Help with Phal orchids - What am I doing wrong?

[Luvlyhnezh]

Ok, I now have just 4 phalaenopsis left. I killed about more than 12 already. Please, I want to keep the 4 I have. I have 2 that are in moss, 1 in bark & the last one, I transplanted it, in a mixture of coco chips & hydroton rocks. The last one, I have been watering it between 7 - 14 days. The other 3 seems to be more moist so, I have been watering 14 - 21 days. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong with my phalaenopsis. My other orchids (cymbidium, dendrobium, vanda, neofite, cattleya, oncidium, encyclia, brassia, psychopsis, epidendrum) are all doing fine. In fact, 2 of my cymbidium is in bloom, & also my psychopsis. So anyone that can give me good advice on taking care of my phalaenopsis, I would really appreciate it.

[Daethen]

Have you checked the roots? What do they look like? What do you water with? What light are they getting? Could you upload pics so we can see what is going on? Sorry, at this point its all questions and no answers.

[espranch]

Amy, I've always thought that orchids died mostly because they were kept too wet. That being said, There are lots of different ways to re-pot them. In my conditions, I re-pot with 60 % bark, 20% perlite, and 20% charcoal. This is soaked overnight, then styrafoam peanuts are put in the bottom of the pot first. I then cut off all black or rotten roots with a sterile blade, and re-pot. Some people have very good luck with spagum moss, if the drainage is good and not too tightly packed. It's your choice, just make sure NOT to over water. Good Luck...Betty :-)

[Kmac]

The 12 that died...what were they potted in? Did they die kind starting at the center, with black mushy stuff? Or did leaves jut yellow and die, one at a time?

What kind of light were they getting?

[Luvlyhnezh]

Thanks Jonada, Betty & Kathi

Anyways, update on my phals ~ the 2 in moss are now in s/h (roots are great, hardly any dead root)... unfortunately, the one in bark was obviously overwatered (1 root left, doubtful) - it's now in a bag with a little moist moss, hope it'll survive. I left the one in chc & leca mix, although I'm rethinking of transplanting it again. It's surviving, but does not seem happy. Leaves are limp, although it has a new leaf. I'll wait & see a week or 2, if no improvement, I'm going to try "Betty's" suggestion on this one.

Jonada, sorry, didn't think of taking pics.
Kathi, they died one at a time, some crown rot, some turned yellow & died.

I have filtered light (skylight) for orchids grown indoor. Most orchids are grown outside in my patio.

[Kmac]

Sounds like the ones that died were probably overwatered. And, you want to avoid getting water in the crown to avoid crown rot.

I had a phal last year that almost died...losing leaves, all but the newest leave kinda limp, a good bit of root rot. I cleaned it up & potted it much as Betty suggests...peanuts on the bottom, a commercial orchid mix containing bark, perlite and charcoal. It is now very happy, with good leaves, great roots & a spike.

I also an experimenting with S/H, but so far the ones in bark mix look the happiest. The S/H one doesn't look bad, the others just look better. I'm told they can take a bit of time to adjust to S/H. Not sure this is helpful, but I do think that the bark mix works well for them. Good luck!

[Luvlyhnezh]

Update:

The phal in moist bag is a goner. Oh well!!! The 2 that's in s/h are doing ok so far. The one in the chc w/ leca, I'm leaving alone for now.

On the bright side, I have 4 new phals.