needs them. What I do is make a soft splint out of tape on the back side (only) of the leaf. The best tapes are strapping (with the little threads running through it) or duck tape (from Walmart). These are really gluey and tend to stay on. This works especially well for split leaves and if you do it quick will sometimes prevent the split getting worse. You have to get someone to help you reposition the leaf to it's natural shape then place the tape securely on one side of the center spine and rub it and press it to get it secure, then fold it over to the other side of the back. If you do it too tight, it will flatten the leaf and it will not have a natural shape. You won't even see it if you do it right and you can add a year or two to a leaf this way. Just my

Hi susiep,
Would you happen to have a phal that has undergone this procedure you could show us with a picture?
I have a P. gigantea that arrived with a broken leaf and this sounds like what I need to do.
Thank you,
Al

[josterha]

Thanks for the recommendations. Susiep, I will try to repair the one leaf. The other one broke-off right away when I was repotting. I think the repair will work for the other. Great Idea! By the way, the roots looked great and I expect the plant to be just fine in its new pot.

[susiep]

Here is a pic of the psycopsis I just fixed up. Hard leaves like catts are easier to fix. But it can be done on any thick, sturdy leaves. I will try to take more pics this weekend of other repairs in my shade house.

[susiep]

John, how is your plant doing? Did you do the repair? I finally got some pics of repairs for you. The leaf in the first pic is split completely in half. The second leaf I taped up to prevent that kind of splitting.

[Rothie]

I like your tape method,susiep.

[josterha]

Thanks for the inquiry, Susiep, and sorry for the late response. The current status of this plant is not really known. I mean, I did repot and repaired the damaged leaf with tape. Although the leaves are still firm and green, it had stopped growing. I think maybe the trauma of falling really hurt this one. I'm just going to keep it watered and sitting in the window, but I don't have high hopes.

- John