Question

Current Phal root rot   QUESTION: Hi,

I have an ailing Phal, that up until a month ago seemed to have been thriving and very healthy. About one week after it finished blooming, I noticed the two bottom leaves were drooping a little, but wasn't sure if my orchid was just getting ready to shed those leaves. A week later, I noticed tiny bugs in the medium and the bottom of the pot - which I later found out were actually scavenger bugs, but wasn't aware of at the time. I decided to repot my orchid - mainly because of the bugs, and also because my orchid had never been repotted (it had been a gift from my boyfriend).

When I eased it out of its pot, I quickly realized that the spaghnum it was in was probably choking the poor thing. It came out rock-hard, almost like a brick, it was packed so tightly, and was very hard to loosen up for me to get to the roots. (I threw all the old bug-infested medium out.) There was a lot of root rot that I cut away. In the end, there was still substantial healthy root growth, but what stunned me was that unfortunately, all of the remaining healthy roots were actually rotting where they attached to the main stem, as well as at most of the joints where they branched off. The main stem itself, where the roots were attached, was black. Completely black. I was very worried - I didn't think I should or even could cut off the black stem - and called a local "orchid doctor" right away and sent her photos of the rot, calling attention to the black stem. (If I can figure out how to post pictures here, I'll attach one.)

She told me not to cut away any more roots, that I had nothing to worry about, it was healthy, and that I should just repot it as it was. So, I dusted the roots with cinnamon and tumeric and repotted it. I had already presoaked new spaghnum overnight according to the instructions the "orchid doctor" had given me, and repotted it in that. I didn't water the orchid for a day or two, letting it rest, and watered it soon after.

But over the next 2 weeks, its condition did not improve, in fact more leaves started to droop ever so slightly. I felt concerned and eased the orchid back out from the pot and to my horror, all but 1 of the roots were rotted, and that one remaining root already had a mushy dark spot on it, where it was touching a rotting root. I cut off all the rotting roots and left the lone root and repotted it into a new orchid mix this time: fir bark, charcoal, perlite mix. I left it for another week.

That brings us to the present, where earlier yesterday evening. The leaves were drooping even further, so I removed the orchid from the medium again, and the last root is also rotting further. I'm horrified - I had managed to revive this plant from a terrible bout of leaf rot it had had from the store previously and have grown quite attached to it. Like we survived something together, or something. I'd hate to see it go. With that said, I almost wonder if it was the original leaf rot that was the problem. I had cut away the rotting leaves, but noticed that where a root had split another leaf (growing through), the leaf flesh was marked black... doesn't seem normal, and the black seems to have affected the new root nubs as well (more on that below).

At this point, I'm not sure what else I can do. I left the remainder of the one root for now - scared to cut it off. I noticed there are 3 new root nubs higher up, at the base of the orchid, but they don't appear to be in active growth (the tips aren't showing clearly, seem covered with that root skin). I'm further concerned because the root nub tips look a little speckle/black because they were previously growing out into the orchid leaf, and I'm not sure if the leaf had 1) kept it from growing faster and/or 2) trapped water and started rotting the root nub tips as well.

Anyway - that was a huge ramble, so thanks for listening. What I should do now? Do you think it can even be saved? I've spaghed and bagged the poor thing for the time being. I didn't want to put it back into the medium and quite frankly am at my wits end on what to do... I'm not ready to give up yet.

Attached are 3 pictures:
1) The black stem from a month ago with lots of lovely healthy roots that were starting to rot at the juncture where they joined the main stem
2 & 3) What it looks like now with its lonely rotting root - that I've dousted with cinnamon (maybe too much?) You can see the dark speckling on the root nubs.

Thank you in advance,


Vivian

ANSWER: Hi Vivian.  Thanks for the story and the picture. Based upon the picture, I think your plant has a good chance for survival. You were right to get the plant out of the sphagnum and into a fir-based orchid potting mix.  Your new, healthy root growth will come from what you referred to as the "root nubs" so you need to remove the leaf below those newly forming roots so you can pot the plant deep enough into the pot so those nubs have a chance to grow into the potting mix.  Be sure to use a plastic pot with lots of air/drainage holes in the botom and/or sides.  Orchids like lots of air movement through the potting mix. Do not let the pot sit in water.

Healthy roots are firm and, when wet, turn green. If some of these roots seem healthy but have some spots that you think are rotting, I would leave them alone.  Crucial at this point is to greatly reduce your watering. Do not water until the potting mix is almost completely dry all the way to the pot bottom (Insert your finger into the mix to test it).  If in doubt, wait for a couple of days before watering.  The potting mix should be quite "open", meaning that when you water, the water should run through the potting mix and out the bottom of the pot.  Sometimes, there are a lot of small particles in the potting mix and these tend to remain wetter than the rest of the potting mix so, if you have a lot of those, you might want to sift the finer material out of the potting mix prior to use.  

By growing the plant on the dry side, you should prevent any further spread of the rot.  Once you have made these adjustments, set aside your maternal instincts (I know it's hard), and the plant, and try to ignore it for a couple of weeks.  Roots need time to adjust to their environment before they start to grow and don't like to be disturbed once they start to grow.  Your plant's future will be determined by the development of the nubs into mature, nourishing roots.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Wayne,

Thank you so much for your response. I feel so relieved! I wanted to ask you - what should I do with the last remaining cinnamon covered root? It is currently rotting along both the top of the root and at the intersection of where it branches out, although there is white healthy root after the rotting portion. Should I cut that off? I'm afraid to, because then there'd be no root left - although I guess since it's rotting anyway, maybe it's the equivalent of having no root currently already.

When I cut it off, should I sprinkle more cinnamon on it an let it rest in the air before repotting it? I think part of the problem with the previous repotting is that the points at which I cut the previous root rot off got infected with further bacterial rot - probably because of the black stalk situation.

Thank you in advance!


Vivian

Answer
Vivian, I owe you a bit more of an explanation which may be helpful.  The orvhid root consists principally of two parts.  The outer part, called the velamin, absorbs water and nutrients for use by the plant.  Inside the velamin is a root hair which conducts water and nutrients to the leaves and other parts of the plant.  If any part of the velamin is intact, water and nutrients stored there can still be sent to the plant via the root hairs.  The root hair, by itself, can absorb little ot no nutrients from the potting mix.  So, if part of a root still has a healthy velamin, it can send its stored water and minaerals to the plant through the root hair.  Bottom line is, don't remove the root hair if part of it is covered by velamin.

While I have heard of cinnamon being used successfully in the case of leaf fungus, I'm not aware of how successful its use on roots has been.  I prefer to use either powdered sulphur or roottone to treat open wounds in the roots or elsewhere.