My first VERY sick phal...

16 years ago

Hey everyone,

About three weeks ago I spied a really cute little Phal at the greenhouse of a hardware store and it seemed to follow me home. Two weeks after having it here, the sphag was still *very* wet, and was packed exteremely tightly- and the leaves were starting to wrinkle. Eep! So I went about repotting and found that it had only three small roots that weren't rotted (Yes, obviously I did't inspect this one very well before I bought it!). So I cut off the spike (which was gorgeous *sob*) and put it in some water and potted the what was left of the plant (4 small leaves and 3 roots) in a fresh sphag/bark mix with stones at the bottom for airflow and hoped for the best... Yesterday the bottom two leaves fell off. So now I have two dehydrated leaves and 3 little roots.

SO I got some rooting horomone and applied it to the base and put it in a plastic bag with the top still open a bit. This is more of a project for me than anything, I just want to see if I can bring it back (which will take ages, if it happens, I know)...

I've read the FAQ and done some research of my own, I guess I just want to know if anyone has any additional advice for me... I'd love to see new roots form in the coming weeks...

Thanks!!

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Comments (4)

highjack
16 years ago
It sounds like you are doing your best for it but read the Pcan'd thread still on the first page to learn about soaking the leaves to prevent further dehydration.

Thank you Pat(pcan)for teaching me that method. IT REALLY DOES WORK!

Brooke
jodik_gw
16 years ago
I wish I'd known about the Pcan Method of Orchid Salvage when my Phal was still alive and had a single un-rotted root left!

I tried to save the poor thing, but it was just too far gone for the methods I tried.

Good luck with yours, Blossom_Girl!
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blossom_girl
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks guys...
I did read the Pcan'd post, but not until after I had set up my Phal... mine is potted in sphag (much more losely than it's original wrap) rather than just in a bowl/container... would it be better if I just put it in something without actually being potted, or would de-potting it again cause it even more stress?
Also, will I need to re-apply the rooting hormone or will the original dose do its thing? If I do need to reapply, how often? Maybe once a week or so?
I'm also getting conflicting ideas on whether to leave the bag open at the top or to close it? What does everyone recommend?
I guess I had more questions than I thought!!
highjack
16 years ago
I think the most important part of this procedure is the soaking of the leaves in the fertilizer water. You might actually rehydrate the leaves by soaking them. After soaking, mop the water out of the crown. You can see from the pictures how small the leaves are and growing two new leaves while being rootless was amazing to me.

I used the rooting hormone around the base of the stalk because it had no roots. I don't know what the rooting hormone will do with your roots, I have no experience with it. My soaking fertilizer was my usual mix with a couple of drops of Superthrive in it. Did the Superthrive help in the soaking process - I don't know. Ray Ratliff on the pcan'd thread thinks so.

The leaves were soaked probably once a week. The sphag wrapped around the base of the stalk was fertilized with the soak water. I then put the damp sphag around the base of the stalk. I kept the sphag moist, not soppy.

If you bag, make sure you have some air exchange. Totally closed up could lead to mold/fungus. Sometimes I bag by placing a bag over the pot and a couple of air holes in the top of the bag. The bottom of the bag just sits there, no closing it off. If the container is small enough, I slip the pot in the bag with the top open.

If it were my plant with three small roots already, I would unpot it and place it in a container with sphag. Think of it as being mounted. You can always spritz the roots and sphag to keep them green and moist and not worry about continuing root rot.

No direct sun, bright light and warmth. Phals are tough and really want to live to bloom again.

Good luck - Brooke

My first VERY sick phal...

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highjack

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My first VERY sick phal...

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highjack

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