Sometimes maroon/purple pigmentation shows on leaves when they are exposed to high light -- I've seen this in Brassavolas and near the base of leaves on some Phalaenopsis. High light is fine so long as the leaves aren't burning and the plant is being watered and fertilized appropriately and in fact is necessary for blooming. If the leaves are firm and appear hydrated and the plant has roots I think you're doing fine. If you repot I recommend a plastic pot (clear so you can see the roots) with tree fern fiber mix.

And now my two cents: I grow a lot of orchids and for me Phals tend to be fussy as houseplants. I find Laelia, Cattleya, Brassavola, and Rhynchostylis hybrids and species way easier and more rewarding!

Thanks for the tips. The leaves on my orchid are firm, but some of the lower leaves have small wrinkles like maybe I'm under-watering? It's in a plastic pot sheathed inside a ceramic pot. Do I need to put air holes in the side of the plastic pot to give the roots more air circulation?

The temperature stays between 70-75 degrees, and I keep it at about 65 in the winter. It may get some direct sun early in the morning (the largest window faces the sunrise) and the room stays pretty bright all day. My African Violets love it, but maybe the orchid could care less. Fussy thing.

I just discovered a flower spike? It could be another root. Anyway, I took pictures so I could get advice on the condition my plant is in. Sorry, I'll have to post one picture at a time.

Pots and roots

Better view of new roots

Close-up of leaf. Note the wrinkles. Under watering?

Twilight,

Periodically, phals shed lower leaves. When it's time for them to go, they shrivel up and die. As long as it's the lower leaves only, you have nothing to worry about.

Lun, I also think it needs repotting, the roots at the top are rotting and the media look tired. Sometimes when roots are damaged it also cause the leaves to wrinkel. So repot clean away the rotted roots, make sure the healthy roots come in contact with the new media, and pt it in a little lower light to recover. The wrinkled leaves will not go smooth again bt the plant will send out new ones. About the new growth it can be either a root or spike bt you will have to give it more time to develope. VELLETA.

The plant isn't under watered it's over watered. It looks like the mix has decomposed to a point where it's holding too much moisture and has no air flow. Some of the new roots look healthy but the roots down in the mix look rotten. The leaves are wrinkled because the rotten roots can't take up water. I recommend a repot and some more light. It won't need a bigger pot just fresh mix. Be sure to cut off any soggy rotten roots.

I have some Miracle grow potting mix for orchids, but I think it's too fine for this orchid. I need to get some coarse bark and maybe some peat or sphagnum moss, right? Should I put air holes in the plastic pot? What about the ceramic pot? Is it preventing air flow to the roots causing the roots to rot? Will it affect the root or spike growth if I re-pot it?

I always put lots of air holes in the pot and if the ceramic pot doesn't have holes in it for drainage, the air won't really get to the roots anyway, especially if the plastic pot is tight against the sides of the ceramic one. Make sure when you cut off the dead roots that the new ones just fit in the plastic pot, you don't want a lot of air space. Don't use peat in your mix, you can get a good orchid mix and mix in a little spag if you want, sometimes I also add some kind of stone, like the kind they sell for hydrophonic growing. Bright light like you'd get from an east window or shaded west or south window.

Thanks for the reply. I need to go buy some fresh medium for my orchid. I read that you should use charcoal? I've also heard you can use perlite? I have perlite already. For now, I pulled my orchid out of its pot and cut away anything that looked dead. I had to put it back in the same medium for now, but they had it really packed down. I tossed about half of it. I put additional holes in the plastic pot in the sides. With less medium and more holes, it should help with air flow, but I also took it out of the ceramic pot. One more question: one reply says more light, but another says lower light... Personally, I think more light would be too much, but what do I know? I'm an orchid serial murderer.

Your plant looks very overwatered with rotted roots. The plant is also starved for light. Get it closer to a bright window. The leaves should be a light green. Yours are very dark.

Buy a bag of orchid mix at one of the big box stores and repot. This is not a good time to be repotting but you will lose the plant if you leave it in that mix.

You can mix a little perlite if you want but at this point, you need to get it out of that pot. Forget the ceramic pot. Your plant is overwatered and the roots aren't getting any air.

Phals grow attached to the side of trees. They do not grow in the ground. Their roots are in the air. They need air and the leaves need light.

Stick your finger down into the potting mix before watering. If it is almost dry, you can water. If its damp, wait.

Jane

You can find a bark mix that has chunks of charcoal and large pieces of perlite in it already. It's not too pricey. The new roots are a sign it's still doing okay, just get it into a happier living arrangement. :)

For what it's worth, I have a phal that is in a plastic pot with a hole at the bottom, which is sitting inside a ceramic pot with no drainage, very similar to your set-up. The mix is a really chunky bark and charcoal, so there's a lot of room for moisture to evaporate, which makes up for the lack of holes in the pot. I take it out of the ceramic to water in the sink, then shake out all of the water, and put it back in there. It's really thriving. Some of the older roots are looking wrinkly, but the pot itself is filled with healthy green/white roots, and it's currently in bloom, as well as shooting out 6 aerial roots.

Get some new airy mix (skip the sphagnum if you're going to keep it in the ceramic pot), and it will probably perk right up. Good luck!

Looks to me like too much light, not too little. See this: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/orchids/msg09234904497.html.

> I've also heard you can use perlite? I have perlite already.

Most perlite sold in stores is rather fine. I bought coarse perlite and then I filtered smaller (