Wanted to know - is my orchid Dead or Alive

[John NH]

I bought a larger Phalaenopsis orchid about four months ago - in spike... The spike grew, stalled - and then shot out only a few buds/blooms..? I've only watered this one sparingly (like every 10-14 days?) when I thought it had dried out. It was packed in a 3" plastic pot with sphagnum moss from the grower...

Anyway - this morning, I noticed it has the "droops" (that's a non-technical term - I know ) in other words, the leaves are getting droopy, only two blooms remain and it looked sad...

So - I figured - I'd pull it out of the pot to see what was going on.... Little did I know..??

After pulling it out - the moss was still WET and most of the roots in the moss were brown, black or decaying...???

So - I soaked some repotting mix/bark for about hours - and repotted it this evening... Can anyone offer any advice (or condolences?? ) on repotting a Phalaenopsis in bloom??

The attached pictures are:

1) What I was greeted with when I pulled it from the 3" pot - that moss was TIGHTLY packed - and all the brown/decayed roots I subsequently cut off..

2) The next picture is how I re-potted - in an aerated 3" pot with soaked bark/mix - I know I should have potted it lower, but the air roots are some of the only living roots.. Should I have buried them??

3) Back on the window shelf...

Many thanks for any input/suggestions (of flames for killing a Phalaenopsis sort of "in bloom"..??)!

John

[cakedaddy]

You didn't kill your plant. It's just going to need a bit of TLC until it puts out new roots. First thing I would do is cut off that flower spike. Keep it in a shaded place in high humidity so that it doesn't dry out by transpiration. Eventually new roots will appear. You could try some rooting hormone. It has worked for me before. I dusted the base of the stem with the hormone and gave it a light mist and left it alone.

[John NH]

Hi Jason!

Thank you so much!!! OK - I'll cut off the spike in a minute. The two blooms that are on it are wilting anyway, as you probably guessed. When you talk about rooting hormone (I have some for my Bonsia cuttings) I'm not sure - do you mean for the roots or for the spike stem?

Anyway - my sincerest thanks for your reply!!!

John

[Gin]

Hi ,
Rooting hormone for the base of the plant . Stick the spike in water the blooms might perk up so you can enjoy them for awhile .. Gin

[John NH]

Hi Gin..!

Many thanks.. I kind'a figured Jason meant the roots (or, rather - what was left of the roots..??!! )

Will try your suggestion with the spike, which I'll cut off when I get home this evening...

Thanks again!

John