Help me save this little phal orchid

[dtimms]

I got this little Phal a few months ago. It was in bloom in a ceramic outer pot. Unfortunately, I didn't let it drip enough after watering it, and it ended up leaking into the ceramic pot and standing in water for probably several days before I checked on it again. I immediately repotted it into new media (coconut husk chips + perlite), but now it seems to be falling victim to what I assume is root rot. The leaves were looking shriveled and yellow, so yesterday after reading on here I pulled it out of the pot and here's what I found:



I was surprised to actually see some new growth of the aerial roots, although the green fresh growth is coming off of nasty-looking greyish roots.

So I removed all of the dead roots from the center, leaving behind only the few fresh-looking aerial roots:



Then I repotted in soaked coconut husk/perlite, but it's hard to keep it standing in there with no roots....




And put it into this container with rocks/water for some humidity:




So am I on the right track? And if it now only had aerial roots, how do I water it and how often??? I saw someplace to keep it out of a lot of sun, how much light would you recommend while it tries to heal? What this plant's chances for survival?

Thanks so much for any advice.

[Daethen]

Sounds like you are doing all you can. Do not dispair. It is trying if it is growing arial roots. Good luck.

[Cjcorner]

That looks like the best situation for the little guy. It will look worse before it gets better. Good Luck...the rescues are the best when they survive and bloom for you.

[dtimms]

Thanks.... I'm hopeful. Any thoughts on best way to water it now that it's only on aerial roots? Still just water the media when it dries out?
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[Brutal_Dreamer]

Thanks.... I'm hopeful. Any thoughts on best way to water it now that it's only on aerial roots? Still just water the media when it dries out?
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Yes. don't let it go too long completely dry. Phals never want to completely dry out, but they do need to dry off.

Glad to see you made it in, Diane.

Cheers,
BD

[Becky15349]

Yep! You did the right thing...now it just needs to regrow new roots. Keep it on the drier side, but don't let it bone dry...its a bit of a balance thing. Stick your finger down into the media to feel the dampness within the media before you water- that can he'll you know if it needs water. Also, keep it out of high sunlight for about 4-6 months while its recooperating and growing new roots, high light would stress it too much. Good luck!
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[dtimms]

Yep Bruce I made it :-). Thanks for the help!!!

Ok, got it... Hoping this is a resilient plant!

Any tips for how I will know if it's getting the right amount of light?
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[Brutal_Dreamer]

Take a look at this article on what a phal is supposed to look like. There are other good articles on growing phal orchids in the library here too.

Cheers,
BD

[dtimms]

I have a frosted glass window in my bathroom that would allow the plant to be exposed to some light without the sun shining really in and also give a healthy dose of humidity every morning when we shower for work... I was thinking of rehabbing my tiny phal on that windowsill. Does this sound like a good option for the orchid ICU?

[dtimms]

And do I fertilize while it's healing? Or lay off that for a while?