Hi Everyone,
I currently have two phals in spike and a third one that looked okay (nice green leaves that are firm, sending out new roots monthly or every other month etc) but I noticed it was starting to lean in its pot. I decided to help it sit up more so I took the medium out to repot. To my shock 90% of its roots were mushy and dead, mostly in the center of the pot. It did have some healthy ones against the clear pot it was planted in which is why I thought it was okay inside.
This history on the plant is that I purchased it last May at an orchid show and at the time it had monster roots all over the pot, in the inside, everywhere and gorgeous blooms. Once it finished blooming, I repotted it from sphaghnum moss to a bark, perlite, hydroton mix. It sits with the rest of the orchids and is in the same row as the two in spike. I am not sure what I did wrong with this phal because it received the same treatment as the rest. I did cut all mushy dead roots off and I used some physan 20 on the plant and repotted again in fresh medium and this time included some stryofoam packing peanuts at the bottom of the pot to take up space. It still has a wide root base but it isn't as deep as it was pre root loss. I had to put it back in the original pot because it wouldn't fit any of the other. Is this a cultural issue or do some orchids not take to changing their media and thus most of the roots die off and new ones sprout?
Thanks