Possible stem rot!!
I got this lovely lady in August and repotted her in orchid bark mid February, she has bloomed beautifully since then but has had no new root or leaf growth. Her roots look very dry and I think her stem is drying up:(
Her leaves also are yellowing and wilting, meanwhile she continues to bloom, like one month now!
I water her every 9 days, and use orchid fertilizer with each watering since repotting.
Is she dying? What should I do?
Her leaves also are yellowing and wilting, meanwhile she continues to bloom, like one month now!
I water her every 9 days, and use orchid fertilizer with each watering since repotting.
Is she dying? What should I do?
6
@MotherOfOrchids might be able to give you some help, but from what I see your don’t seem to be watering enough, orchid roots get all papery like that when they get too dried out, maybe add some more long fiber sphagnum mosss to help with moisture retention, 4 out of my 5 are in a mix of orchid bark and moss like that, only one of mine is in straight bark and that one is one I got from a plant shop that mainly does orchids so it was already acclimated to just orchid bark
I agree with @Little_Dude Your orchid looks very dehydrated. It’s great that the roots have greened up since you took her out of the pot - that means the roots are still alive and she has a very good root system. I can’t see any signs of stem rot yet, however, I can see droplets of water on the leaves and stem and that is going to leave your plant very vulnerable to rot. If you can dry the droplets, that would really help. Phals are very prone to rot as they are epiphytes - they grow on trees and in their natural environment, they lean downwards so that rainfall drips off the plant and they’ve evolved to do that to protect them from rot. We grow them standing upright, so water tends to drain into crevices in the stem, causing stem rot, which is almost always fatal. It could be that your orchid doesn’t like the media or pot you repotted her in and this has stressed her out. Are you using a similar media and pot as to what she was in before? Your plant is also likely to be very stressed because of the dehydration, so if it were mine, I’d be tempted to cut the flower spike off and put it in a vase (they can last for a good few weeks in a vase!). This will ensure that the plant uses its energy to recover from its stress, whereas if you leave the spike it’ll send its energy into protecting the flowers, even if it means it has to start shutting down the leaves and roots to do that. You might decide to leave the spike for a few days to see how she copes and then make a decision, Phals are known to bloom themselves to death if they don’t have the health to support the blooms. If cutting the stem, use sterilised scissors or pruners and dab cinnamon powder on the cut as it’ll stop infection getting in. The aeration you’ve got down the sides of the pots probably makes your media and roots dry out more quickly, so you might need to increase your watering schedule. Like Tally said, if you find that you are watering too frequently, adding sphagnum moss to the media can help (it doesn’t always - I find it won’t dry out in my environment and the roots don’t get the wet/dry cycle they need which led to rot, so I switched back to regular orchid pots with aeration at the bottom and mine are much happier - it’s all about finding out what works in your home environment. Phals are great at showing us what they like and what they don’t like). I keep a bamboo skewer in my pots and water the plants on the first day that the skewer comes out dry or almost completely dry and the roots are a silvery green colour. After a repot, especially a repot in winter, you may need to water when the roots need watering, even if the media is still wet - this is because the plant is stressed after a repot (they tend to cope better with repots in spring and summer). It’s normal not to get much/any leaf and root growth while the plant is in bloom. After the plant has finished blooming, it’ll go into a period of vegetative growth in which it’ll focus on making new leaves and roots. Though don’t worry if it doesn’t do anything for a few weeks - when orchids are stressed, they often pause what they were doing and look like they’ve gone dormant. This is normal and they just need time to feel better. Once over their stress, they’ll bounce back!
@MotherOfOrchids I don't know if you think this idea would be too risky in this situation, but I used to use a plastic bag plus damp paper towel method to help rehydrate a really dehydrated orchid. I found that watering alone didn't seem to work very quickly. Basically you put the orchid in a large plastic bag with a source of damp, like moss or paper towel. Blow up the bag with your breath (which is very humid) and seal the bag. Put it somewhere with no direct sun for 3 days. I used to use it on orchids that were going in the trash at the supermarket, they were always extremely dehydrated with floppy leaves. Thanks for all your amazing info, it's so helpful!! 🌿💚😊
@LuxuryMint it’s definitely possible to do this and some people get great results and seemingly bring back orchids from the dead. You’ll sometimes see it called the sphag and bag method! My one time of trying it resulted in mould and Miss Orchid Girl won’t use this method either because of mould. Mould spores love this type of closed, humid environment and they multiply very quickly and it’s hard for sick orchids to fight against it. The mould overtook my orchid and it died - this was my first orchid and I haven’t used it since. If using this method, it would definitely help to let air get to the orchid for several hours a day before re-bagging. With this particular orchid, because it has such a healthy root system, it shouldn’t need an intervention like this. Phals can cope well with dehydration and can survive without roots for several months!
@MotherOfOrchids Yes the sphag and bag method, I knew there was a name for it!! I agree it's a bit of a do or die method. I only had problems with it if I continued beyond the 3 days. I like Miss Orchid Girl too, I've learnt a lot from her. I know orchids can do without roots for a while, but they can't do without leaves, or at least that's my experience, would you agree? 😊💚🌿
It breaks my heart, but I think I will have to cut the flower spike. The side aeration and bark media are very new for this orchid. She was in a plastic pot with aeration only at the bottom and a spongy media.
I’m amazed she was able to produce such a stem of flowers despite so much stress!
I’m amazed she was able to produce such a stem of flowers despite so much stress!