Paphiopedilum, center leaf on new fan has become brown. Crown rot? Or something else?

[Weeniemom94]

Hi all I have a Paphiopedilum Cocoa Chilwin x (Yi-Ying Colorful Clouds x In-Charm Circle) that has jad the very center of the leaf on the new fan turn brown.

Old fan just dropped her flower about 1 1/2 months ago. Old fans leaves have started to yellow a bit but I haven't worried since I've seen thats normal for paphs. The new fan has been green and healthy looking until the other day.

Im always so careful to bottom water (I will top water once in while to flush things out) but maybe I somehow got water in the crown and didn't notice.

It is potted in bark, it came that way from the nursery and they advised I probably wouldn't need to repot for at least a year to year and a half as it had just been repotted.

I do find it a bit difficult to guage when the medium is too dry or still a bit moist. I know they don't like to dry out completely. I have been trying to water when I feel like the first inch of bark is dry. It's been really dry inside during winter. It is near a grow light, on a shelf that sits adjacent to the window. It gets a bit of filtered, indirect sun from the window when the sun is lower in the sky but mostly gets light from the grow light. Brown leaf was easy to bend yesterday, feels kinda crispy today.

Does this look like crown rot ? is there anything I can do now to try and save it if it is?

[Weeniemom94]

Pictures of the brown leaf

[Roberta]

That just looks like a flower sheath that "decided" not to flower. Paphs don't have "crowns" in the sense that monopodial orchids like Phalaenopsis do. In the case of Phals, that's the growth point and if it rots, the plant won't grow any more unless it does a side shoot. In the case of Paphs, they grow a fan of leaves, and then produce the flower from the center of the new growth. Or not... They grow by producing new fans, not continuing to grow from the center of old ones. If a growth doesn't produce a flower, perhaps the next one will. Also they like to stay evenly moist (which is also different from Phals) Since Paphs like to stay damp, the medium breaks down fairly quickly, they should be repotted every couple of years. And remember, the roots look very different from Phal roots. Fuzzy and brown is normal for Paph roots. Don't go cutting brown roots, those are good ones!

That looks like a very healhty plant.

[estación seca]

I don't think it's a good idea to let it get partially dry. Drying out is very bad for them. I would water more frequently if the bark has plenty of air spaces

[Waterdog111]

Seems really healthy to me.
Oh and welcome!

[Ray]

Sorry folks, but I’m going to disagree with a couple of comments.

Certainly, paphs have “crowns” - that is the apical meristem / growth front of the shoot - and “crown rot” is certainly possible if water stands in there, but there are other means a pathogen can be introduced, such as insects.

I agree that the plant should stay constantly moist. Most of the time, underwatering leads to the drying out of the oldest, lower leaves first, but like everything else “orchids”, that’s not 100%.

Lastly, while it may be common, the yellowing and loss of previously bloomed growths is an indication that the culture is a bit lacking. A well-grown Paph will maintain its growths for years, with the old ones continuing to generate and store the phytochemical resources the colony shares.

[Weeniemom94]

Thank you for your reply. What would be possible reasons it would decide to not flower? So I should not expect any more growth from this fan and hope the plant is able to grow a new fan?

---------- Post added at 12:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:32 PM ----------

Originally Posted by estación seca

I don't think it's a good idea to let it get partially dry. Drying out is very bad for them. I would water more frequently if the bark has plenty of air spaces

I was told to wait until the top of the medium was dry, anout an inch but to make sure that the medium beneath that was still moist. Is this letting it dry out too much? Would weighing the plant be a better idea?

I just weighed it now. It was watered a couple days ago and is about 289 g, medium definitely feels moist not wet just under the surface. Before watering it was significantly lighter, about 230 g.

Bark is hard to gage. My plants in soil, i just twirl a skewer in the side and see if it comes up wet. My Alternanthera ficoidea 'Party Time' looks like she's given up on life when she's dehydrated. Finicky plant but it tells me exactly what it needs. Still figuring out how to understand orchids

[estación seca]

From experience and from talking to other growers, underwatering is a common cause of bud loss. Also from experience, underwatering is the commonest cause of Paph. death. Are you growing in your home, with low relative humidity? Do you know what is the potting medium? If it's medium to large bark, it would not be harmful to water every day. Commercial growers will tell you to water Paphs. once a week, but they have very humid greenhouses.

[Weeniemom94]

Appreciate your insight. Any advice for where to go from here or ways to help the plant? Can it be helped? I'm trying to use weight to guage when to water now. I'm not sure if I was maybe letting it dry out too much between watering. I've included better pictures of the older fan.

[Weeniemom94]

Yes, my living space is very dry in the winter. I am looking into a humidifier for the plant corner. Fortunately, for my plants (unfortunately, for me) summer is just around the corner and my apartment turns into a greenhouse for 5-6 months.

---------- Post added at 01:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:55 PM ----------

Thank you! Hoping to learn a lot from this forum.