Is this Crown Rot?
Hello,
First off I'd like to say I really appreciate this forums wealth of information. So on to it. Four days ago I decided to get some orchids for my apartment. I went to home depot and purchased six plants, all phalaenopsis, not knowing what I was getting myself into. The temp inside the store was about 65-70 and they all looked healthy. I brought them home, unpacked them, and placed them on a southern facing window with open blinds and a light curtain which allows much of the light through. I initially had intended on repotting them all but thought i'd let them rest and get used to the apartment first. This morning I found that one of the smaller plants had lost a young leaf, about 5 inches long, not yellow nor wilted. Upon closer examination I saw that the center of the plant seemed discolored (darkened/saturated). Immediately, I got a pot of water and began soaking some media "Hoffmans Special Orchid Mix" in tap water (about 2 Gallons) and added a small pinch (perhaps a 1/4 tsp) of Miracle Gro Orchid plant food and left for work. Several hours later I returned, strained the media and set it aside to dry out some. While that was going on I gently removed the orchid from its original pot and three more leaves fell off. Dis-hearted I began trimming the dead roots off with a pair of sterilized scissors. The remaining roots were hearty, some green some white. I washed the original pot with a light bleach solution and found algae growing on one of the sides. Obviously this orchid had been over watered. I watched several youtube videos on what to do next while I let the orchids roots breath fresh air, about 20 min or so and repotted it in the original pot with some extra holes I had drilled. Oh, I bought some water on the way home (2 one gallon jugs) I lightly rinsed the media once it was repotted and mixed a light dose of orchid food as well showering the media once again. I placed some paper towels under it once it had drained to draw additional moisture out. What do I do next? The core or i guess crown still looks terrible. The phalaenopsis is now in a shaded spot with a fan gently circulating air around it.
Last edited by Will; 02-11-2011 at 04:22 PM..
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