Phal newby in need of help fast!

[scootles]

Hello all, I am a Phal newby and need help. I have read almost all of these posts and there is soooooo much fantastic information. But I don't know what to do in my particular case. I know my problem is not unusual, so I apologize if my case must seem a bit trivial. But I love my orchid and don't want it to die. The Phal was potted in moss as you can see from the first photo. And the bottom leaf got yellow and fell off. Then the next leaf on the bottom got yellow and fell off. I took it out of the moss and the roots looked pretty yucky as you can see from the second photo. So I got some Hydrogen Peroxide and when I poured in on the roots nothing bubbled or fizzed. I then got some bark mixture and cut off some of the dead roots, but not all. I replanted it in that, but am not sure how much water I need. The bark mixture really dries fast. Should I put the whole thing in a plastic bag to create a little greenhouse? Or mist it? or put it on a bed of rocks? Do I need to cut all of the yellowy mushy roots back and try to use root hormone? The latest yellow leaf has come on in about 3 days. Please help me. Thanks very much!

[bench72]

Hi Scootles, welcome to Orchidtalk.

I'm not a Phal grower, so will let the other members who grow Phals help out on this one... it looks like you have done a fair bit to help it along... and certainly if the root system was bad, then it's natural that the plant will try and get more nourishment by sacrificing some of it's older leaves... i would try increasing the humidity like you said though, ie sitting the pot in a bed of rocks.

good luck with it.

cheers
tim

[Diamond]

Hi scootles, welcome. what I know about plastic bags is that it works very well to cattleyas, and i tried it before and works well, but I am not sure about phals.

I'm sure people here can help with more secure advices. Good luck

[hcubed]

I don't think you should bag it - that usually just speeds things up for me. So far what you have done looks good. The pic of the roots would seem to show that it still has a few viable roots, so that should give you something to work with. However, I really don't like how that stem looks. I fear it may already be rotten in the stem, in which case there isn't a whole lot you can do. If if keeps moving up the plant though the roots are ok, it' probably a goner. Sorry!

But whatever you do, don't over water at this stage. Frequent drying is good when you are dealing with a plant rotted within an inch of its life!

[walingwaling]

hi and welcome to the forum!

i agree with the above, the stem looks scary. you did fine so far, so for now keep it on the dry side and i would choose a very airy spot or even have a fan running next to it.

good luck!

[margo]

Welcome to our group!
I am with the above too! The stem is... going somewhere...
I would take it out, soak in peroxide for about 10 min. and leave it bare root for some time only misting the roots.
I had a few unhappy phals that after bringing them back to life I mounted them and they are growing very happy now (they were roted when I received the order so I've been nursing them since the end of May).