Made every mistake possible. Looking for help.

[Mountaineer370]

Originally Posted by MackinzieQuinn

Ok, that makes sense. The pot it is currently in is 4.5 inches, what size of pot do you suggest? I’m sorry for all the questions.

Also the stem is green and purple. It is not brown and appears healthy, I think?

Just my two cents, I don't think that pot is too large. From 4.5 inches, you could possibly go down to a 4" pot, but the difference would be negligible. The next size down would be a 3" pot, and that orchid looks way too big for a 3" pot. I have Phals much smaller than yours that are climbing out of their 3" pots.

If I were in your shoes, I would just leave that plant alone for now. It's been through enough trauma. Another repot at this time is not what it needs. It appears to be in chunky bark, and that is fine. Large bark dries out quickly, and you will have to watch your watering. Depending on the humidity levels in your home, it may do okay being watered once a week, but twice a week is probably more likely. Water does not pool or go stagnant in chunky bark medium, as long as there is adequate drainage. If you have the means to drill some holes up the sides of the pot, that would provide some extra air flow, but many people grow orchids successfully in plastic pots that only have holes at the bottom. Watch the roots. When they start to look more silver than green, and the pot starts to feel lighter in weight, that's the time to water.

As far as the stem (commonly called the spike or the inflorescence), it is my habit to leave whatever is green. If it starts to turn brown, you can cut it off.

Otherwise, just resolve from now on to give it proper care. The thread mentioned above by estacion seca should be helpful, and the American Orchid Society (aos.org) has care and culture tips for all different kinds of orchids, including Phalaenopsis.

Best of luck to you.

[Dollythehun]

First, welcome. When I learned to water my phals, they were embark. I watered them heavily, without getting water in the crown and then when I lifted them out of the water I noticed how heavy they were. This is what WW is talking about hefting the plants. Pick him up a couple days later notice how heavy they are and eventually you will notice by weight and by the way the plant looks that it needs water. You are training yourself to observe that. The same goes with outdoor plants I can look at my garden and tell that it needs to be watered by the color of the leaves. Other than that leave the poor thing alone.

[MackinzieQuinn]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Personally, I would just leave it as is, and not repot yet again. I think the size of the pot is fine, plus you can see one of the green roots at the side, so that's a good thing. The medium it's in also looks fine. Keep it away from direct sunlight. Put it under a faucet once a week and water it very thoroughly. When you're finished, feel the weight/heft of the pot. Then watch the green root... when it starts to lose the green and turn silvery, lift the pot, feel the difference in weight, then water again. Repeat, adjusting as necessary for your particular environment (heat, humidity, etc).

It looks remarkably good for what it's been through. That's a healthy looking plant that just needs to quit getting haircuts and soggy baths.

PS And when you water, don't get water in the crown of the plant. If you do, use the end of a paper towel or Qtip to lift out most of the water. The new leaf also looks very promising.

Thank you for the advice and tips. I think I will chose not to repot. I was nervous at the thought, since she’s already been through so much.

I feel awful, I’ve just been unintentionally torturing her but she seems relatively happy. At least her roots, her leaves have seen better days.

I actually feel like I had the watering situation down, and she was doing great. I just didn’t realize others in the house had started to water her, as well.

Also, I kept reading if the roots were squishy OR brown/black to cut them. So, I cut everything that wasn’t green/silver, thinking they were rotting. I had the best intentions, just the wrong information. Or at least I took the information the wrong way. I surprisingly spent hours researching what to do, trying to find a video or something with roots similar looking but couldn’t. I reached out for help on a different site and everyone was RUDE! So, I just did what I thought I was supposed to. Which turned out to be the opposite of what I should have been doing.

Anyways, sorry for the ramble, and thanks for the kind advice.

---------- Post added at 12:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:11 PM ----------

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Personally, I would just leave it as is, and not repot yet again. I think the size of the pot is fine, plus you can see one of the green roots at the side, so that's a good thing. The medium it's in also looks fine. Keep it away from direct sunlight. Put it under a faucet once a week and water it very thoroughly. When you're finished, feel the weight/heft of the pot. Then watch the green root... when it starts to lose the green and turn silvery, lift the pot, feel the difference in weight, then water again. Repeat, adjusting as necessary for your particular environment (heat, humidity, etc).

It looks remarkably good for what it's been through. That's a healthy looking plant that just needs to quit getting haircuts and soggy baths.

PS And when you water, don't get water in the crown of the plant. If you do, use the end of a paper towel or Qtip to lift out most of the water. The new leaf also looks very promising.

Thank you for the advice and tips. I think I will chose not to repot. I was nervous at the thought, since she’s already been through so much.

I feel awful, I’ve just been unintentionally torturing her but she seems relatively happy. At least her roots, her leaves have seen better days.

I actually feel like I had the watering situation down, and she was doing great. I just didn’t realize others in the house had started to water her, as well.

Also, I kept reading if the roots were squishy OR brown/black to cut them. So, I cut everything that wasn’t green/silver, thinking they were rotting. I had the best intentions, just the wrong information. Or at least I took the information the wrong way. I surprisingly spent hours researching what to do, trying to find a video or something with roots similar looking but couldn’t. I reached out for help on a different site and everyone was RUDE! So, I just did what I thought I was supposed to.

[Dollythehun]

If my roots were black, I probably would cut them too. I also break off the old stem when it gets too long. But I wouldn't advise beginners to do that because they don't yet have a feel for the plant. You did what you thought was right, and you learn from it and that's what's supposed to happen. Think how your mother felt when she had a new baby. Lol

[MackinzieQuinn]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

First, welcome. When I learned to water my phals, they were embark. I watered them heavily, without getting water in the crown and then when I lifted them out of the water I noticed how heavy they were. This is what WW is talking about hefting the plants. Pick him up a couple days later notice how heavy they are and eventually you will notice by weight and by the way the plant looks that it needs water. You are training yourself to observe that. The same goes with outdoor plants I can look at my garden and tell that it needs to be watered by the color of the leaves. Other than that leave the poor thing alone.

Thank you.

Surprisingly, I feel like I had the watering situation down and the plant was doing great. Then, others in the house had began to water the plant, thinking I was forgetting, and that is where the problems started. I’ve obviously made many mistakes since, but I have learned a lot the past few days.

---------- Post added at 12:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:27 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

If my roots were black, I probably would cut them too. I also break off the old stem when it gets too long. But I wouldn't advise beginners to do that because they don't yet have a feel for the plant. You did what you thought was right, and you learn from it and that's what's supposed to happen. Think how your mother felt when she had a new baby. Lol

You are all so kind here! I reached out somewhere else previously and people were RUDE. Therefore I tried to research on my own and misunderstood a lot of it.

I reached out here thinking I would get the same responses, but I needed some advice and took a chance. I didn’t want to kill it, you have all been so helpful. I am learning a lot and I do not plan on torturing any more orchids.

---------- Post added at 01:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:30 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Mountaineer370

Just my two cents, I don't think that pot is too large. From 4.5 inches, you could possibly go down to a 4" pot, but the difference would be negligible. The next size down would be a 3" pot, and that orchid looks way too big for a 3" pot. I have Phals much smaller than yours that are climbing out of their 3" pots.

If I were in your shoes, I would just leave that plant alone for now. It's been through enough trauma. Another repot at this time is not what it needs. It appears to be in chunky bark, and that is fine. Large bark dries out quickly, and you will have to watch your watering. Depending on the humidity levels in your home, it may do okay being watered once a week, but twice a week is probably more likely. Water does not pool or go stagnant in chunky bark medium, as long as there is adequate drainage. If you have the means to drill some holes up the sides of the pot, that would provide some extra air flow, but many people grow orchids successfully in plastic pots that only have holes at the bottom. Watch the roots. When they start to look more silver than green, and the pot starts to feel lighter in weight, that's the time to water.

As far as the stem (commonly called the spike or the inflorescence), it is my habit to leave whatever is green. If it starts to turn brown, you can cut it off.

Otherwise, just resolve from now on to give it proper care. The thread mentioned above by estacion seca should be helpful, and the American Orchid Society (aos.org) has care and culture tips for all different kinds of orchids, including Phalaenopsis.

Best of luck to you.

Thank you for your reply.

I don’t think I will repot the orchid. The thought already made me nervous, as it has been through so much recently.

I have it in an orchid mix by fertilome. It says it has canadian sphagnum peat moss chunks, orchid bark, hardwood charcoal and lava rock.

I also will leave the stem. I just kept reading everywhere to cut new growth, so it can focus energy on the roots. I think I will follow her lead. She has some really great roots left, I’m just nervous how my over cutting of her roots will affect her. The leaves seem to be looking worse each day, but it has only been a few days since I last unintentionally tortured her.

I’m learning a lot and I’m not planning on torturing anymore orchids.

[Kim in CT]

If you had a sick tomato plant, would you dig it up and cut off the roots?

Um... yes. Yes, I probably would if I'd never grown tomatoes before and I'd seen lots of videos of people cutting roots from sick tomatoes -- problem solved! -- without showing what the plants looked like after a few weeks time. I might spray my sick, now rootless tomatoes with hydrogen peroxide, too.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by MackinzieQuinn

Therefore I tried to research on my own and misunderstood a lot of it.

Some information from these following links could be helpful and useful for later.

Click Here and Click Here and Click Here and Click Here and Click Here and Click Here

Also - even when we get the watering and temperature/humidity/air-flow/lighting/fertiliser and mag-cal applications correct ------- another very important side of orchid growing is avoiding or handling attacking organisms - such as scale, mealybug, spidermites etc. Got to watch out for those things.