Damage on Phalaenopsis leafs - what could it be and how to cure it?

[LuizaG]

Hi Camille

Yes they have been noticeably increasing in size. They were not there 3 weeks ago when I bought it. On the other hand there are some little insects crawling around. I just saw one on the roots underneath the outer layer of bark and could not catch it. I suspect there might be some rot inside as it took 3 weeks for the medium to dry in the middle and they are the same insects I has in the other one when ther was rot on the medium. Today when I watered the bark smelled funny, like it had normal compost inside not bark.

Oh ! I'd really hate to have to repot and lose all the flowers.

[LuizaG]

I dont understand how the stores keep them ok and they start going bad only after you buy them...

[LuizaG]

Maybe I should mention that one of the buds was dryed up when I bought it and another very small one dryed later. The rest have opened , one more left to open. Also the very small leafs near to the medium were already yellow when I got the Phal. Since I got it the some of the feals have been afected by gravity.

Not sure if that is of any help but since I do not know what the problem is, I consider anything could be related.

[camille1585]

You probably won't lose the flowers by repotting. The greatest danger is of accidentally snapping buds off in the process. I would say that if you are concerned about the roots, by all means do have a look at what's going on, before it's too late and you run the risk of losing the entire plant.

As for the marks on the leaves, it's definitely bacterial, possibly Erwinia. Erwinia causes water soaked lesions that progress quite quickly, and there will be a yellow halo around the lesion. I'm trying to think of something you could treat it with, but there are not many products that work against bacteria available on the market in europe. I had the same problem on a phal, didn't have anything to treat it and in the end the only way I could find to stop the progression of the disease was to excise the affected areas, taking a large chunk of good leaf with it. The leaves are now ugly with big holes in them, but the plant is healthy!


I think the plants probably start to go downhill in the stores. My guess is that the problem is a bad potting medium. The mass growers will use what suits them best sometimes sacrificing quality for price. In their greenhouses that have perfect conditions the plants dry out fast so a poor media will not affect them much. But as soon as the plant is in a less ideal environment where the medium doesn't dry quickly, then you get rot.

[Orchid126]

You might consider straight hydrogen peroxide for the bacteria infection, and/or triple antibiotic from the drug store. Be sure to treat the medium at the same time.

When you repot the plant, put packing peanuts in the center, not medium. The medium will stay wet because there aren't enough roots to use the water. The packing peanuts will stay dry.

[LuizaG]

Hi

How would I be aplying the hydrogen peroxide and the triple antibiotic (never heard of it by the way) and how would I go about treating the medium too?

Do I have to cut off the infected area on the leaf?

I am just so angry with these supermarkets because they don't give a thing for quality.. all they care about is quick money. They do nothing right and you end up spending more money to heal the plants.

[camille1585]

Orchid126- If the UK is anything like france, there are hardly any antibiotics available over the counter anymore.

Do you have any Neosporin antibacterial cream? I found an interesting scientific article that studied the effects of Neosporin on Erwinia carotovora (probably what infected your plant) and they found that it would block the cell division and growth of the bacteria. Sounds like this would be worth a shot before pulling out a knife.

[LuizaG]

HI Camille

I do not have that cream but I can ask the chemist. And , Yes you are right you cannot get antibiotics without a prescription in UK.

On the other hand, would I smear all leafs with that cream? Because I suspect that when i wiped them with the wet coton ball with neem oil, the infection could have spread everywere....

What about hydrogen peroxide that Orchid126 recommended? But I do not know how to use that one either. Do I get it at the chemist?

And how whould I be treating the medium with either the cream or hydrogen peroxide?

[Orchid126]

Use the hydrogen peroxide straight, pour it right onto the infected area. You can leave it in the crevices of the plant for fifteen-twenty minutes or so and then pour it out.

Here the hydrogen peroxide is sold on the shelves. It used to be used to dye hair, or currently to clean wounds. You should be able to find it in your first aid section.

[RosieC]

You can get Hydrogen Peroxide 3% solution if you ask at the pharmacy counter in Boots, which means you can probably do the same in other UK pharmacies too.

As said above, at that concentration you can just use it neat.