new phalaenopsis wrinkled leaves
 

I'm new to the wonderful world of orchids and I am honestly obsessed. I received phalaenopsis as a gift that was potted in moss with very wrinkled leaves. I have read the moss is not the best medium so I repotted using miracle grow orchid soil mix. My phals roots now looked shriveled worse than they looked in moss. Are they suffocating? Is there a better medium mix I should use? Plz help

I'm fairly new to Orchids as well. There is specific medium you buy for orchids (bark, sphagnum moss mixes). Is it Soil you are using? Is there enough drainage holes in your container?

http://www.aos.org/Default.aspx?id=425
A helpful page I read awhile back.

Maybe some other orchid experts can emphasize better.

There are many thing you need to look for in media and pots. Th best pots are clear plastic pots with holes in the bottom and slits on the side. Not very pretty but they serve the core purpose of air flow and drainage, you can always place that plastic pot in a more decorative pot. The media is another thing, most people use a mix of fir bark, charcoal & perlite which works well with Phals as long as you do not over water. Since the plant has wrinkled leaves, it is dehydrated and under watered. You should soak an orchid in its pot, in the kitchen sink, for 10-15 minutes, the water should be up to the base of the leaves, then let it drain for 10 minutes or longer, then put pack into its home. The other thing you can do is to place a humidification tray under the potted plant, basically a tray with pea gravel filled with water. What that will do is first allow for wicking but also up the humidity level around the plant which the leaves will thank you for. Never use any soil based media when working with Phals, they will die and die fast.

Can you post a photo?

:welcomeflowers:

Moss isn't bad, but it's easier to over water than bark mix.

There are a couple of Miracle-Gro orchid mixes - the original, which is extremely fine, dense, and heavy, and as such can be difficult to grow orchids in ; then there's the newer, chunky (coarse) mix, which I haven't tried, but sounds suitable for many orchids.

If you have used the original, the plant is probably staying too wet.

It still makes no sense to me. These plants grew from seedling to mature in moss. That's approximately 3 years. How could moss not be good for orchids? Its hard to explain. Moss is just fine for phals if you do not over water.

The wrinkled leaves do indicate dehydration. That can come from under watering as previously mentioned. It can also be dehydrated because the roots have rotted & died.

Using moss is fine as long as your remember 3 things. Don't over water, don't pack it too tightly in the pot, and change the moss out about every 6 months or so. If the potting media you used looks like soil you will need to repot into something coarser that drains quickly.

Media is a very opinion based question. It all depends on where you have the plants sitting, your climate, watering schedule, the pot, etc... The second I bring a new phla home I repot it out of the moss for many reasons, mostly its over watered and the roots are dying out. Moss also compacts to much in my opinion and creates a chocking aspect. I even moved away from bark/charcoal/perlite some time ago to all semi-hydroponic using PrimeAgra. I have 60+ Phals, all I grow is Phals, and I would never use moss and would never go back to the traditional bagged media. Like I said this is a opinion based question because what works for one may not for all and if you have had success with something you promote it, and failure you discourage it.

As already mentioned by others and I agree with them, media for Phals need to be airy and at the same time able to keep moist the roots, but not too soggy. Moss is okay if not too tightly packed and if there is good air circulation around the root zone and around the plant. Personally though, I remove it whenever I get a new Phal home. Wrinkled leaves means the plant not able to take in the moisture it needs. So I always inspect the roots too. Overwatering and underwatering oftentimes shows similar condition on the leaves, so inspecting the condition of the roots is important.

Once you have repotted in the more appropriate orchid mix, and if weather permits it, open your windows, allow the air to go around the plant, or if not possible maybe run the ceiling fan for awhile. The plant will like it. :) It will still try to acclimate to your home environment, so give it some time to adjust.

I stopped repotting phals when I brought them home because the roots died soon after. Almost everyone I know who has thriving phals (for years, I might add) has never taken them out of the medium they originally came in. So I guess there is some kind of cognitive dissonance going on with me.

Also, phals do not drink water. Plants don't drink water, they use it to form carbohydrates aka simple sugars. Photosynthesis process is 6CO^2+6H^20 via light C^6H^20^6 + 60^2(sorry, I have no subscript on this machine) It means that carbon dioxide and water through sunlight is transformed into glucose and oxygen. If your leaves are floppy, that means that the plant is living on stored glucose and is not being supplied enough to refill the tank. It is starving to death because it is either not getting water or sunshine. Those are the main things plants "eat"

One reason this happens is that the roots do not work. Well, like I said in the previous post, the roots worked for 3 years. So what big change was made?

Interesting that most all phals are grown in moss yet when brought to our growing areas, it becomes a deathtrap. Roots die and leaves wrinkle. Why? Easy. Where phals are grown in commercial greenhouses the temps are high, the humidity is high, and there is a constant breeze. Wind almost. They aren't watered very often because of the high humidity. We buy them, bring them home, and they start to die. What can you do to keep your new orchid happy and growing well? Simple. It doesn't matter what it is potted in or how high the humidity is. The main reason they start to deteriorate is the roots stay too wet. Period. The moss isn't the problem. Our growing area is the problem. That is, for how it is potted in relation to the conditions in our growing area. This is why most folks subscribe to the assumption that phals need to be repotted as soon as we get them home. And that is a valid assumption. They don't really need to be but for most of us, it is better to do so. When you repot the plant, you'll notice two things. First off you'll find the moss is densely packed into the pot. There is the original dense plug of moss in the center of the mass. Secondly, all the roots that aren't shriveled or black, watery messes are growing around the outside of the media just along the inside of the pot. 90% of all the hundreds of phals I have found/bought/been given/ or simply stolen have been just like this. If you don't want to, don't have the time to, fear losing the flowers, or simply don't know how to repot, just don't water much until such time that you can do it. Once you decide to repot, pick a media and pot it up the way it needs to be potted with the media you have picked. If potting into bark, make it a small bark. Spong rock/perlite is not necessary. It does have some limited benefits but isn't absolutely necessary. In an old article from the 80's in the AOS Orchids magazine the author wrote not to use charco; in the mix. Phals don't like charcoal. That's what he said. I use it. No problem. Moss? You can use the very same moss you took the phal out of and just repot into it. Just don't pack it in tight. Place small wads of it in between the roots. Hold the plant at the height you want the plant to be when finished and place small wads of moss into and around the roots. Don't smoosh it in but just place it in and pack it in with a small stick or your little finger. If you need to support the plant until it re-establishes itself, use a plant clip. Hydroton works well also. Semi-hydro is not something I use. I grew pot that way decades ago but it is problematic so I don't espouse it's use for the amateurs among us. If you use moss, you don't need to water it much. Let it get to the point of just damp before you water it again. Humidity. As long as the roots are damp (not wet) the plant will do fine. The brighter it is and the warmer it is the more water you need to give the plant but never kept wet all the time. They aren't aquatic. They are epiphytes. They grow soiless on trees and tree limbs. Taylor your watering to what you have the plant potted in and let it become just damp before you water again. A small fan will do wonders for it. Clear or opaque pots don't matter. If you know how to water with the media you have chosen, you don't need to see them. I use clay pots for most of my phals and most everything else. Not necessary but it's what I have on hand. What do your phals need? Bright warm atmosphere. Moisture short of staying wet. A nice breeze. Some food. That's it.

That should be a sticky, James.

I have a concern with something that was brought up before, that the plant was fine for 3 years in moss and what has changed? Nothing has changed which is the problem. You should repot every year as the plant grows and changes. The media starts to break down and bacteria will start to become an issue. Also by repotting and changing the media you can get a better idea as to the plants true health status and not just based on whats happening above the media. With using semi-hydroponics like PrimeAgra I repot my Phals and reuse the same media after a good cleaning and drying since most hydroponic products will not breakdown. I also use clear plastic pots that have holes on the bottom and slits down the sides, clear for photosynthesis as it is a benefit to the roots as well. Again, Orchids, like a lot of hobbies, there are so many ways to do something, and if it works for you great if not try something new until you not only find what works but what you like as well.

Another point about pots, water evaporates from clay pots much faster than it does from plastic pots. So this means that plants in clay pots will need to be watered more often than in plastic pots.

Simply put, plastic pots are good for orchids that prefer damp conditions, while those that need to dry out between waterings will do better in clay pots.

Orchids that enjoy continuously damp conditions include Miltonias, Phalaenopsis, and Paphiopedilums. Orchid varieties that need to be dried out between waterings include Cattleyas and Dendrobiums.