Yeah.. That's What They Call Problems ..
Phalaenopsis Orchid Problems.. to be exact. And I must nip this in the bud so to speak. I was just talking with @ewkaw not long ago, and she mentioned that I should be very careful when planting my Orchids in the lava rock. She recalled a friend that ran into some issue with root rot and what not when they used the rock.
Wellllll.... I Got Root Issues
It went from good to bad very quickly. One day everything looked good and the very next I began noticing white fluffy mildew forming on the roots and the rocks. I was disappointed to say the least. I was more disappointed in the fact this was not going to work out, rather than being hard on myself for trying it out. After all, the reason I tried this out was because a friend of mine that is very familiar with Orchids told me to give it a shot. Wait till I see this guy! lol.
As you can see above, 90% of the roots on most of the plants were soft and moldy. I figure they must have been slowly rotting over the last several weeks, but I never noticed till it was too late. I just happened to have a bag of bark mix, so I did not wait and decided to repot these gals pronto!
So I Did What Any Of You Orchid Lover's Would Have Done ..
Broke out my supplies and got down to business; The business of saving little Orchid lives. hehehe.. I know, so dramatic!
I did give it a little thought first. I liked the glass pots and the look of the lava rock. But how could I preserve that and yet make the living environment perfect for my Phal's? Hmmmm.. Well, I saved the pots they came in when I purchased them from the store. I decided to use them, since they were small enough to fit inside the glass pots, yet allow for enough room to pile in the rocks around them. PERFECT! Not sure this is the best remedy, but it may just work out. Let's give it a try.
BEFORE
AFTER
Looks Good I Think.. As you can see, there is some new root growth coming on and coming on fast. This is a great sign that all is not lost. I am hoping for a full recovery of all plants. Some have more new root activity than others, but most looked promising. I'll insert an example of a cleaned up, ready to be repotted, Orchid below.
Again, more of the little pots I used. Not all of them are clear, but after putting the rock back in, one can't tell to easily that the pot is colored. At least it doesn't look bad to my wife and I.
Here's a few shots of the finished product. I did end up placing a few more lava rocks in there to hide the inner pot a bit better.
There We Have It!
They don't look too bad, do they? Almost can't tell I did anything. Almost. Sometimes we have to admit when an idea was a bad one, and that's what I wanted to do here. Also big THANK YOU to @ewkaw for lending the much needed advice about avoiding Lava Rock.
Lesson Learned.
Here's another close up..
I have my doubts that these flowers will remain for long. After all the stress of breaking off dead material and up rooting her from here home, I think they will soon wilt and die off. I give it a week or two at most. :-/
P.S. Not The Only Plants In The House Suffering From Something ..
Oh my poor Amaryllis! What the heck. I am hitting a rough patch with these plants. But in my defense, this guy was not looking good from the start this year. No clue.
“Still the voices of your critics. Listen intently to your own voice, to the person who knows you best. Then answer these questions: Do you think you should move ahead? How will you feel if you quit pursuing this thing you want to do? And what does your best self advise? What you hear may change your life.”
― Steve Goodier
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Oh my.. I hate when that happens. You think you do the right they and they still hate it.
I am still not sure if it's the lava or the glass jar, since there is no draining holes for the excess water. Phals really don't like to have their roots wet for too long.
The new roots look really good though. They should be ok :)
Most of the roots were up off the bottom where minimal water would collect. I think the nooks held too much water too close to those roots just the same. Back to the bark... for now. lol
What do you think it was about the lava rock that caused the problem? Is it just too abrasive for the roots as they grow? That is pretty interesting. I am glad that you were able to save them and they seem to be recovering pretty well.
I think it just held too much water against the roots. That is my guess. They are all doing very well now. It's been a week or so now. I'll keep an eye on them for a while longer.
That is great to hear. I likely would have just given up and chucked them all if it were me. I suck!
hahaha.. No you wouldn't of. Okay.. Maybe you would. lol
How instructive your post, I learned how to proceed with orchids. Good thing you got seeds from your old plant.
Very interesting post. I have planted some orchids in my apartment on dry trunks and especially on ferns, but I have never used volcanic rock because I think it doesn't exist here. But the problem seems to have been too much humidity. Good thing the plant was able to recover and has healthy roots. Your flowers are beautiful and I hope they last longer than you think.
Best regards
Thank you. Yes they seem to be doing much better now and the water was a concern. I think I have it cover now and will hope for a full recovery. I would love to try to grow one on a piece of wood. Do you post pictures of them here on hive?
I'm glad your plants are improving.
A while back I made a post about some beautiful yellow flowered Catleyas. I now have some bromeliads on trunk pieces. One of them has not bloomed, the other one has and its flowers are small.
Greetings and happy day
Orchids are beautiful. I often wonder how long it takes orchid to bloom. It depends on the type and season !
Each one is a little different, but sometimes I get mine to bloom multiple times a year. The Phalaenopsis types at least.
Glad you caught it when you did! My amaryllis did the same thing earlier this year. I just left it alone and now it has 8 big leaves.
I don't know what happened to it, but came in and it was on the floor. I don't know. She was doing so well last few years too and nothing much has changed. Glad yours survived. 😊
We use a lot of lava rocks here, and orchids both dendrobiums and phals do well. Nonetheless, we never use lava rocks alone there is always a mix of moss, bricks or leca , coconut barks etc.