Cold damage phrag libdenii

[RoseSD]

This Phrag lindenii encountered severe damage during shipping. The fan with spike and buds unfortunately died a few days after arrival despite trimming off the most severely damaged leaves. I cut the spike down to this point and treated the pot with physan20.
Question: Should I cut it down even more? Thanks.

[estación seca]

Rose!

Stop cutting things! I really mean it! It was fine!

[RoseSD]

The buds have gone brown and fallen off, the top half of the spike had gone mushy and brown. I didn't want to risk infection to spread down more if there was infection.

[Roberta]

cutting the spike did no harm, but cutting the leaves could have. Phrag lindenii (note spelling) tends to have growths that have bloomed die back in my experience... mine never seem to get much bigger but put out new growth after the old is dying. In short, the plant was likely fine... prophylactic cutting on the other hand can be deadly.

[RoseSD]

The seller sold it to me with a discount at the orchid show and instructed me to cut off all the damaged leaves (they were really bad). I am glad to be growing the remaining shoots. On the other hand, the other slippers I grew are blooming and happy.

[Roberta]

Just don't cut any more...if basically healthy, the plant will produce a new growth shortly.

[RoseSD]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Just don't cut any more...if basically healthy, the plant will produce a new growth shortly.

I believe this is a new growth?
I heard species are typically more finicky than hybrids. Do you find this generalization applies to phrag?

[Roberta]

I can't tell if it is a new growth or not. YOu'll just have to wait and see.

Personally, I find species easier because I can look up habitat and learn a lot about what they want. Whether I can give those conditions is my problem, but knowing what they want is pretty straightforward. Those that come from a range of elevations and habitats are likely to be easier than those from very specific narrow areas unless conditions match what you have. In the case of hybrids, they can be easier in that mixed ancestry may make them more forgiving of conditions. Or hard if the mixed ancestry creates ambiguity that makes it difficult to decide WHAT it wants. Hybrids often are more vigorous... hybrid vigor definitely is a thing. But I think that pretty much any generalization will be wrong some of the time. (I have some species that are bulletproof and some hybrids that are fussy)