Phal help please!

[swcheng15]

Need some help please. This is the third phal that this has happened to, and no, they were not next to each other. The new leaf would start growing and do well, and then all of sudden, will start getting soft and then rot away. The first time it happened, I thought maybe crown rot bc I thought maybe my husband watered into the top. But he didn't water anything. The second plant, for sure I didn't water into the crown, and it was under a fan. That plant was toast. Now this one. It's in a plastic pot with bark and has lots of aeration. I noticed the other day the new leaf started getting soft, so I sprayed it with physan solution. It looks like maybe that stopped it from continuing down the leaf, but I'm not sure. Any ideas to what it could be? The three plants that this has happened to are from my oldest batch of orchids...maybe 7-10 years old. Thanks!

[Paphluvr]

What I'm seeing appears to be mechanical damage. There's the longitudinal crack and a couple of perpendicular breaks further down, thus cutting off nutrition to that part of the leaf.

Also, the plant is sitting too high in the pot. That bit of dried leaf remnant just above the roots should be in the potting mix.

[swcheng15]

Originally Posted by Paphluvr

What I'm seeing appears to be mechanical damage. There's the longitudinal crack and a couple of perpendicular breaks further down, thus cutting off nutrition to that part of the leaf.

Also, the plant is sitting too high in the pot. That bit of dried leaf remnant just above the roots should be in the potting mix.

Thanks. There was actually no damage to the leaf prior. It started to get super soft (after normal growth), I sprayed the physan, and that was what happened after.

I had just repotted this in March...I probably needed a deeper pot because it had a lot of roots. I'll have to repot again later then.

[jnutcurl]

I wish I could help. I just had a phal that this exact thing happened to it. I hadn't had mine but about 2 weeks, but the leaf changed colors and started dying and it hadn't even fully opened. I looked at it today and touched it and the leaf was not even attached. I am keeping a very close eye on mine to see if anything progresses. Let us know if you find out what is going on please.

[aliceinwl]

In my experience you don’t have to get water in the crown to get crown rot. I think that’s what you have going on. Phals grown on the cool side seem more prone. You may want to look at your temperatures.

I’ve managed to save most of mine that I’ve caught early. I grow most of my Phals cooler than is ideal, but if one has issues like this, I try to move it to a warmer location. I then carefully dribble some 3% hydrogen peroxide into the crown with a paper towel on hand to wick up any excess before it reaches the roots. After it’s done bubbling, I tip the plant to drain out any remaining and use a paper towel to wick out the rest. Then, I fill the crown with ground cinnamon. If another leaf dies or mushy tissue is exposed when the center leaf comes loose, I’ll tip out the cinnamon and repeat the peroxide/cinnamon treatment. So far, I’ve saved 2 out of 3 with a 4th that was too far gone to attempt a save once I noticed the problem.

I also try to wear gloves when handling these plants or make sure I wash my hands before touching any of my other orchids.

Good luck!

[jnutcurl]

Thanks for the info! I really appreciate it. I will take a closer look at them and see what I can do.

[swcheng15]

[QUOTE=aliceinwl;903438]In my experience you don’t have to get water in the crown to get crown rot. I think that’s what you have going on. Phals grown on the cool side seem more prone. You may want to look at your temperatures.

Thanks! I moved it back closer to the garden window. I had moved it away bc when we installed our garden window last year, my orchids were getting too much sun. I moved it away so the leaves can turn green again. We'll see if I can save it (and prevent another one from the same fate). Thanks!