Question
QUESTION: Last week, I came back home from university and brought my phals back with me, and I had to walk in the blizzarding snow with it.. and when I got home, the leaves looked like it was bruised.. and one of the leaves bents and looks like it might snap off... now it's semi-wilting.. what can I do to save it at this point? I've had this phal for 2 years.. and it has never flowered since when I first got it.

ANSWER: Janice, whether or not the plant suffered frost is largely a function of whether or not it was covered, how cold it was and how long you were outside with it.  Living in Wisconsin, I make sure that any time I take a orchid to an orchid show, or purchase one to bring home, I always make I have it in an enclosed plastic bag.  In an enclosure, the warmer air inside the bag will act as insulation for up to 10-15 minutes-- especially in the winter.

Except for repotting, it is now largely a matter of waiting to see how much damage the cold has done.  If you have not repotted it in the past couple of years, this is a good time to do so. If you are unsure how to go about the repotting, send me a follow-up question and I can give you some pointers.  If you plan to repot, be sure to use orchid potting mix with the fir bark chips in it so, as a first step, you will need to but a bag of it.  Most places that sell orchid plants, also sell orchid potting mix, including the garden centers at Lowes and Home Depot. Be sure that the pot you use has lots of drainage holes in the bottom.  The reason for repotting at this time is that you want to provide the best environment for new root growth which is the key to recovery.  The "semi-wilting" leaf will likely turn yellow over time and fall off.  As long as you  have other undamaged leaaves, that is fine.  Try to grow it in an east window if you have one and, until you have repotted it, reduce the watering to half of what you have been doing.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------


Orchids   QUESTION: It was covered with a thin plastic bag, the exact one that is in the attached picture. Should I be cutting the damaged parts of the leaves as well? I was asking around and a few people said to do that.. and another person said it was some fungus or something... but all that had happened was that exposure to a really really cold temperature. It has already been about 9 days since it happened.

Answer
Janice, thank you for the picture.  In the photo I see two leaves with problems.  I would cut off the leaf with the descending yellow area about one inch below the yellowing portion of the leaf. That is likely damage that occurred when the tip of the leaf was frozen and shows necrosis progressing downward toward the base of the leaf. All tissue below the cut should look healthy.

The leaf below the yellowing leaf has what appears to be a fungal or viral infection from all of the necrotic areas.  I would also cut this leaf off below any necrotic area. I also recommend that you seal any cut tissue with powdered sulphur or roottone or other antiufungal agent in powder form. While you can't save the damaged tissue, this latter step may prevent any further spread to healthy tissue.