Wrinkled Phal orchid leaves???

[Jans2]

I have several Phals that the leaves are wrinkled and limp- Am I watering too little- what should I do? Thanks, jans2

[clintdawley]

This could either be watering too little or too much. You have to check the roots on the plant. If they are dead the plant cannot absorb water. I'd pull your Phal out of the pot and give it an inspection...wouldn't hurt..

[Ron-NY]

totally agree with Clint!

[Wade's Orchids]

Feel free to give us some pictures. We've seen the good, the bad, and the rootless.

[ksriramkumar]

Agree with Wade. Picture would help.

[kspalding]

The others are right but I know that not everyone can take and send pics (for example my phone is not working). However, you can still paint a picture with words. If it is overwatering, roots will be brown/black and mushy. Underwatering, grey or white and shriveled roots appear. Also, look for bud loss patterns they seem to fall off quicker when dehydrated.

---------- Post Merged at 09:47 AM ----------

Found this article online and think it can help:

Drooping leaves
When orchids take on a droopy, wrinkly appearance this is usually a sure sign of a watering problem and in most cases a root problem. Either way, the pot has been kept overly wet and soggy (sitting in water) and has experienced root loss and therefore cannot up take water, or has been left extremely dry and has had no water to uptake. Quite ironic that leaving your orchid in a pool of water would cause it to suffer from thirst!

The first thing to do is to remove the potting media and determine the problem…brown and mushy roots= too much water, grey and shriveled roots= not enough. If the plant was under watered a 5-10 minute soak in clean, warm water would help a bit. Next remove all dead or soft roots and wash the plant under tepid water. At this point it would be recommended to treat the plant with an anti-bacteria/fungal like Phyton 27 or ground cinnamon at the least before repotting. Make sure to choose a pot that is just big enough for the remaining root system even if this means going DOWN in pot size. This is very important; sometimes you need to take one step back to take one step forward. At this point, if it has suffered from major root loss it would be helpful to stabilize the plant in its new pot by either using a rhizome clip or simply wiring the plant into the pot after repotting. Water the plant thoroughly and set it out in filtered light avoiding any extreme conditions.

The next couple of weeks will be the most important. This is when you want to encourage new root growth with a balance of higher humidity and a slight restriction of water in the pot. Do this by not watering for the next 10 days coupled with misting the leaves regularly. This should encourage new roots to break into the new potting media in search of water. After the first 10 days resume normal watering. Keep in mind the old leaves won’t recover from the droopy appearance but the new leaves that grow will be turgid and wrinkle free.

[Wade's Orchids]

Very nice, Kim! It seems that we get requests for help with Phals with wrinkled leaves quite a bit. It used to be that if someone owned an orchid, they purchased it from a person or place where the person was knowledgeable and cared enough to help the plant's new owner with a primer on culture. I understand that is no longer always the case. They should at least include something more intelligent than "just add ice" which I think could kill the plant eventually anyway. That's why I refuse to support those companies.

[clintdawley]

I hate those supermarket Phals with the "just add ice" labels. How about being a responsible vendor and actually educating someone on proper culture. I'm sure the AOS wouldn't mind a reprint of their culture sheet on tags.

[kspalding]

Sales people like me are hard to find. I try to educate. I even tell ppl. before you throw it away ask me first. Its a passion not a job for me.

[Wade's Orchids]

I think almost all of us who grow and love orchids also love to invest the time into educating and helping others (and each other). I grew and sold orchids as a part time business for a period of about 15 years and the most joyous thing for me was seeing someone a year later and finding that what I was able to help them with was successful. Face it, we love orchids. Even those in the group here who make their living by it truly love and want to help others. Supermarket orchids are many times purchased as disposable shows, and I have to admit that they last a lot longer than roses and are at least as beautiful. And maybe, just maybe a person or 3 buys one and wants to rebloom them and begins their love affair with orchids. It's very possible that Just-add-ice could really provide a lot of new orchid lovers!!!