It's the bare root picture I can't get to show up. I figured out it's because when I uploaded the pic it went into a folder when other pictures I've taken didn't. No clue why.

Did you soak the bark before repotting? That helps retain moisture. Beautiful, healthy looking phalaenopsis.

Yes, I soaked the bark the first time I used it. Now when I water I let the water run through for a minute or so until I can feel the weight of the soaked bark. But..the plant is drooping now, not real bad but noticeable.

Would I shock it by repotting it again so soon? I really need to put it in a see through pot so I can see if the roots are still alive. :) I'll try to post a picture later.

It won't shock it to replant again so soon.

Root damage could have been caused by repotting, but roots tend to rot faster when planted in just sphagnum moss. The moss also rots/goes bad and dries out faster than orchid mulch, so I don't recommend moss.

A north window is really not enough light. How often are you watering? Not having a good root system, the plant dries out faster.

I think the rot had just begun right before I repotted the plant and somehow once it got in bark one root totally flattened.

Today I put it next to an east window for a couple of hours of morning sun with a Pothos dappling the sunlight.

That makes sense about it needing more water with two roots. When it was in moss I watered it once a week and also once a week while in bark. But that will change.

Last night I put some pebbles and rocks with some water in the saucer for humidity. No water is touching the bottom of the plant.

Off to go transplant again and keeping my fingers crossed it still has those two roots. lol

Forgot to ask, the two long air roots seem to be much lighter. Well, one broke so I'm getting ready to snip it above the break. If those die is that a bad sign?

I took 4 pictures of the root system, or what's left of it. I rinsed off the roots too.

I lightened the pics just a bit so you can see them better. Take a close look at this first picture which looks worse than the others. Do you see the hole in the area above the roots? The short root in the forefront is the one that rotted and I snipped that part off.

When I repotted it again tonight the bark was barely damp so I didn't add water. The Orchid's been fertilized twice now.

Soft & droopy leaves. That's another plant behind it.

The root in the back obviously looks bad, should I cut it off?

FTR, the fat root isn't mushy. :)

I would NOT cut the root off. It hardly has any roots and the air roots won't keep it alive. The leaves are shriveled so it's not dehydrated. The leaves look fine to me. Some grow downwards like that.

Yes mom. :) I so appreciate you teaching me about Orchids and being ever so patient.

I forgot to mention that one of the bottom leaves turned yellow so I did cut that one off, is that okay? How can you tell they're shriveled?

Aren't the little white stringy roots helpful to the plants survival?

Did you get a look at the hole? I never noticed it until I downloaded the picture, so maybe it looks worse than it is.

You're welcome. Yellow leaves need to go. White stringy roots are fine, never cut them off. I am not 100% sure about cutting the root with hole or not because there is so little root. I would probably leave it if it were my plant.

ETA: Yellow leaves are too much water. Brown is burned by sunlight. Shriveled is dehydrated.

Dehydrated examples

That's not a root with the hole, (1st pic) it's the base of the plant which concerns me. Try to make the picture larger. See the bright white spot at the bottom of the base? I think that's the flash. Above that is a little yellowish round bump. The hole is right above and it looks hollow with maybe a new root hanging down. Or something, but it's clear as day but I didn't see it until I downloaded the pic.

I didn't cut the root that looks dead, I was going to but forgot. lol

I think I see the hole you're talking about. I wouldn't panic yet, but if it starts doing poorly, I would probably start with a new, healthy plant.

I've been searching off and on today trying to find a inexpensive orchid or two to buy online during the winter. The flower shop next town over which isn't far had one for $85.00, double stemmed. Too expensive to kill. lol

I found this one at Home Depot! I ordered two of them because the price is so good, plus free shipping. They pick the color so I hope whoever does it is smart enough to send two different colors. It will be here Feb. 3rd.

This is kind of fun. I have a rectangle rattan planter that I'll put in the LR's east window. Perfect size and perfect light from what I've read.

I keep forgetting HD is an good online source for everything. I'm hoping they'll ship bedding plants in the spring.

Orchids need to be planted in clear plastic pots with slits for air circulation and plenty of holes in the bottom for drainage. I would replant it in orchid mix, but not in a clay pot. Be sure to give it a fertilizer specifically for orchids and it only takes a tiny amount ( I believe mine says 1/4 tsp. per gallon of water). I have killed several phals, and I believe it was from over watering. I used to soak them, until I saw Orchid Girl on YouTube just pouring water over the roots . She took the plant out of it's outer decorative pot, and poured water over the roots in the plastic pot while holding it over the sink. I started doing that and have managed to keep my last phal alive for 6 months ..yay ! Another important thing is not to get water in the crown, which could cause crown rot. If you do accidentally get water there, roll a paper towel into a point and stick the point into the crown and soak up the water.

Hope all of that helps. I'm determined to learn how to grow orchids, no matter how many I kill in the process ...lol !

So glad you chimed in, Woodrose! Read all of Allison's replies in this topic and look at her orchid pictures.

Right before I came here I was reading Empress of dirt's website about how her mom grows Orchids. Simple and to the point. She's in Canada but that makes no difference.

I did repot the orchid the other night in a clear plastic orchid pot, and It's been fertilized twice now, once a week, and I finally found the window it needs to be in which is an east window in the LR.

My fear is still not really knowing how often to water because of varying opinions online from experts. Because my orchid is planted in bark it may need to be watered every four days instead of once a week, and more often because it only has two roots. :( So far I've done it once a week but it's too early to judge.

How do I know the plant is ready to be watered when it's potted in bark? I need to read about the crown and not getting it wet. I use a water pot with a long skinny spout so it prevents water from getting on the leaves. OTOH, many Orchid growers recommends spraying the leaves with water.

I did not know this until today, but with the previous Orchids I grew I cut the stems off after the flowers died. Little did I know they should NOT be cut. Other than not blooming I didn't have any problems with them but I ended up throwing them away. My bad. :)

There's a common saying that you have to kill three orchids before you get it right. In my case, I've killed one and am holding off before taking on new ones. For a long time, mine did really well with neglect and indirect sunlight. I even repotted it with the orchid mix. But I eventually overwatered it in my desire to be a more loving plant parent. Live and learn. Speaking of learning, Longwood Gardens has an online course for $29 that will help you better understand about Orchids and orchid care. I've taken some of their courses and they are really well done.

Everything about Orchids online class

Thanks, Jojo, I'll check into it if I keep having problems.

Allison, remember when I said I soaked this Orchid every time I watered and it did great? Except it never bloomed. I also never fed it either, big mistake.

Take a look at this website, and most of all, watch his video on how he waters. That's what I'm going to start doing again, except now mine is in bark while it looks like his is in a moss mix which IMO, eventually contributed to some root rot.

BTW, does he resemble Pete Buttigieg ?

Watering a Phalaenopsis I loved what he said about watering the crown.

So you don't have to scroll up, here's the picture of the Orchid that I soaked for a few years until it started drooping a couple of months ago, and even more after I put it in bark.

Testing

The girls arrived yesterday from Florida. Perfect condition and a bud is opening today. Yellow with purple veins.

Please ignore the setup, I need to figure out a way to have them sit higher and the towel is to prevent any heat from a nearby vent.

Bad picture I know but I was in a hurry to capture Raven hanging out on the firewood. Time to get her inside!

Allison, the plant in the middle is the sickly one and it's doing pretty good, but I read to put plants with little to no roots in small pot, so that's what I'll do.

Oh good, the picture showed up. The orchids I ordered from Home Depot via Florida came yesterday in great condition. The spots you see is moss.

Please ignore the setup under the plants, it's temporary.

I had no idea what color the plant on the right was going to be because the buds were closed. As you can see, one of them is in the process of opening. It's yellow with purple spots/veins.

They appear to love the east window. I have the shutter open for better light.

That's Raven laying on the firewood outside the window. Time for her to come in.

I will admit I just read the title here and not the thread. I have no advice (black thumb) but wanted to report on my orchid experience.

A friend gave me one as a hostess gift last February. She said I know you don’t care about plants but this was so pretty I couldn’t resist buying it. It was beautiful, with pinkish flowers. I basically ignored it, benign neglect, rarely watering it, and kept in in a south facing window covered by sheer curtain (diffuse light). It continued to flower until July! Maybe that’s not impressive to plant people but I was amazed.

After July, it was flowerless, no new leaves but did produce weird root looking things that just stick out, which I ignored (do I cut those off or leave them alone?). I did notice in the last week, the bottom leaf was yellowing, and there is now a new branch with buds! It will be so disappointing if it got to this point and I kill it now. I’m trying to ignore it to the same level as before, with my fingers crossed, hoping to get flowers again.

@hhireno leave the roots alone. You should never cut healthy roots. Even if they are tan on the outside, they could be alive on the inside. Only when they are dead.

Orchid Girl videos are a good source. I watched the Longwood Gardens orchid videos, but didn't really learn anything new. Yellow = too much water. Brown = too much sun. Shriveled = dehydrated.

Good luck with your new orchids, Oakley. I water mine with diluted fertilizer (less than directions so they don't burn) every 6 days currently. Every 5 days in the summer when our sunroom gets warmer. Flush with water and NO fertilizer once a month to flush salt. It's usually better to underwater than overwater. A day or two difference here and there won't hurt. Just watch for the yellow, brown, shriveled signs.

Wow, talk about beginners luck! Don't cut the air root which is the ones sticking out.

Trim the yellow leaf off.

The sheer curtain is your orchid savior especially in winter. Bright indirect sunlight is what they like.

For good advice, read all of Allison's replies to my questions. There's another topic I did also that I'll find and post the link here.

I did read that blooms can last months but I didn't believe it. Now I do!

Allison, I hope you check in, I know you're busy. Do I need a pebble tray?

Youtube, Google, and the American Orchid Society are your friends.

Allison, you were writing when I was hoping you'd pop in. Do I need a pebble tray because our air is dry? I've read yes and no. I have a humidifier I could use.

Now that I have all of three orchids, lol, I started a chart when each one was watered so I won't forget.

Allison, this is probably the stupidest question ever. I know to repot the new plants when they're finished blooming. They're in small pots and they can easily fall over...like if a cat decides to play with it. :)

I had no choice but to put them in cache pots to keep them stable. But don't the roots need light also or am I dreaming I read they do?

If they survive I might get the ceramic orchid pots.

I have never used a pebble tray. Mine were blooming in our last home. No sunroom, like I have here. I would skip the pebble tray.

The roots do not need light but they need air. I should show you one of my larger orchids in one of my smaller clay pots. The air roots are crazy.

One word of caution about ceramic orchid pots. Glazed pots do not breathe, so potting soil rots quicker... so do roots.

Thanks! I'll just use larger cache pots then.

Look what I found, who knew? Lots of reading for me tonight. Orchid discussions

I think I found my long lost twin. Just keep scrolling for more pictures of the same plant from the poster. I swear I couldn't sleep with all those air roots thinking they may strangle me!

Allison, take a look, is having that many air roots normal?