Unhappy Phals :( - Orchid Board

caseydoll · #1 06-25-2008, 10:47 AM

I know there are loads of OB members that are having great success with phals in s/h. Unfortunately I'm not one of them and I really need some advice and suggestions. Last summer I repotted 4 of my phals into s/h. I did my research first and repotted only when I had lots of new root growth. All the plants were healthy and growing in bark before I changed over.

For a long time it seemed like they were sulking a bit and had really floppy leaves. But then I started getting new roots growing above the primeagra and a few new leaves so I thought they were adjusting. However, 2 of them have really went downhill. I moved all my orchids under fluorescent lighting almost 5 months ago and while everything had a growth explosion, the phals in s/h have not grown any new roots and they are losing bottom leaves one right after the other. I know that can be normal w/ phals but the 2 I'm concerned with have only 3 leaves left (that don't look too good either) and they were big(ish) and healthy before.

Yesterday I moved them onto the floor next to my orchid rack because the leaves are really purple and completely limp. I have a light meter and they were under about 800 fc which shouldn't be to bright for them and other phals under that kind of light are doing fine.

I water with distilled water and use MSU fertilizer for pure water at 125ppm. I also use 2 drops of KLN per gallon everytime I water. The humidity in the room where they are kept is around 60-65%. I have a fan going 24/7 and temps range right now from 70-83F. I have been watering once a week because thats when it starts to look like it's getting dry. Could that be part of my problem? The last few weeks I've been trying to water them every few days or so to see if that helps. From the appearance of the leaves it looks like I haven't watered them in months.

I would LOVE some suggestions on what I'm doing wrong. Obviously phals seem to like s/h for other people so I have to be doing something wrong. What's frustrating is that I have a Sharry Baby and Brassia that I moved last year as well and they are doing great and have been since day one. I'm just worried if I don't do something soon I'm going to lose the phals. I mean it's been a full year, shouldn't they be doing better and not worse?

Sorry this has gotten so long. I'm just trying to cover everything so someone can point out all the stuff I'm doing wrong.

TIA

Weebl · #2 06-25-2008, 11:52 AM

With good air movement, my phals respond very well to watering every morning while in S/H when I am able to.

Lene Th. · #3 06-25-2008, 01:29 PM

I moved several phals into S/H a while ago, and theyre all doing fine, exept one(but this one was struggelig before the transfer, and seems better now).
I mist the air-roots every morning, and i also mist the top of the medium on everyone, regardless if they have air-roots or not. And i have a fan going some hours every day(more on warm days than on colder days). Its not on 24/7.

I realize this may not swolve anything, but its my rutine, and my phals seems to like the S/H better than ordinary bark-mix witch i have on the rest.
But, i have to water more often with S/H, about twise a week, i run water trhu the pot and fill up the reservoir. I also fertilize weakly weekly, but do not use any form of hormones like KLN. I only use "ordinary" ochids fertilizer.

All of mine phals gets pretty mutsh light... but not direct sunlight... I do belive they thrive well in good light, as long as its not direckt sunlight.

priz_m · #4 06-25-2008, 02:03 PM

Caseydoll, I also gave s/h a chance with a phal that was recovering from root rot... it didn't like it either

.

It also grew roots, but never into the media. I followed the instructions, but eventually the root tips turned black, and I decided to change it back to a bark/LECA/sphag moss mix, it hasn't grown new roots since (is been about 2 months now) but the leaves perked up

.

I really wish I could've got it right the first time, just remember, if it's not broken, why fix it, right?

Just my

I hope they recover soon

caseydoll · #5 06-25-2008, 06:14 PM

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and advice. I like Lene's advice about misting the aerial roots. I had tried that in the beginning when the leaves started getting floppy. It definately seemed to perk them up. I'm going to try that everyday to see if the leaves get better again. I'm not sure if they are the only roots alive right now or not as I can't see any in the pot. But there may be some in the middle.

The way the leaves are leads me to believe that the ones at the surface are the sole survivors. I'm also going to try watering a lot more to see if that helps. I'm just not sure what else to do.

priz_m · #6 06-25-2008, 07:22 PM

well I can only pass on Terri's advice on moving phals to s/h, she said to do it when the orchid is starting a growth cycle otherwiise you risk stressing it.

As I said before I truly wish to had been successful.

I hope the misting takes care of it though. You can also use KLN to jump start the rooting process, right?

Keep us posted

quiltergal · #7 06-27-2008, 12:15 AM

Sometimes no matter how well you follow the directions the plant just plain doesn't like it. I have an Slc. that was in S/H for 9 months. It would start to grow roots and as soon as the touched the LECA they'd either stop growing or grow up and away from the medium. I finally took it out. It's a rootless wonder that's currently being S&B'ed. I have a feeling it's not going to make it.

Don't feel bad Sarah. Maybe try putting a light dressing of sphag on top of the aerials. If your weather is hot and/or dry it may help keep the humidity up near the top of the pot. It sounds from what you have described like you are doing everything right. Not sure what to tell you.

Maybe when Ray gets back he can weigh in.

Ray · #8 06-27-2008, 11:47 AM

Greetings from the Outer Banks!

I don't know if I agree that "some plants just plain don't like it".

As many have said, timing of repotting is important, but even if you do that perfectly, a plant needs stress-free conditions while it gets established - typically a warm and buoyant atmosphere, and shade.

I have seen similar "cattleya expereinces" to the one Terri mentioned, but found that if I had nice, clean LECA, watered with no fertilizer, and made sure the conditions allowed the medium to stay moist all the way to the top, they plants ended up getting quite nicely established.

Once again - "semi-hydroponics" does not define the entire set of conditions....

nkhimat · #9 11-02-2008, 01:18 AM

Sometimes low light affects the plants - new roots form but do not behave in a normal manner. Daily misting with more light should definitely help.

nk

wirtlo · #10 11-06-2008, 03:41 PM

Is there a reason for the DI water? Phal roots don't strike me as the sensitive type (at least the ones I have).

I use tap water and my three phals (two P. amabilis in actual SH - with about 1/4" of a reservoir in a 8 or 9" plastic container - and a P. mannii in a net plastic pot with the hydroton). I water the P. manii daily since it dries out so quick, and the other phals get neglected (maybe once a week they get watered - but the top layer of hydroton gets 'soaked' with a spray bottle almost daily (which also has really dilute fertilizer)) to keep the upper layer of the container more moist.

Since they have sufficient light and warmer temps, maybe water more. For me - I found that too much standing water in S/H is the enemy so I tend to water more and drain the already-small reservoir every time I do.

Also, is your fan blowing directly on the plants?