black spots on Phal roots

[nicki]

I did a little searching and couldn't find anything. I noticed the roots on my Phal have some black areas that weren't there when I received the plant. It has been repotted. It also got a soak in physan. I can't remember if there were signs of that before I repotted or if it started after. I don't believe it's been overwatered. The sphag is dry.

[cakedaddy]

How long have you had this plant? It happens to my phals too, but rarely any of the other plants i have. I have trouble with the phals and cant decide what it is that i do to them.

[Gin]

Hi ,
It might be from the Physan depending on the strength of the Physan or from Fert. or getting to dry or the repotting ? Just guesses I have seen that on some of the above the mix roots, does not seem to hurt the plant .. Gin

[Ron-NY]

it may be a bit of fertilizer burn. Do you flush out the pots with plenty of clear water on a regular basis?

[nicki]

I've had the phal for a little over a month now. I followed the directions for Physan but I don't recall what the amount of the mixture was. 1Tbs or 2Tbs per gallon seems to come to mind. I'm using a diluted 20-20-20 fertilizer. When I do water I make sure to flush out the pot. I think I have only watered 3-4 times so far. Since it's in sphag (with some styrofoam) I make sure to let it fully dry before getting watered again. Come to think of it the first time watering after I repotted I forgot to dilute the fertilizer. So I immediately ran a bunch of plain rain water over the roots.

[Ron-NY]

you want it to approach dryness before watering but not fully dry, Sphag is very difficult to wet once totally dry and Phals dislike being totally dry

Yes the fertilizer could have been the culprit.

[nicki]

Ok thanks. I was worried this might be the start of the death of my Phal. I'll adjust my watering habits to not let it dry out completely.