Phalaenopsis Recovery | Rescuing a Special Phal, My Method & Tips - Orchid Recovery from Root Loss

[@TrishsOrchidLife]

Great video and what a wonderful recovery this poor lady is making!

[@KP-gw5zv]

Thank you for a great video. Lots of tips and tricks to keep in mind when helping one's orchids. Thank you and please remain safe. Enjoy the rest of your day.

[@rubireyes1692]

I have tried several things on my orchid, when I first repotted it the roots died away from rot. Then I tried water culture on it and it some what helped but then the leaves dried out. Which I think is normal since it is only the bottom two leaves. Then I put it in sagnumoss and it quickly got fuzzy mold/rot. So I changed it back to water culture and its one root is staying strong though I have had to cut some of it off. It has areial roots but more near the leaves. The stem is sprouting tiny tiny thin roots but that is slowly happening! I also tried the bag method and the roots and stem got fuzzy mold. So at this point I'm soaking it in black tea during the day and letting it dry at night. One of its leaves it almost yellow and falling off and the other bottom one is leathery. I know people don't like water culture for orchids but it seems to be benefitting the plant at this point so why not?

[@TheOrchidRoom]

I am a firm believer in whatever works for you, some people are very successful in water culture 🙂 One little thing I would say, is that every time you change a setup it stresses the orchid. I totally understand that you were looking for a setup that would help it, but old roots aren't able to adapt as easily to new setups, so every setup change increases the chance that more roots will die. Roots tend to die due to an inability to adapt to a new air ratio in the media, essentially suffocating, which is why it's best to wait for new root tips to syart and old roots to start branching before a repot. If an orchid needs recovering, I honestly pot it into my setup of choice, and try to stress it as little as possible. New roots will grow given time 🙂 Good luck and I hope your orchid starts some new roots soon and recovers 🙂 Seaweed contains growth hormones that stimulate new root production, so in future you could always try that if you like, I have great success with it.

[@MelissaWalker82]

Very impressive results!

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Thanks! 😀 I'm happy to have saved one from the bin, mum's others are actually doing very well now, this little guy seems to have had the worst time for some reason!

[@normantorok5919]

this was super helpful, great to see results and how you keep the ICU :)

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Hi Norman! Thankyou! I was thinking to update on her soon, she has a flower spike now and mum has told me I should keep her 😆🤦‍♀️ I love it and obviously can't refuse, but I wanted to rescue it for her! Oh well 😅

[@normantorok5919]

@@TheOrchidRoom Well what's one more orchid...right? Haha. You could trade her, give her one that you think she'd do well with? Parents...:)

[@heidihuhtaniemi7999]

Great video, good info. What would you do with roothless orchid?

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Hi, I explain what I do for rootless orchids from 05:40. Hope that helps!

[@roncastro7195]

Great stuff here.... you sure have good luck.... very useful...thank you

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Thanks Ron, I'm looking forward to getting it back to my mother once it's recovered, and I can see her again after all of this! 🙂

[@suethorpe7850]

Me and my girls love westland. It works well for me. Each to their own. Great recovery 👍

[@TheOrchidRoom]

I find it almost like compost! If I have to use bark I use good quality orchid bark, but like you say, each to their own, whatever works in your setup! It clearly didn't work with my mothers either, and her windowsill is much lower humidity than our house, so I can't even put it down to that. I really dislike it, and can't understand mixing seramis with bark for a phal, it'll just increase the rate of breakdown, and also close up air pockets combined with the tiny dusty bark grains. Inorganic for me, much more control and consistency, so for me much better results.

[@Matilda52]

Great video as usual, Annabel! Just wondering how long did you keep the plant bare-rooted before you potted it up in leca?

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Maybe a week or so? Just to really try and cram hydration and nutrients into the plant before potting, since those only roots were aerial and I was worried they may be lost upon potting. They weren't though 🙂 I did update in my community tab and on Instagram after a month or so but then I sort of forgot about it, it recovered well and is flowering on the orchid wall now 🙂

[@Matilda52]

@@TheOrchidRoom You have the magic touch 😊

[@gabrieleliucvaityte5278]

Wow, the phal gave you new roots so quick 😳 I’m struggling with a mini phal for almost 2 months, which is still doing nothing 😞 fingers crossed that changes soon 🤞

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Hope it perks up soon! I usually notice around the 1 month mark they start making new roots but it could take longer if the plant was really set back or been through a rough time! Fingers crossed for your mini phal! 🤞🙂

[@anitasteward6094]

Can’t get the fan in the USA is there any other place you can buy it

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Any mini usb fan will do exactly the same job. I choose usb ones as they are typically only 3-5W and fit on shelves easily. I have a range of diff ones I use, not just the one linked. Just amazon search mini usb fan?

[@Genevieve8002]

I really do not like that Westland orchid potting mix. At first I didn't know any better, then when I got more serious about growing orchids I decided to order some premium bark from a nursery - I then saw the light!!

[@TheOrchidRoom]

I totally agree with you! I had some terrible trouble with it when I first started, so much rot and mould. I'm repotting alot of mums phals into chunky orchid bark, I think it will work much better for her environment 🙂 I have a bit of a joke with a lady on here who loves westland, but it works really well for her. Different environments and ways of watering I guess!

[@Genevieve8002]

@@TheOrchidRoom Bought my first phal last year and knew nothing. It was potted in bark, didn't know to repot early, to check the root system etc.... Waited for the blooms to fall, then repotted into Westlands mix. When I got serious and started adding more phals to my collection and finding the orchid community online. I started paying more attention to what media may be best, Westlands has been eliminated! I'm using a nice premium bark that is much more aerating, and it even smells amazing!! 😁🤣 I am now realising the importance of taking into account your environment. I love terracotta pots and repotted some of my phals into them, but then I'm noticing that those pots can be quite cold, and as I'm lacking humidity in my environment, they may not be so ideal. My healthiest phals, and my two thriving rescues are in plastic pots, so will probably be repotting the ones in terracottaback into plastic!! I need to also repot my Mum's phal too!

[@colleenneville]

How long would the light be left on?

[@TheOrchidRoom]

I do 12 hour day periods for all my orchids, this setup is just me taking advantage of a bottom shelf however, you could replicate this on a windowsill by adjusting position of the plants. The point is good light but not so bright as to cause stress for recovering orchids.

[@NinjaOrchids]

*cough ... 😂

[@TheOrchidRoom]

I'm sending you a rooted phal 😂

[@NinjaOrchids]

The Orchid Room oh goody!! 🤩🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤗