TheNaturePlanet

Have you often encountered this situation: after the phalaenopsis orchid fades, the leaves start to turn yellow and fall off, which makes you feel very distressed? Don't worry! In fact, the main reasons are natural metabolism, root problems, or improper maintenance. You can easily solve it by prescribing the right medicine.
1. First, understand why the leaves turn yellow and fall off
After the flowers fade, phalaenopsis will allocate nutrients to more important parts. At this time, the old leaves at the bottom gradually turn yellow and fall off, just like human hair turning white with age, which is a normal natural phenomenon. It generally starts from the lowest leaves, with a small number of fallen leaves and no other strange symptoms.
Frequent watering or poor air permeability of the planting medium in the pot can easily suffocate the roots. Once the roots rot, they cannot transport water and nutrients to the leaves, causing the leaves to turn yellow! At first, you will notice slow growth and listless leaves. In severe cases, large areas of leaves will quickly turn yellow and fall off.
Improper maintenance
Lighting: Phalaenopsis prefers soft diffused light. If it is always exposed to direct sunlight, the leaves will be burned and turn yellow; but if it is kept in the dark for a long time, it cannot "work" (photosynthesize), and the leaves will also turn yellow.
Watering: Frequent watering that keeps the planting medium wet can easily cause root rot; if you don't water it for several days, the leaves will turn yellow due to drought.
Fertilization: Excessive fertilizer or using unfermented fertilizer will burn the roots; if you never fertilize, the lack of nutrients will also cause poor leaf growth.
2. Solutions
(1) Handling of withered flowers and flower stems
Green flower stems: If the flower stem is still green, only cut off the withered flowers above. Cut about 1 cm away from the lower bud, leaving 1-2 buds.
Yellow and withered stems: Yellow and withered flower stems are useless, waste nutrients, and may even easily breed bacteria. Cut them off directly from the bottom at the root.
Disinfection: Before pruning, wipe the scissors with alcohol or diluted disinfectant for disinfection. After pruning, sprinkle some cinnamon powder or carbendazim on the wound to prevent infection and promote healing.
(2) Inspecting and rescuing the roots
Repotting and root trimming: If the leaves keep turning yellow and it is not normal metabolism, gently remove the plant from the pot and check the roots. Cut off all blackened, rotten, and shriveled roots, leaving only white, tender, or green healthy roots. Be careful not to damage the healthy roots when cutting.
Sterilization and soil replacement: After trimming the roots, soak them in diluted carbendazim solution for 10 minutes to sterilize. Take them out and let them dry in a cool, ventilated place. Then prepare breathable pine bark, sphagnum moss, or directly buy special orchid soil to replant the plant.