I use Better Grow bark mixes for my phals too. However, I mix spagnum moss to it to 1/3 the total pot volume. I also grow most of my phals in clay with this mix. Hope this helps. Audrey

Liz, try sphagnum moss for phals. I started to use it after I found it was great for re-rooting rootless phals. If you use it with clay pots, the pots themselves absorb water and release a tiny bit of humidity in the air around the plant.

Your desiccating plants will revive a lot if you give them a 20 minute "float" in a dilute solution of 1/4 teasp Dyna-Grow Grow, 1/2 teasp liquid Hormex rooting hormone, and 2 teaspoons of Physan 20 per gallon of water. The float will hydrate the plant to a considerable extent. The physan inhibits rot.

Then repot into moist sphagnum moss in a small pot that just fits the roots.

In addition to the float, use this dyna-grow/hormex/physan mix as spray to spray the plant every few days, being sure to get under the leaves. It gives the plant a tiny boost, a little fertilizer to keep it going while it makes new roots.

By "float" I mean, soaking the plant, leaves and all. The physan inhibits crown rot, so it's safe to do.

Use a loose fill of sphag-- ie don't pack it real tight. Put some white peanuts on the bottom of the pot, then a little damp moss, then the plant, and fill loosly around the roots. I try to keep at least a little bit of sphag between the roots and the pot.

For a plant whose leaves are withering, I would then put the pot under a humidity dome, with a small gap to let in some air, or into a plastic bag loosely closed, with a gap for air.

Give them as good light as you have. Light does seem to assure them that growing new roots will be worth their time. But if strong light is directly on them, keep the bag a little open or the plant might cook.

I don't just re-root in sphag, I grow in it. Phal roots in sphag are glorious, just big fat white roots. Loose sphag also makes it easy to repot, they slide right out of the pot.

Watering is easy: when the top gets crunchy, I just stick my finger in to test the moisture.

At a minimum, try this with a couple of your worst plants, I am sure it will help. Especially this time of year.

That is really all things considered an excellent post by Mehitabel and I've spent several minutes considering how I am going to state my 'but' because of the great respect I have for her take on things, that said, since this forum is read by so many and we have a growing contingent of younger enthusiasts I have to wonder what all the use of Physan and RD-40 and rooting hormones et al will do in the environment these growers live in. I really think her method would work without the Physan but certainly any over the counter anti-bacterial dish soap would work and be easier to obtain. Rooting hormones are nasty stuff in the Rootone, Dip-n-Gro and Hormex concentrations younger people must not breathe that stuff and Physan and other products are responsible for breeding better bacteria over time and this is adding to the problem that the disease fignters of the future will face. I certainly don't think the orchid hobby will significantly impact the larger issue of resistant bacteria but there is clearly a link between the North American prediliction for cleaning agents and cancer. In summary I am not saying not to do this but I am saying don't just wade into all that stuff without gloves, etc. esp if you are under 30. I can say that because I turned 48 last month.

H

Sphagnum moss - all of mine are in sphagnum moss in either clay pots or in open plastic baskets, hanging under an angle...
I have a few mounted on tree fern, but I get hot humid weather here, which makes it possible
Olya

Yes, I am an ex western PA girl, and I think you would do fine by adding some sphag to your mix. I personally steer clear of all the chemicals so I do my soaks/floats just in pure warm water with a little fert and/or sugar. I think wth just the repotting you would be fine and see some refirming. I would also second potting in clay with the added sphag, it works perfect for me.

Don't mind the 'but' at all, Howard. I'm 71, and I'm for anything that makes my life easier and guarantees rooting and growth so I don't have to grind my teeth to powder or get depressed standing by helpless while my plants gradually expire.

I cribbed the recipe from some forgotten specialist vendor's website, so I don't have an investment in it.

But I felt sorry for someone helplessly watching their precious new orchids decline. I've been using this float on bare-root tinies and wilty rootless things, and I know it works, for anyone who dares to use it.

As several people pointed out, floating is a good idea to rehydrate plants with or without addenda. The physan is there to prevent crown rot for a few days after the float.

Salud! (Good health)

You certainly are a young 71. You come through very youthful in your writing, I was guessing that you were around my age....32.
Good Health to you too!

Ah, Mehitabel a lady never gives her age. I figured you for a kid also.

Being 57 (& feeling it), I have always tried to grow without chemicals. Years of dirt gardens and compost, I never use 'bad stuff' in the house. Good ole Vodka, soap and oil has always worked. A little baking soda does wonders. When it doesn't - out they go into the compost heap. Doesn't have to be just chemicals - watch out for sphag, perlite and any dust from potting mixes. Wear a mask or wet it down well outside.

Liz, whatever you use, soak it well overnight or add a drop of soap. Your mix is probably not retaining any moisture. Soak the pots for a few hours with the plants. Won't hurt anything.

Thank you for all the suggestions and the lively, thought-evoking conversation! I will change my mix to spagh, repot into clay and do the "float". I have Dyna-Grow and Physan, so I will use those-just a little. For now, I will skip the Hormex because I don't have it. I guess I'm somewhere in the middle on all of this --don't want to lose the plants and also am concerned about the envronment. I try not to use chemicals, unless absolutely necessary. I think this time, from observing my Phals., it's necessary. Thank you all! Liz

Mission Accomplished. Since today is Saturday, I was able to run to Lowes to buy some spagh. I "floated" the worst plants for 20 mins. in the suggested solution (sans the Hormex) and repotted them --in clay. I was very pleasantly surprised to see how much less wrinkled the leaves looked after the float. The lower leaves on two plants are still rather leathery (but they feel firmer), but the newer leaves really look pretty good now. The plants are now under a flourescent light. I will try the humidity dome, too. I do have a terrarium designed for plants, but the top is not glass, so the light would only get through the sides. I guess this would not be good, so I will use plastic bags instead. Thanks for helping me save my babies! Liz

I have another question about the plastic bags: do I use a small bag and just place the pot in the bag, or a bigger bag and cover the pot and leaves, leaving just an opening at the top for light and air? If I am to use the bigger bags, the grocery store type would be thinner and easier on the leaves (vs. ziploc types), but they are not clear so the light can't get through. What to do... Liz

Basically, what the bag is for is to increase the humidity around the leaves of the plant, to keep it from desiccating until it forms roots. So it has to be big enough to cover the plant.

I use the clear gallon "kitchen bags" baggies, the kind that come with twistems. These are thin and flexible, and big enough to cover the leaves. Not ziplock, tho I guess you could use that if you didn't zip. The whole plant goes in the bag, and the leaves are covered.

I cut off the two bottom corners so that water will run out of the bag when I lift it up. You don't want to leave the plant standing in water.

Then I put the pot in, close the top over the leaves, very loose, and clip with one of those butterfly clips, or leave it open, as the mood takes me and I think it needs a little air or not. I don't fold the top of the bag, just sort of crumple it together and leave an inch or so gap here or there for air. If I used a zip lock, I would not zip, just fasten at the middle with the butterfly clip without folding, leaving the corners open for air.

This is also why using physan in your spray is good, since you are cutting off a lot of air movement from the plant, and you don't want crown rot to start.

If I notice a lot of moisture condensing on the inside of the bag, I would open it to air it out.

PS Any big clear plastic box, like the kind some people use for shoes or sweaters, will do for a "humidity dome" if it's tall enough. I usually raise one corner of it 1/4" or so to let a little air in. Open it at least once a day. You don't want a completely closed, airless atmosphere with condensation dripping into the crown, just a humid one.

the OP never mentions the conditions of her roots. If they were just dry, repotting should do the trick. I don't know about PA, but in NY the humidity is 70% tonight and that would be plenty of humidity without resorting to plastic bags. Plastic bags are usually used for rootless plants.

I've never had any luck with plants placed in plastic bags. They always rot. I've used chop-sticks to form an open tent around a plant which needs increased humidity (just drape a loose piece of saran), but plastic bags are the 'kiss of death' in my experience.