Personally, I think you're working on killing your plant, and the growing
medium is essentially irrelevant!

Putting a standard fertilizer like Miracle Gro in pure water, as you do,
results in a solution pH that is VERY acidic - way to acidic for orchids.
It seems likely that those "woody brown" roots are dead, or badly damaged,
and at the very least, the plant is being starved and/or poisoned by the odd
nutrient availability at that pH.

You'd be much better off using that fertilizer in ordinary tap water.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"Alan" wrote in message
. ..
About a month ago I posted about (what I believe to be) a Phaph that was
left behind by some folks that moved. It was (and is still) scraggly
looking, one of the long leaves had a brown tip. I was advised to cut the
brown off and apply the wound with cinnamon. Unfortunately the leaf is now
history. I had repotted it in spaguhm (sic) moss, noting the roots were a
dark brown. I give water when the moss feels dry to the touch. The water I
use is from a dehumidifier we have, and I taint it with 1/4 tsp of miracle
grow per gallon. We live in the semi tropics (Okinawa) so I keep the plant
outside in a screened area where there is no direct sunlight, lotsa
humidity
and no hairy caterpillars or snails to feast on it (they can decimate a
gardinia overnight).
Today I dug my finger down to take a look at the roots and they still
appear
to be the same as they were - a woody brown. So....
Is the moss a good medium for a Phaph? Any recommendations? I hate to
disturb it. Is it correct to say that a phaph is slow growing?

Another unrealized occurrence from this little rescue:
At the onset, my wife chided me about taking in a "sick" orchid. Being the
social butterfly she is, I suppose she was relating my quest with the paph
to her friends and now I have been awarded additional plants gratis. Seems
orchids here are unpopular after they drop their flowers. One is a little
tiny thing that a gal won in a raffle. It is very plain looking supposedly
indiginous to this island, so heaven knows what all these are going to
look
like. I think secretly, my wife likes the idea (she teases but doesn't
complain). What did I get? I don't know, but Phals are very common in
shops
here. The discriptions I get are pretty much flower colors "She said it
was
bright purple" "The flowers were white"
60 days ago I had no orchids. Now I have 7. What is happening here?