The Evolution of a Pampered Orchid: Marilyn's Recovery

Recently, due to some issues with our local weather conditions (very hot with temperatures rising into the 90's for weeks on end and high humidity), my orchids were not faring so well. Air circulation was becoming a real problem and some opportunistic nasties started to attack my plants. I ended up treating my plants with a fungicide described in my recent blog entry entitled Desperate Measures. Although I followed the manufacturer's instructions, the problem was that the fungicidal solution must have been too strong and ended up burning their roots.

My only Phal did not survive the treatment, and Marilyn, one of my Paphs, also suffered some less damaging root burn. This caused all of her leaves to simply droop, and her roots to dry out to the point where they felt like crunchy twigs. The roots were so fragile I was afraid to crack them open just by handling them. I had to find a way to rehydrate the roots and hope that they were still able to provide much needed moisture to the plant.

I began watering the plant daily, but made sure the roots dried out rather quickly as to prevent any rot. I have been doing this for a couple of weeks now and slowly Marilyn is perking up. Her roots have also regained some elasticity and are not so dry that they will crack with the lightest touch. They are now back to their normal light brown coloration and the little hairs regained their initial flexibility. The roots now feel smooth and leathery to the touch as they should. Slowly, the root system has been rehydrated.

And lastly, I repotted her into a smaller nursery pot with a layer of styrofoam peanuts at the bottom to increase drainage. I also punched several holes into her new plastic pot for additional air circulation. Of course, and I can't say this enough, the new mini tower fan has helped tremendously. I know it will take time, but it's nice to see she is recovering.