Question

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Followup To

Question -
I have a Phalenopsis for about 6 mo and have recently repotted after bloom in a slightly larger pot with charcol/ceramic/bark mixture.  There are two full leaves and one new one which has been growing for over a month. the older leaves are looking a little sad(thinner and lighter in sever parts).  I had been misting my plant daily and it sits on a high window in my kitchen facing south(no direct sunlight). I have just noticed that there are "fruit flies" on my plant and wonder if I should let it dry(for a bit) and stop misting all together? Is there something I should do to rid the plant of the bugs? Any advice would be appreciated as I would like to keep my plant healthy! THANKS!

Answer -
Thanks for your question Jennifer.

I hope that you checked the roots of your phalaenopsis before repotting. The conditions of your leaves suggest that you either had, or have, root rot. The root health should be checked.  Any  "mushy" roots are diseased and should be removed.  The firm roots are the ones which will support the new growth of you plant.

The small flies are called fungus gnats. They do no damage as they live from decomposing material in the potting mix. You can get a spray at a garden center for them.  More importantly is that their presence suggests you have decomposing mix and/or diseased roots on which they feed.  That shouldn't be the case if you used fresh new potting mix, cleaned the old mix from the roots prior to repotting, and removed any diseased roots prior to repotting.

Check all of these items as they are crucial for the future health of your plant.


Wayne,

Thank you for your quick response.  I did have to remove some rotted roots but there were several good ones.  However I rechecked the plant and there were some more dead roots that I had to trim and I again cleaned the pot and added new medium.  How can I prevent this in the future?  I water once a week and had previously been misting daily, perhaps this was the cause.  Thanks again,

Jenn

Answer
Glad you checked that out Jenn and took the steps you did.  As a rule of thumb, an annual repotting is recommended, especially after flowering.  This should solve your problem on a continuing basis.  I would say that a weekly watering is all that should be required.  Water thoroughly and then let it drain thoroughly. The pot should not be sitting in any water for more than a short time.