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davey_riley

Why does my orchid look like this? (After pruning)

10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago

I cut my orchid spike down to the base a few days ago. It is a phalaenopsis. The leaves are very droopy now. When it had flowers, they were a little droopy, but not as much. I checked the roots, and they look nice and green. Any ideas? I live in Southern CA, so it is very dry and hot right now. I mist it daily, water frequently, and always check roots. I keep it outside, in a shaded corner of my patio that gets no direct sunlight.

Comments (7)

  • 10 years ago

    Thanks. So do you mean that misting it is bad? I only must it when it's really dry out on top of watering . I brought it inside for now to see if I notice any difference. So it may be the outdoors causing the droopy leaves?

  • 10 years ago

    I do not know, I can only say things from my experience. Here, outside is very dicey (for phals). Extreme UV in summer, plus a few days 100F + very low humidity when the hot dry air is coming from the centre of an arid Continent.

    You need local advice.

    The inside Phals get sunlight filtered by a match-stick blind in winter.


    D R thanked arthurm2015
  • 10 years ago

    If you could post a few more pictures, it would help. You haven't explained how your Phal is potted. Does that pot have drainage? The pot appears too big and the plant too deep. That cuts off air to the roots. Is it sitting in water?

    Orchids need air movement around their roots. Is your plant in a smaller pot inside the big pot. What media is it potted in, bark, sphag?

    The leaves appear in the photo darker than I would like to see. This suggests it is not getting enough light.

    I would not be misting at all. Cutting the spike would have no affect on the leaves. Wilting leaves can be caused by root problems, but you state they looked good when you repotted.

    If you could provide the above information it would help us give the correct recommendations.

    Jane

    D R thanked jane__ny
  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Hi Jane, I will update with pics ASAP. It's just in the one pot. The pot I had before repotting was smaller, and it looked like the roots were smashed up in there. The mix is all bark with just a tiny bit of moss. I believe it's a Miracle Gro mix, but the moss was there when I first got the plant. It sits in a small container of stones that I keep wet. I had it outside, out of indirect sunlight, but in an area where it should be getting light. I just recently brought it in. It's now on the mantle, facing a window that gets a lot of afternoon light. The pot does have drainage, and I'm not sure about the deepness because some of the roots are coming out above the mix. It's kind of just sitting in the pot, with some of the bark mix around, and just a little on top. Not too much under it. Also, there was a lot more miss wrapped around the roots when I bought it, but I recently removed some because it seemed like it was always staying wet around that area.

  • 10 years ago

    The top roots are starting to look a little dry, so it might need watering. I let it dry a little bit because of the soggy moss I had removed.

  • 10 years ago

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