Is my Phal salvageable? - Orchid Board

pancakelover01 · #1 06-07-2021, 02:17 PM

Hello,

I’m new to orchids and this orchid community and I currently own one Phalaenopsis Orchid from Target. It had two flowering spikes with blooms, one of which all of the blooms have already fallen after a month. One of the leaves already came with this little black blemish on the side. The leaves have always been droopy, which concerns me because I Water it when the roots turn silver. It was doing fine at first, but then suddenly the aerial roots dried out, and there seems to be a black spot on the crown on the side, and I’m wondering if it’s the beginning of a crown or stem rot 😭 the orchid is planted in bark. Also the leaves look a little discolored at the end, like a purplish red. I’ve no answers for most of these so can somebody please give me tips on what is wrong with my orchid and what I can do to prevent her from dying, if she is? All the roots in the pot look good still. Do I cut the dried looking aerial roots? They turn a little green when I apply water, but not really and they turn back to the dried color quickly and they feel flat, and look thin and kind of pruny.

DrDawn · #2 06-07-2021, 03:11 PM

I don't see anything too concerning about the "black spots" from your pics. (Maybe I'm not looking at the right part). Some roots dry out, that's ok, I never cut them back (just leave them). Sometimes the plants come from a more humid environment and so the aerial roots might dry out in your environment but that doesn't mean that the orchid is going to die!

A few more questions that might help us give advice - about how often are you watering? What sort of lighting is your plant receiving?

pancakelover01 · #3 06-07-2021, 03:22 PM

---------- Post added at 03:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:20 PM ----------

[/COLOR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDawn

I don't see anything too concerning about the "black spots" from your pics. (Maybe I'm not looking at the right part). Some roots dry out, that's ok, I never cut them back (just leave them). Sometimes the plants come from a more humid environment and so the aerial roots might dry out in your environment but that doesn't mean that the orchid is going to die!

A few more questions that might help us give advice - about how often are you watering? What sort of lighting is your plant receiving?

I water when the roots turn silvery green. They turn silvery in like a week. So about once a week. I use distilled water, and I let it soak for 5-10 minutes and then I let it drain really well. If I get water on the crown or leaves, I carefully go and and pat them dry with a paper towel. My Phal sits on my table, facing the porch window. The porch window has a curtain that I move aside to let light in. It is a south facing window, and I live in central Florida. Not sure what the humidity level in my house is, but the thermostat States 44% at this very moment.

Sorryyy this is my first time on a board so I’m getting used to how to post replies 😂

Here’s a picture of the black spot on the crown

Dollythehun · #4 06-07-2021, 06:33 PM

That's pretty common. No worries.

camille1585 · #5 06-08-2021, 02:41 AM

Your Phal looks rather normal for one living in standard low humidity conditions of most homes. I see nothing to be massively worried about. Spots/marks do happen, and as long as they don't spread they generally aren't a cause for concern. Aerial roots often dry out when they've gone from nice humid commercial greenhouse to less than optimal conditions. And lastly, as longs as the leaves feel firm and not wrinkled, droopy leaves are not necessarily a sign that something is wrong, maybe Phals just naturally do that. I hope this puts your mind at ease, somewhat!

As a small comment, it would be good to add some fertilizer when you water since distilled water provides no nitrients. Be sure to use a complete formula (with Mg, Ca and micronutrients). If you use tapwater than a standard fertilizer is fine since tapwater already contains some minerals. To calculate the dosage for weekly application, divide 7 by the %N on the label and that gives you the teaspoons/gallon to use.

Mountaineer370 · #6 06-08-2021, 08:57 AM

Welcome to the Orchid Board! I agree with the others who have already replied that I do not see anything you need to be worried about. It looks like a healthy hybrid Phalaenopsis.

Spots happen on orchids, and the tiny dark area I am able to see in your photos does not look concerning. Also, the reddish color near the edges of some leaves could either be part of the genetic makeup of that particular orchid, or it could be a harmless reaction to what little sunlight is coming in through your window. The blemish on the side of the one leaf also should be nothing to worry about, but if it seems to grow or start to look worse, let us know. Otherwise, I think it is just an old scar from bumping or scraping something before you got it.

Also, don't worry about the fact that it is losing flowers already. You don't know how long it had been in bloom when you got it, so the loss of flowers is nothing to worry about. They could be near their natural life expectancy anyway, plus maybe the stress of being moved to a new environment hastened their loss a little bit. This happens. It will put out a new spike and bloom again regularly with good care. An orchid like this will typically spike and bloom once a year, but they oftentimes take a while to get acclimated when they are moved to a new environment, so it could spike more often or less often for a while.

As far as those drying aerial roots, I would not be cutting them off. I'm going to say something here that some others on this board have said is of no practical use, but I do it anyway, and that is I use a spray bottle of plain water and I mist the aerial roots on my orchids. My house is ultra low in humidity in the winters, and more mid-range in the summers, and I have found the misting to be beneficial in keeping them from drying up too much. I mist only the roots, not the leaves; however, I don't worry if a few drops of water get on the leaves. I do this every time I water but also in between waterings when humidity is very low. I'm not suggesting those dry roots in your photo will ever become green again. They won't, but they are likely still able to take up some moisture for the plant. And if it puts out any new aerial roots, misting may be helpful to keep them from drying out too quickly.

I use regular tap water for my watering, and I use MSU fertilizer at a rate of 1/2 teaspoon per gallon. I fertilize every one to two weeks (I confess I don't keep a schedule), but I water without fertilizer much more often. I have some Phals that need to be watered every three days; others can go maybe a week, but I check all of them every day and judge by the color of the roots and the weight of the pot if they need water.

Best of luck to you. I hope we have assured you that there is no indication that your plant is dying or in any distress.

DrDawn · #7 06-08-2021, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pancakelover01

---------- Post added at 03:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:20 PM ----------
My Phal sits on my table, facing the porch window. The porch window has a curtain that I move aside to let light in. It is a south facing window, and I live in central Florida.

Ah, then the reddish tinge on the leaves might be from a bit too much light! It might be fine, just watch out for that. Phals like shade or dappled sunlight, hopefully another one of the FL growers can give some advice on that! I grow my Phals indoors in Boston in a north-east facing window and they are very happy with that amount of light. (My cattleyas, on the other hand, wish I lived in FL!

)

Happy Growing!

Shadeflower · #8 06-09-2021, 05:22 AM

Phals are the ones I generally need to move around the most. Finding the right spot for them is the challenge where they get enough sun in winter but not too much in Summer.

South facing window in Florida sounds like it would fry my phals which will create a red tinge on the leaves but on a phal that reminds me a lot of yours I had to move recently, what happened was the sun damage showed on the bottom of the leaf!
Very strange but the top of the leaf is pretty much fine with just a hint of yellowing on the tip but when I inspected the leaf for mites I noticed the sunburn damage on the underside of the leaf and the top is unburnt!

Considering I said yours reminds me of that one I'd check the underside of your leaves but move it to a shadier spot during the height of summer. These are low light slow growing orchids.
Mine has had it's blooms open for 8 months and is currently producing it's next flower spike so looks like I've reached contnuous flowering but when I first bought the plant I broke off the first flower spike and didn't have any flowers for the first 2 years.

Mountaineer370 · #9 06-09-2021, 11:14 AM

In the northern hemisphere, as summer approaches, the path of the sun across the sky gets higher, not lower. So, in a south-facing window, the amount of direct sunlight coming in would be less in summer, more in winter.

That is case in my state of Michigan, and I would think, with Florida being at a much lower latitude, the sun would appear to cross an even higher path in the sky in the summer.

I'm not seeing any issues in the pictures the OP has posted that would indicate sun damage to me.