droopy phal

[tetra411]

Hi all-
I've had this Phal for 5-6 years and it has been very hardy and easy to grow, and never before given me any difficulty. The last 6-8 months have been different. It has lost many of its bottom leaves and finally the leaves that it has left have become droopy and wrinkled. The roots that seem the healthiest are the ones that are aerial (and these are actually starting to turn brown part way down the root), although there are 1 or 2 in the bark mix that look good. The phal sits on a table on a northwest facing window in a steam radiator heated apartment (around 80 degrees all winter). I water it about every 7-10 days and fertilize with an orchid fertilizer (19-31-17) every other watering.

any advice would be much appreciated!
thanks!

[cakedaddy]

Is this the only plant you have that is experiencing problems?

[phytochrome]

I would remove it from the pot and with sterile scissors or a new razor blade cut off all the brown or mushy roots. It should the be repotted in new bark mix that has been soaked [I soak mine overnight}. It also may be in too large of a pot. Maybe pot it down one size. That is just my opinion, for what it's worth.

[orchid lady]

First of all, excuse the mess and the dust.

I had the same problem with one of my phals when the roots got exposed or grew out of the medium, the leaves started drooping and got wrinkly. I put sphagnum moss around the exposed roots and tried to spray more often but it did not perk up at all so I decided to switch it to S/H a few days ago and the result was almost instantaneous.

First photo was taken 04/22 and the 3rd and 4rd photos taken a few minutes ago. All of my phals that were switched to S/H had the same result.

[tetra411]

@cakedaddy - actually i do have another phal that has also become a bit droopy, though not as bad as this one. the other one is smaller and is actually a keiki from this phal. this phal had the keiki growing on it for around 1-2 years (can't remember exactly) and around 1 year ago it seemed like it had enough of its own roots to remove it and plant it on its own. could this be related to this phal drooping like it is now?

@phytochrome - i had just repotted it in september 2009 in a phalaenopsis mix. it used to be about 3x its size (3x as many leaves and all healthy and firm). now though, you are probably right that it needs a smaller pot.

@ orchid lady - Thanks for the tip on s/h and for sharing the photos of your phal. I haven't tried this yet, but I will read up on it and see if i can get the proper supplies to try it.