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My moth orchard is around 1yr old. She was delicately flowering when… | The Orchid Oasis | Planta-community

KL

My moth orchard is around 1yr old. She was delicately flowering when I bought her and I've tried to care for her with Planta's assistance. My concern is her leaves don't look as strong as they have been - at least the lower ones. I use a growlight with her indoors. Now I confess, we had a power failure with some storms that rolled through and I didn't realize the light was not set right. It took 2days for me to set it correctly. It had a waterbath with orchid fertilizer yesterday. Is she ok? Is she sick? What can I help her with?

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7 likes 15 reacties

15 reacties

  1. BooksandPlants

    It looks healthy from the picture still, but I’m a beginner at orchids myself, so I could be wrong.

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  2. Lyds and Leelees Mum

    It looks like she is concentrating her energy on growing those new leaves and thinking about shedding the older ones. Keep an eye on any roots you can see to make sure they are firm, not mushy and keep the light going.

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    • KL

      So she may drop the lower leaves and still be ok?

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  3. Waspinator

    She's looking pretty good. The wrinkly leaves suggest she might be a bit dehydrated. Try watering slightly more often. Her new leaves look great, so just do a minor adjustment

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  4. KL

    An update on my orchid: She looks so sad & I just do not know the 'stages' of life for this little one. Please - help! Is this normal?? If she drops those leaves, will she be left with just a stalk? Do I brace her up? Will she e v e r flower again?? I have faith there is an expert out there that can ease my concerns!!

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    • clairabotanica

      The appearance of the leaves suggests a watering issue to me. It could be overwatering OR underwatering, but phalaenopsis are very easy to overwater so that would be my first guess. I also think that pot looks large compared to the size of the plant which can contribute to overwatering. My recommendation would be to unpot the plant and inspect the roots. If the roots have dark, soft, mushy spots and/or a nasty smell, that would indicate overwatering and possible root rot. If the roots have pale and/or dry, desiccated sections, that would indicate underwatering. Underwatering is an easy fix, all you have to do is trim off any completely dead roots. Then you can pot it right back and just water more frequently, the plant will probably bounce back. Root rot/overwatering is harder to deal with, and I would recommend looking up guides on treating orchids with root rot on Youtube/Reddit to get all the info you need! Best of luck!

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  5. KL

    Thank you so much for taking the time to send a great helpful text! I will check her out!

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  6. KL

    No nasty smell, roots? Well, take a look. Doesn't seem to have any. So, experts- what to do... i am leaving her open to air at present, awaiting your responses.

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    • KL

      Another photo

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    • clairabotanica

      Ooh with that root situation you definitely have a watering issue. Given how dark the roots look, i would diagnose this as overwatering or dry rot. Dry rot happens when you let the plant stay dry too long in between waterings. If it is dry too long, the roots become desiccated and cannot take in water, then when the dead roots get wet they just slough off. I would cut off all the brown roots using sterilized cutters, leaving only the green and white roots, then pot it back into a TINY pot (it should be just big enough to accommodate the remaining root structure, I would guess a 2" pot would work here but hard to tell from pics). You still have green leaves and at least one viable root (the green one) so it can be saved. It will probably drop the lower leaves and focus on regrowing its root system for a while. Keep a close eye on the roots as your indicator for when to water. Only water when the roots start to fade from bright green to a silvery green.

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  7. KL

    Jeez, & i thought I was taking good care of her. Well, I am learning & so appreciate your help! Here's what she looks like now. A few more questions. 1. Should I just remove the bad leaf now? 2. I have a tiny glass that I could use for her, do i put her back into it to protect her root (roots one day) after lifting her out for watering? 3. How about yhat watering?? Use plant's schedule or modify it for now? ... then, fyi- Still using the grow light

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    • KL

      Close up

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  8. Jen

    Definitely get rid of the bottom 2-3 leaves so her little root can focus on the new leaves!

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  9. Waspinator

    I would leave the remaining lower leaves; since they're already mature, the plant can take energy from them to help grow new roots. Pot it up in mostly orchid bark with a tiny bit of sphagnum near but not touching its healthy root. To encourage new roots, you want the plant to be very stable in its pot, so you can use the spaces between leaves to tie it to a stake or tie it down through the drainage holes in the pot. For watering going forward, use only room temperature water, and try to get water directly on that tiny root. Water it a long time to help soak the bark and give it high humidity, but never let it sit in stagnant water. Avoid getting water in the crown (where all the leaves meet). Water about once a week. (The young leaves look healthy, so you're doing ojay on watering; the old leaves will stay shriveled from past issues and will likely get worse over time as the plant uses them up to heal. As long as the youngest leaves at the top look good, it's healing.) You can expect to wait a long time before it reblooms, but it definitely can once it fully recovers. Once it has a healthy root system and at least 4 mature and healthy leaves, it'll be able to bloom

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    • KL

      Tky for your encouraging, helpful comments

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