Phal. Belina root growth - Orchid Board

Rhonda Svoboda · #1 03-20-2021, 10:58 AM

Every action presents a new issue with this this orchid.
It wasn't growing in the last several months so I got a heat mat for my Phal. species. But it then required I water it every day. I couldn't keep up. However, they were growing new leaves.
I accidentally dropped this orchid and noticed it had no real root system, yet is was producing top growth. I am thinking I let it dry out too much? I have other Phal. species that are not that hard to grow. Is this just an issue with the orchid or am I doing something wrong?

SouthPark · #2 03-20-2021, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhonda Svoboda

noticed it had no real root system, yet is was producing top growth.

Are the leaves shriveling? And regarding 'no real root system' ------- does the orchid have any roots?

Hard to say what happened there at the moment. Some photos of the media, roots, and close-ups of the base/stem ----- may be useful here for assessment. And temperature, lighting etc.

Rhonda Svoboda · #3 03-20-2021, 11:38 AM

i"ve attached a photo of the plant and there are only 3 decent roots. The rest are shriveled and dead.

estación seca · #4 03-20-2021, 01:11 PM

Keep in mind it prefers being warm and humid, with moist roots and plenty of air at the roots. Under good conditions Phals form roots profusely and make new leaves all year.

My observation has been the group of hot-growing Phals with light green leaves and star-shaped flowers does not tolerate drying completely at the roots, nor low humidity, as do Phals with rounder flowers and darker leaves. The bellina-venosa-amboinensis types would much prefer a hot greenhouse rather than a home comfortable for humans.

I think most of your plant's issues are related to cool temperatures and low humidity. When it warms up and you can put it outside in bright, humid, warm shade your plant will be much happier.

Rhonda Svoboda · #5 03-20-2021, 02:20 PM

All of my Phal's receive the same conditions: Medium bright shade, warm (via heat mat) and I spray with water every day. I am thinking that their just drying out too much. I'll see what I can change.
Thanks for the advice.

aliceinwl · #6 03-20-2021, 03:14 PM

I’ve stayed away from Phal. belina because I’m not sure I can keep it happy but I do have a couple hybrids with a lot of Phal. belina in their background. I’ve found putting them in an outer pot in a spot that they get some morning sun that heats up the outer pot seems to make them happy. I keep them a little bit wetter than the others. The outer pot seems to trap a lot of humidity in the root zone but between the large leaves and abundant roots they still need water every 3-4 days. I’m not sure if this would work for Phal. belina itself but my hybrids are pretty happy. They did seem to sulk a bit for the first 3 months after I purchased them which I think the lower ambient humidity in my house versus the green house likely played a role in.

Ray · #7 03-20-2021, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhonda Svoboda

All of my Phal's receive the same conditions: Medium bright shade, warm (via heat mat) and I spray with water every day. I am thinking that their just drying out too much. I'll see what I can change.
Thanks for the advice.

Phal. bellina, and a few other species, prefer it really hot and really humid. "Spraying" does not do that.

SouthPark · #8 03-20-2021, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhonda Svoboda

All of my Phal's receive the same conditions: Medium bright shade, warm (via heat mat) and I spray with water every day. I am thinking that their just drying out too much. I'll see what I can change.
Thanks for the advice.

The leaves are still looking pretty good there. Also nice in that it still has some good roots - which are still supporting this phal.

Ensure that the heat-mat temperature control is working as desired ----- keeping the temperature range in a nice range. And also ensure the roots inside the pot get adequate breathing space and breathing time.

It's definitely noted that your other phals are doing nicely with your growing method - which is nice.

SouthPark · #9 03-20-2021, 08:29 PM

When the most important environment quantities (temperature, humidity etc) falls in the range that allows the orchids systems to work nicely - then it can be relatively easy sailing.

In the tropics here ---- I'm growing phals in scoria --- watering pretty much every day. The temperature range is nice for the kinds of phals that I'm growing - and humidity is generally good. The air-flow through the media is pretty good too, and even though not always necessary ---- I just avoid putting water on the crown, or near the crown, and even avoid getting water on the stem itself ----- as in I think that lots of water in the media near the stem can probably travel up the stem ---- and while no issues may be caused for most of the time ----- there possibly could be some issue developed unexpectedly. So to completely avoid the issue in my growing area - I focus most of the water towards the outskirts of the pot.

I do pretty much the same thing with all my other orchids. Works nicely in my area. But I can understand there's got to be adjustments made for other regions - such as very dry and/or low humidity regions.

The attached pic is of a hybrid phal. I also grow a species equestris phal in the same way. And if I had a bellina --- I would grow in the same way as well - in my region that is.

My general approach is to provide conditions that are most likely to sustain the growth of the kind of orchid I'm growing ----- to make sure that's provided - temperature, lighting, air-flow, humidity, media, not allowing roots to stay wet for relatively long amount of time, but yet not allowing the roots to dry out for relatively long times. And only there-after I might tweak some conditions - like watering schedule - to maybe do some fine tuning.

Leafmite · #10 03-20-2021, 08:34 PM

If your Phal bellina's roots are not doing well, perhaps trying a more open pot would work better. Mine is in tightly-packed NZ sphagnum moss and basket pot. I let the moss get light and crispy, then water it until it is very heavy and dripping, about once every six days. My conditions are cool and dry. I hang mine from the side of the pot as it wasn't displaying the flowers well (maybe as it is still a young plant or maybe it is just the clone).