Question



About a week ago I received a phal hybrid in a very soggy pot with rot on the leaves and some roots. I was told to cut the leaf down to the good part and seal the cut, hten repot cutting off the rotten leaves. I did this in a small pot with bark and sphagnum moss with clay chips underneath, and set it in a humidity tray on  some pebbles. Now the flowers are all wilting, is the plant dying, stressed or just time for the flowers to go? Please help!  

Answer
Hello Amanda,

With all your phal has been through, it is not surprising to hear that the flowers are wilting.  I do not believe it is dyiny, only showing the results from all the stress.  

Were there any live roots left after cutting off the rotten ones?  If there were, that should help in its recovery.  Keep it warm and in a shady place, keep the potting mix on the slightly dry side.  If all goes well, it should produce a new leaf from the top or crown, that would be a good sign that it is well on the road to recovery.  

But if there were not any good live roots left, it makes recovery more difficult, not impossible but difficult.  If there were no live roots, take it out of the pot and place it in a plastic ziploc bag along with some slightly moist sphagnum moss then seal it and place it in a warm shady place.  Once a week, open the bag and check for any new root growth but be patient as it may take several months.  

Hopefully it will recover.  Good luck.

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.