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lunarawolf

Major Root Rot (need help!)

LunaraWolf
10 years ago

So I have a in house collection of five Phalaenopsis Orchids. All were healthy when I last repotted, and I noticed lately that a few had been looking fairly droopy. Whenever I would check the bark if it needed water, it never did. So after two weeks of no watering I realized something was wrong. I just unpotted them and WORST BARK MEDIUM EVER! I will never use that brand again since it retained SO much water that nearly all my roots were rotted.

One orchid I'm not really worried about (top right) since it still has some healthy roots. The others are mostly down to just the stringy inner root piece. The outer root had rotted and was the cause of my, what I'm assuming, springtails.

One of them doesn't even have any healthy roots left.
I have a new growing medium that is very chunky fir bark and perlite that I will be using once I modify the pots I had them in. I'm going to drill some serious air holes in the sides so combined with the holes in the bottom I will hopefully have better air flow.

My concern now is, do you think some of the orchids (namely the one without any real roots) are even salvageable? And what should I do about the stringy root pieces. Trim them, leave them? I have two clear orchid pots (the ones they came in), which of the orchids would be best to place in them so the roots can get sun? I know they all should get sun to the roots but I don't have anymore and would have to order from online. Also, how long can I leave my orchid roots exposed to the air without a humidity tray? I don't want to replant them until I know what to do about my stringy roots.

(I have everything in a south facing window that receives several hours of direct and indirect sunlight. I keep humidity trays under each pot. I water with rainwater we collect. A ceiling fan is always on so airflow is excellent)

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