saved Phal - leaves limp

[celestina]

Popped out to get some dog food and came back with 2 Phals

They were both being sold off and in the dark corner... one looks really healthy now it's out of the bag... (although in the bag it looked poorly).

The other looks sorry for itself although the flowers are really pretty. I have posted some pictures of the poorly one.

At the moment I have soaked and drained it, it is now standing on some moist pebbles in a clear container on my eastern window sill.

What do you think is the best way to go with it?

Thank you so much.

[Germinatorman]

Personally, although it would kill me, I would cut off the flower stem. I would also make sure the leaves got a healthy misting several times a day, but not in the evening.

[punky4240]

My leaves also look droopy (growing downward) but healthy and it bloomed... I have read not to mist the leaves and now you saw do so... confused!!!

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Cut the flower spike off and put it in a vase. Then repot this orchid. The roots look very damaged and will need to be cleaned up. Because of root rot, the orchid is not getting the moisture it needs and just adding more water will not help since it has such poor roots. I would unpot it and let the roots dry out a bit and then clean them up. Repot in an open bark mix that drains freely. Keep it in a lower light area until it grows new roots.

Good luck.

Cheers,
BD

[celestina]

Thank you all so much... I was so hoping I wasn't going to need to cut the flower stems off...and simply spray the leaves.

Thank you Brutal_Dreamer, not what I wanted to hear but hopefully I can save the plant and it will produce many more beautiful flowers.

I will do this and re-pot today...

[celestina]

Just to let you know what was in the pot.

Even having been previously soaked, the roots appear really dry. The bark fell away easily and was clean & dry... I cut away a couple of brown roots...but most are as you see them in the pictures. I am soaking new bark at the moment. Fingers crossed and thank you.

In the details that came with the plant it says to cut the flower stalks about 20cms from the base of the plant... is this right... or could I cut them closer to the base?

[Brutal_Dreamer]

You can cut them closer to the base. Good news is that your roots are not as bad as I expected. The 'green' ones are still thick and will serve the plant well. Repotting will help your orchid, but you will need to manage the amount of water you give it. Good luck to you.

Cheers,
BD

[wetfeet101b]

The burned root tips on the new roots is a strong indication that the potting mix has "gone sour" and the plant needs to be repotted into fresh media.
Sustaining the flowers drain a lot of energy from the plant, so I agree that they should be cut to allow the plant to recover and divert energy to produce new roots and leaves.

[Phalcycle]

There seems to be very good roots left on these plants. THey have a high chance on survvine.