I had been keeping an eye on my first NoID Phal since it was my second only potting. The leaves have been floppy since the pot up but it wasn't improving after 2.5 months. As of late the leaves started to take on a wrinkled appearance but it was still holding on to its buds and pushing out more. This morning I removed it from its pot and confirm what I was suspecting was the problem which was root rot. As you can probably guess it was nearly 99% of them. I've trimmed up all the dead root, cut the flower spike. I have a couple small half dried out air roots left and one or two roots that were bad towards the bottom but were half salvageable towards the stem. Presently it is in a glass with water below (not touching) the roots to give them humidity without wetting them. I want the "cut roots" to dry and heal over. I'm not sure what I should do since obviously the plant is dehydrated but I shouldn't soak it and kill what roots I have left. Potting it up right now doesn't seem like a viable option either since it needs 1. to dry out but 2. it needs hydration. Suggestions other than the dust bin?

To add the frosting on the cake as far as a bad day. Having your spouse yelling at 5.45 a.m. waking you up really sets the tone for the day. The downstairs toilet turn into a fountain downstairs whilst adult youngest son was showering.Plumbers called promptly at 8 a.m. A plugged sewer line the cause. Two plumbers with an auger for an hour.

Hope your having a better day today Lisa.
The procedure your using is probably the best hope that phal has. Did you spray the remaining roots with Hydrogen Peroxide or something to disinfect?

No Hydrogen Peroxide!!! You are asking for trouble. Cinnamon will do the trick! No harm to anyone or anything.

Yes, I should have mentioned cinnamon as it will have a longer lasting effect.

Checking my new Oncidium Intergeneric today I discovered one of the new lead pbulbs was rotting ( I have not watered it since acquiring it). I cut the root off down to good tissue and have place cinnamon on the cut. I took it out of the pot to check the media (see photos). Since I'm new to orchids and this is my first Oncidium I am not sure if this media is broken down or alright for the present. It looks like peat like material with sand/perlite. Almost soil like from what little I've dared remove since I don't want to disturb them if it isn't necessary. The vendor said he'd potted it up
a few months back. I know it's in bloom but I will move it if necessary. Is this media alright or broken down? If I do have to repot I was thinking of moving it to Leca. Would that be an acceptable media?

It looks like it's happy, personally I'd pot it into bark mixed with coarse perlite and charcoal.
If it's in bloom wait until the blooms finish, then cut that stem off and repot when you see new growth.
The soil looks to be quite wet, put it where it will get some air movement as well especially if its in a cool room.

Another Question:
The Brassavola I have is growing on the trunk of a VERY OLD potted ficus tree. I would like to remove part or most of the Brassavola to a pot. But since it grows vertically on the trunk how does one do this?

I have had the ficus tree since 1977 (YIKES), and the orchid since 1992. We keep the tree in the sun room during the winter, but put it outside in the summer. The orchid blooms every year in about July, although not much last year.

Cut the part of the branch off that the Brassavola is attached.
If that is not an option soak the roots and wait till you see new root growth, then take your chances removing it.

Here we go again. We are going to fix something that is not broken.
It did not bloom as well because the ficus is shading it too much. Careful pruning of the ficus will correct that.
If you have to remove it, water it and use the full edge of a butter knife to act like a wedge and gently pry it off.

A comedy of errors or How not to buy a Phal

I ended up buying a new Phal at Wally world. I didn't intention to buy it. But while trying to take a look at the roots in the clear pot, which was jammed into the cheap plastic decorative pot so tight that it didn't move, I literally pulled it out of the pot. Being raised by strict older parents and being of an age where even now I still feel my "fetching up", I felt obliged to purchase it. That's what I get for being nosey.

It was literally crammed into a pot with. 90% of its good roots in the top 1/5 of the pot. Brought it home. I sprayed it down with Garden Safe Fungicide 3 before bring it into the house proper. Just in case there were any tiny livestock hitching a ride on it. I how I felt ending up with this Phal I wasn't sure if the bloody thing would tolerate the Neem Oil but I wasn't bring freeloader into the house. I pulled it out of its pot (again) and saw that the bottom half had soggy bark sitting in it. I soaked what media still left on the roots off. It, of course, had the obligatory moss plug in the center. I couldn't get it back into the clear pot even if I wanted because of the way the roots grew. It's presently stuffed, or should I say wedged, in a 5" regular clay pot bare rooted. The only reason I didn't pot it is I cannot get any media around the ring of roots at the top (even after soaking) in the 5" pot. Some 5.5 inch clear slotted pots will hopefully be here on Monday (hopefully).

It has one and a half flower spikes. I'm not exactly sure if that's a branch on the poor excuse for a half spike. I fully expect it to blast it's flowers and buds anyways but decided to wait to cut the spikes until the new pot shows. Photo are it after trimming roots and other mayhem I inflicted.

Lisa, At a potting class I attended, the instructor demonstrated gently screwing the roots into the pot, then dumping in the bark mix, and tapping the pot on the table to get it to settle around the roots. It seems to work, and they do like their roots crowded. Yours does appear to have healthy roots.

Ohhh, you did it!! Thanks so much for reposting, Lisa!!

I do have to say, you did a heck of a job on that plant!!

@ctcarol The new slotted pots will most like be too large for this Phal. It will over-pot depth-wise so I thinking I may have to place a lot of Leca in the bottom of the pot for drainage. Since I am so inexperienced (and a klutz) I would snap roots trying to "fit" with roots in this clay pot because the roots don't want to bend even after soaking. Trust me they were soaked, swirled and re-dunked for quite a while getting the media out of the roots. I think they were twisted when the grower jammed them in the clear pot. Once the media settled during transport the Phal was literally climbing out of the pot in Wally-world. I just end up helping it make a break for it.

@Ursala Thanks for the compliment (I think??). Another reason I didn't want to pot it right away is I cut a few of the viable but iffy roots (branched roots with a bad branch) so I wanted any cuts to dry and heal over before putting in its final pot. I cut off the viable but iffy seedling roots left over in the moss plug so that need to heal over also.

Lisa, it was meant as a compliment. Heh, you got your fingers in there and worked it! I think others will love to read your account on how you thought about that hitchhiking livestock!

Yeah, I think I'd just try to tap some bark in that clay pot as well, You know what your doing and I'm confident that phal will do fine in your capable hands.
Enjoy those blooms for a few days and then cut the spikes to give the plant a fighting chance, go light on water for a bit as well. IMHO

Phalaenopsis are really hard to kill and I think that you did a great job. Most people lose plants due to a lack of trying. Lisa, you are not only trying, you're succeeding! That beauty is going to thrive and you will enjoy it for years to come.
I think that it is a wonderful post that you made! Better that then the people who have brought their Phalaenopsis to me for advice and it is almost a foot out of the pot, has never been repotted and the total leafspread is 4" and they are wrinkled leaves besides! "FOR", fear of repotting is what I call it.

@BigBill and @immike1 for the votes of confidence. As a "wet behind the ears" orchid grower with me making huge cultural mistakes with my first couple of orchids it nice to know I am learning something.

I am having some flickers of hope with my inter-generic Cattleyas. My Lc. Secret Love is just starting to put out tiniest nubs of root at the base of the lead psuedobulb. Rlc. Hsinying scarlet is also slowly (after a very rough start) putting out roots and swelling of a new lead. The Lc. Hausermann Gala x Blc. Hausermann Jade which had very shriveled psuedobulbs when I got it, the last year's psuedobulb has plumped up and its only visible eye is starting to swell. (as long as I can keep it from getting water in it and causing it to rot whilst watering it). None of these are out of the woods by a long shot but they are slowly starting to making a turn around. Hopefully once the warm weather arrives and they acclimated to the outdoors, I will see bigger improvement.

The reason I didn't respond quicker was yesterday, my two corgis and I were on a mission. We and another dog team were at an elementary school for their "Love yourself Day" for Valandtine's Day. Three hours of Pre-k to 1st graders got to visit with my "Heathen Twins". There were plenty of complimentary face and ear washes done by my youngest dog, but in the end, I had two tired pups (and their owner was fairly wrung out by it all also)

Stick with us Lisa!
I vow to help you every step of the way. It is great to have met you and keep posting!!

I potted up my unintentionally purchase Phal. Since the disaster with my first Phal I'm not sure if I did it correctly or not. I'm posting photos of what I've done thus far. I'm not sure if I've put her stem too deep. I cut off the half spoke but only to the next to last node(see photo). The full spike I'm leaving temporary since I'm using it to steady the Phal in the pot. I have not watered her in. I soaked the media over night and added Leca to it to keep me from packing it too tight. One quarter of the bottom of the pot is filled with Leca. Since the pot it came out of was a 4" ( and the bottom half had not roots). This pot is 5.5" diameter at the top and 3.5" diameter at the bottom and 4.13" deep

If you keep this up, they will call you the Phal-Whisperer yet!
Looks good to me!