My Phal has MANY dead/rotted roots; will it survive?

14 years ago

I posted a thread about my Phalaenopsis recently with concern about its offshoot with buds because the original spike was dying away, so I wanted to know if the buds would bloom or just drop. Well I decided to go ahead and repot it in a fir bark/sphagnum moss mix (it has been in the same sphagnum moss it came with when I got it just over a year ago) and during the process, I noticed MOST of its roots rotted/died. I cut them all away using sterilized sharp scissors (did not put cinnamon on the cut areas) and potted it up. The them started drying past the offshoot, so I cut it down (it makes me sad that I won't see it bloom for a while) and topped that cut with ground cinnamon, hoping this would help the plant focus its energy on rebuilding a healthy root system. Remembering the condition of the roots and stem kept bothering me, so I decided to take it back out and take pictures of it to post up here for some help. I then cut away as much of the black and all the parts I didn't cut last time, tried to pick as much of the dead remains of leaf that were still on it, removed it's lowest leaf (leaves are all not as stiff as they should be, but this one was a little worse than the others; the top baby leaf is as stiff as it should be) to the fullest extent I could without harming the actual stem (doing this revealed a root that was growing but didn't make it past the leaf I removed), washed the roots with room temperature water, and proceeded to take pictures of them which can be viewed at the link provided at the bottom of this post. After that, I sprinkled ground cinnamon on all the areas I cut, and potted it back up in the same potting medium. What concerns me is that the roots are alive are only near the bottom of the stem or two aerial roots near the leaves. All the area in between has so much black that I couldn't remove without fearing I'd harm the stem of the plant, and all the roots that were there died away... Is this normal? What can I do to improve the condition of my orchid? Also, I have a close-up of one of its fully grown aerial roots, there seems to be a brownish color spreading on it, and the tip dried away (the tip has been like that for a while, so I'm not concerned about that), but at the point where it emerged from the stem to about 1/3 of its length it's as green as ever; is everything ok with it? Also, the little aerial root just stopped growing from the time I had concerns about the offshoot blooming, but it still has a light green tip, is that okay? Also, I cut the stem back to just above the first node (leaving one full node on it, it is healthy), can an offshoot grow from it? I live in Toronto Canada (temperatures are at about 10 C or 50 F daily), and my plant is at a west-facing window and gets indirect sunlight. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Link to photos:

http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp338/PharaohnessSophia/Orchidroots.jpg

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:149810}}

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Comments (9)

ifraser25
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hi. You need to think what caused the rot. One of the commonest causes in cultivation is too low temperature , not enough light. What I would do is cut away ALL the dead tissue with a sterile knife, wash the whole plant in a mild chlorine solution - don't forget to rinse off the chlorine with sterile or boiled water - then leave the wounds to dry for 24 hours. I wouldn't treat them with anything. Get a large jamjar or similar, quarter fill it with fine gravel and add a couple of tablespoons of water, not enough to reach the top of the gravel. Sterilize the whole by microwaving for about 3 minutes. Don't let the water boil away. When it has cooled, pop your plant into the jar (its ICU)and seal the lid.It should fog up. Make sure it is not in contact with any base water. Some people use sphagnum moss, but unless there are live roots, there's not a lot of point. Keep it very warm but out of direct sunlight. In a couple of months ( if you are lucky - your plant is critically ill) you will see new roots forming.
pharaoness
Original Author
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Okay, but what should I do about the cinnamon I sprinkled on it? is it true that cinnamon retards root growth? thank you.
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jane__ny
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I wouldn't put chlorine on the plant. Just pot in some small bark with some sphag mixed in. Pot the plant in a small pot, keep warm and water when almost dry. Check with your finger down into the mix. Don't put cinnamon on any root area. Give it good light and hope for the best. Spring is coming, the days are getting longer and if your plant is going to make it, it will now. Leave the aerial roots alone, they can help carry the plant until new roots form.

Good luck,
Jane
orchid126
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I agree with Jane. Also, the main growing stem is too long, and should be shortened, otherwise the stem would have to be planted into too deep a pot, and that would be too much medium for a plant with so little roots. I also agree with ifraser when he says cut away all dead tissue with a sterile knife or new razor blade and let the wounds dry. Pot it into a very small pot since there are hardly any roots.
pharaoness
Original Author
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thank you so much for all your insight. But about the stem, how can I shorten it?? the only live roots are at the bottom of it, so I'd have to cut them off or use the aerial roots instead... Is that right?
ifraser25
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Many people (including me) worry about using chlorine on plants and you should only use it an emergency and in very low concentration.It must always be rinsed off afterwards. However, you MUST do it with this method, otherwise any bacteria/fungal spores still on the plant will multiply extremely rapidly in the enclosed conditions of the ICU, undoing all your goood work. The cinnamon will have been washed off by the treatment. What the plant has taken up already will do no harm, but I have only found it to be useful as a prevention, not in emergency surgery! Without seeing a photo of your plant it's difficult to say how much surgery it needs, but in general, if there are still live roots they should be left. If there is a substantial amount of live root left, a less radical solution is to sprinkle the wounds with a very small amount of sulphur and just wrap them in sterile sphagnum, as another respondent suggested. I would still recommend you keep it 100% humid for a while to prevent dehydration.
orchid126
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
ifraser25, would peroxide do as well?

Pharaoness, if the only roots you have are way down on the old stem, then you must leave them. But in a few months recheck the stem and see if any more roots have grown, and if so, then you can trim the old stem. In the meantime, be careful watering. Use the skewer.

In Hawaii when they want to propagate phals they cut the top off, plant it, and it will re-root. Then the remainder of the plant will throw off keikis.
ifraser25
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I've never used peroxide but I guess it would be OK, same rules as before, leave it for a few hours then rinse it off.
pharaoness
Original Author
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thank you for all your help, I hope my plant makes it. By the way, I do have a link posted on the bottom of my first post in this thread, just click it and that should give you a much better view of exactly the condition my plant is in. Please post your thoughts once you've looked, thank you again!