Seeking help...

[Kjoyt]

Hi! I have had orchids for a while now and read and read and read a ton of information. I don't seem to be making progress...or need to reset my expectations. I have 3 orchids in my house. 1 has had no stem and been healthy leaves for some time. 1 I am watching for my mom right now and the third is the one that I have issues with. I bought it on clearance and wanted to help the poor thing out. I figured if I could learn from a 7 dollar orchid then I could help get my others to bloom. Two months ago I bought this orchid and it had a dying stem with flowers on it. The flowers fell so I cut the stem down to the base as it was no longer healthy. I repotted the plant when I got home only to find potting soil in the medium. Took that all out and put in new medium. I think I may have it planted to high. Please feel free to comment. I was unsure because it looked like some of the roots were those air roots that it might have grown because it needed at one point. I know I am not overwatering and am very careful about that. The problem is...this plant had around 4 tiers of leaves when I got it. The leaves were a darker green, wilted, and wrinkly. The color of the leaves have since improved to a better green. All of the sudden the bottom leaves started turning yellow. I wouldnt worry if it were two leaves...but I think we are on the fourth or fifth. Is this plan just trying to heal itself from the damage? Or can I expect all the leaves to fall off? Looks like I am going to lose three of them for sure. Can you give me some suggestions? My green thumb is turning yellow. THanks!!

[Sheryl]

Ok, again, I'm sure someone with much more knowledge than I will pipe in but I don't see any new root growth on this orchid. They should be green not brown as I see here. I've seen people post about kelp to stimulate root growth. Also the outer pot you have it in has no drainage holes so if you did have root growth this pot would cause the roots to rot.

[Chris in Hamilton]

When an orchid has lost its roots it will begin to draw water and nutrients from itself. While most (Cattleya, Dendrobiums etc.) have pseudo-bulbs to draw that reserve from, in the case of Phal's that means it takes those from the leaves. As Sheryl said, be careful those decorative pots with no drainage. Can you provide a pic of the roots that you feel are healthy? The one's that we can see in this picture are dead.

[raybark]

Can you provide a pic of the roots that you feel are healthy? The one's that we can see in this picture are dead.

...and the potting medium looks bone dry, while phalaenopsis prefer even moisture, with lots of air to the roots.

[oile]

In my humble opinion the main cause of the suffering of the rootsit is the second external vasee; the phalaenopsis needs air and light in the roots.
To regulate how to irrigate these orchids is to immerse them in water until the roots turn green and do not wet again until they come back gray again.
It needs good ventilation and exposure to lots of light, but not direct exposure to the sun.

[Kjoyt]

Thank you for the advice so far. With what I read I thought it would be good to take this plant out of the potting soil and show you what I am dealing with. There really aren't very many good roots in there (from what a novice can tell). I also drilled additional holes in the plastic insert to allow for more air. Fresh media that has been soaked for 24 hours. I read your comments on the glazed pot. Is it better just to leave it out of a pot completely or buy one of the clay pots. I do have rocks in the bottom of the glazed pot to create some humidity and raise the orchid. I thought I would be okay with leaving it in there but please feel free to share your opinions on that. Crazy how all the orchids you buy have these beautiful pots that don't do the plant any justice!

[Dorsetman]

Can I be really, really, brutal ? If you want to learn how to grow orchids, don.t start with a "hope to rescue" plant. Start with a really good one. It is so much cheaper, so much more enjoyable. Learn how to keep that alive.
I have been growing for 57 years now, i have more than a thousand orchids in more than a hundred genera . One thing I do regularly is go through the collection and face reality - i look at a plant here and there, and say - its a poor thing. It is unlikely to recover. I will chuck it. When I get visitors ( often, I love talking orchids ) people say " your orchids are all lovely, I wish mine were as good " . But I have told you the secret now !

[oile]

[QUOTE=Kjoyt;452344]Thank you for the advice so far. With what I read I thought it would be good to take this plant out of the potting soil and show you what I am dealing with. There really aren't very many good roots in there (from what a novice can tell). I also drilled additional holes in the plastic insert to allow for more air. Fresh media that has been soaked for 24 hours. I read your comments on the glazed pot. Is it better just to leave it out of a pot completely or buy one of the clay pots. I do have rocks in the bottom of the glazed pot to create some humidity and raise the orchid. I thought I would be okay with leaving it in there but please feel free to share your opinions on that. Crazy how all the orchids you buy have these beautiful pots that don't do the plant any justice!


Dorsetman gave you excellent suggestions.
You have done well to drill the vase, it favors the exchange of air.
The roots do not seem healthy, you can try a recovery by making treatments, at least three a week interval, with Previcur Energy, (Propamocarb 47.2%, Fosetil 27.6%), produced by Bayer.
Personally I am not in favor of the use of clay pots, only in rare cases I use them (eg, dendrobium cuthbertsonii)

[oile]

Thank you for the advice so far. With what I read I thought it would be good to take this plant out of the potting soil and show you what I am dealing with. There really aren't very many good roots in there (from what a novice can tell). I also drilled additional holes in the plastic insert to allow for more air. Fresh media that has been soaked for 24 hours. I read your comments on the glazed pot. Is it better just to leave it out of a pot completely or buy one of the clay pots. I do have rocks in the bottom of the glazed pot to create some humidity and raise the orchid. I thought I would be okay with leaving it in there but please feel free to share your opinions on that. Crazy how all the orchids you buy have these beautiful pots that don't do the plant any justice!

Dorsetman gave you excellent suggestions.
You have done well to drill the vase, it favors the exchange of air.
The roots do not seem healthy, you can try a recovery by making treatments, at least three a week interval, with Previcur Energy, (Propamocarb 47.2%, Fosetil 27.6%), produced by Bayer.
Personally I am not in favor of the use of clay pots, only in rare cases I use them (eg, dendrobium cuthbertsonii)

[Kjoyt]

Can I be really, really, brutal ? If you want to learn how to grow orchids, don.t start with a "hope to rescue" plant. Start with a really good one. It is so much cheaper, so much more enjoyable. Learn how to keep that alive.
I have been growing for 57 years now, i have more than a thousand orchids in more than a hundred genera . One thing I do regularly is go through the collection and face reality - i look at a plant here and there, and say - its a poor thing. It is unlikely to recover. I will chuck it. When I get visitors ( often, I love talking orchids ) people say " your orchids are all lovely, I wish mine were as good " . But I have told you the secret now !

Not brutal at all. I get it. I have other orchids that i have bought and haven’t gotten to get them to flower again. Still working through my learning on that. I figured i have nothing to lose on any of them. If it happens it happens. I just want to get better all around with orchids. I see this one as a challenge. If i fail i still learn