Your Phalaenopsis needs to have dead roots removed and should be repotted. Some growers have them in clear pots and roots exposed to light have a greenish tinge when watered.

No answers? Probably because there are so many of these posts and fine tuning is required re. where you live and the growing conditions you can provide. Put Phalaenopsis + repotting in the search box on top of
this discussions page to find past threads.

I've put the link to AOS Cultivation notes below.
Good luck and ask questions if still puzzled.

Here is a link that might be useful: AOS Phalaenopsis Notes

That is what I call roots too green. That is not white.

Thanks -

They had been in a tightly packed moss + plastic sleeve. I wonder if that is why the white roots are very crooked.

I rinsed the roots and left them on the counter above some water overnight while I went looking for something to repot them in.

Thx for your note on the white / green roots. I kind of hoped they were white just because they were not exposed to light. They are a bit more firm / less soggy feeling after not being surrounded by the moss for a day.

I didn't trim any more off. Should I? The brown areas aren't mushy or anything. I attached another photo of the roots.

I re-potted in the dreaded Miracle Gro orchid mix, and a little of the original moss as I read here that the bark mix may hold too little water from the beginning.

I live outside of Los Angeles, so very low humidity, zone 10b. Plan is to keep the plant in my office near a window, over a water dish.

Other thoughts? (This is my 3rd time trying [not] to kill an orchid!)

Thx!

All you can do is try.....you read all this stuff about how easy they are to grow which may be true BUT at the local orchid society they are thought to be difficult.

The miracle-gro potting mix might be OK provided you realise that it will hold water a little longer than maybe an optimum mix would.

The advice i give here at orchid shows is never put them outside. Temps too low in winter, sometimes too high in summer and humidity all over the place.

Anyway good luck, I've fiddled around with them for a long time with only modest success.

Found another set of notes and put them in the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: More Phalaenopsis notes

The roots will do a lot better once out of that dreaded moss. They pack it so tightly! I have a couple in loosely packed moss, and they do okay, but most of my phals are in bark. I don't really water the ones in moss like I do the ones in bark, I just mist the moss until it's all evenly damp, then let it dry out over several days.

Once in bark, the roots will acclimate and start to dig in. Even those roots that look a little grim may suddenly sprout a fresh white/green branch out of the side! And you don't have to worry about watering too much if it's in bark that drains out everything you pour in. You can just bring it the sink, run some water through it, and leave it to dry.

If the humidity is low, you can even put it in a bowl of water for 10 minutes and let the bark soak up some water, then drain it out. As long as the roots are no longer suffocating in that tightly packed, damp moss, and now they can have some air circulating around them, they will be happy and start growing.

This mini-phal was healthy but growing out on a cold sun porch, I'm told (I picked him up at a local orchid society mtg). I've since moved him to my warm office, and spray the loose moss he's in once a week, when it becomes completely dry (I just sprayed this one). I wanted to see a healthier root system on it before I transferred to bark, and so far, so good. You can see healthy growth on an older root, two new roots growing, and even a branch that just popped out of an older root! Opposite of most house plants, these guys need air around the roots (preferably humid air, which is where damp bark comes into play), with a nice drench/dunk once a week or so.

Thanks all! Fingers crossed.