My phalaenopsis has been looking a bit sad lately, and it's been about a
year since he was last potted, so I figured it was about time.

Two somewhat disturbing things. First of all, there wasn't much root growth.
Barely enough, in fact, to compensate for the old, dead roots. Secondly,
much of the new root growth was transluscent yellow, rather than the pale
green I'm used to. It looked almost like on the verge of rotting, but they
certainly seemed firm enough.

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong? Underfeeding (possibly)? Overwatering
(unlikely)? Something horrible under the stairs?

Thanks,
Colin

It would help to know what medium you're growing in, and what your feeding
and watering regimen is like.

--

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

.. . . . . . . . . . .
"Colin Bigam" wrote in message
om...
My phalaenopsis has been looking a bit sad lately, and it's been about a
year since he was last potted, so I figured it was about time.

Two somewhat disturbing things. First of all, there wasn't much root
growth.
Barely enough, in fact, to compensate for the old, dead roots. Secondly,
much of the new root growth was transluscent yellow, rather than the pale
green I'm used to. It looked almost like on the verge of rotting, but they
certainly seemed firm enough.

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong? Underfeeding (possibly)?
Overwatering
(unlikely)? Something horrible under the stairs?

Thanks,
Colin

Colin Bigam wrote:

Two somewhat disturbing things. First of all, there wasn't much root growth.

I can't help for that ...

Barely enough, in fact, to compensate for the old, dead roots. Secondly,
much of the new root growth was transluscent yellow, rather than the pale
green I'm used to.

but for this "problem", I can tell you that orchid roots become green
when exposed to light through their plastic container for instance ...
So, if your container if not transparent, there is no worry.

F.

"Ray" wrote in message ...
It would help to know what medium you're growing in, and what your feeding
and watering regimen is like.

Gah! Right you are, and only a week late on my part. Sorry about not
responding quicker.

Watering is twice a week, with fairly mineral-laden rainwater. Feeding has
been rather sparse over the summer--about once a month (blush). The plant
was in fine bark mixture before, and I've just moved it to medium.

I saw another note, claiming that roots which don't get any light will
be yellow rather than green. Don't know why I didn't think of that myself,
chlorophyl and all.

Now I have another question, though. The new pot for this beast is a glazed
ceramic "orchid pot," meaning it's got holes all over the sides, and a tray
built in at the bottom. Will I likely need to modify my schedule much? It
seems to be behaving similarly to the plastic pot, but it's only been a week
or two so far.

At any rate, the plant seems happier than it did before.

Thanks,
Colin

Look at it this way: phals like to have their medium evenly moist but airy.
Your change to coarser bark and a highly-perforated pot favors the latter,
but not the former. My guess is that, yes, you will have to modify your
schedule a bit, but a lot depends on how much water the tray retains...

--

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

.. . . . . . . . . . .
"Colin Bigam" wrote in message
om...
"Ray" wrote in message
...
It would help to know what medium you're growing in, and what your
feeding
and watering regimen is like.

Gah! Right you are, and only a week late on my part. Sorry about not
responding quicker.

Watering is twice a week, with fairly mineral-laden rainwater. Feeding has
been rather sparse over the summer--about once a month (blush). The plant
was in fine bark mixture before, and I've just moved it to medium.

I saw another note, claiming that roots which don't get any light will
be yellow rather than green. Don't know why I didn't think of that myself,
chlorophyl and all.

Now I have another question, though. The new pot for this beast is a
glazed
ceramic "orchid pot," meaning it's got holes all over the sides, and a
tray
built in at the bottom. Will I likely need to modify my schedule much? It
seems to be behaving similarly to the plastic pot, but it's only been a
week
or two so far.

At any rate, the plant seems happier than it did before.

Thanks,
Colin