Phal Help Please -salvageable?
Hello Everyone,
My name is Traci and I am from New Orleans, Louisiana. I became owned by my first orchid (a Phal NOID orchid) after receiving it as a gift for a major accomplishment in December of 2013. It was potted in bark. . I put it in our east window and purchased a ceramic orchid pot and just put the plastic pot inside of that. I watered it and it bloomed for 4 months. I noticed in the 3rd month the mix stayed wet so I waited two weeks to water. Once it finished blooming I bought a high quality bark, clay, perlite, sphag mix. To my horror whenI repotted on 4/19 (it looked nice and green in the plastic pot) the interior of the old mix was SLUSH and it poured out like muddy water. The interior of ALL of the roots (except for two badly damaged ones) were BLACK and some were just bare roots. In short it lost all but two sad roots. I treated with physan and repotted in the bark. It appeared to get much worse. I was told that a sick orchid (two of the six leaves are now limp) should be potted in spagh moss which I did on 4/30 with a high quality moss. The mix appears to stay wet (It is still damp from 1 week ago). At this point I want to do the sphag and bag method. but am afraid the high humidity in my area coupled with the original root and minor leaf rot could be a disaster waiting to happen. I do have water trays around the orchid. I did give the orchid some quantum orchid two weeks ago. I also cut the spike down to the plant so that it could try to focus on roots.
My question is should I spagh and bag in maybe a glass jar or should I let things go like this in just the spagh moss in the dual aircore pot? Do I try a root hormone or seaweed extract? I feel like I have shocked the poor thing so much and I don't want to love it into its grave, but I don't want to not do something that could save it.
Any help or advice is appreciated. I am trying to join my local orchid society, but am afraid that this poor orchid, which is sentimental to me, will not survive until then for advice.
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Originally Posted by Traci
