Its done flowering now what?

[flhiker]

Hi all, I have a Cattleya with a the flower starting to die. What do I do now cut the spike, repot, leave alone? I also have a Phal that I think may have died. The center does not look like it is growing. Any Idea?

[flhiker]

Sorry, the thread got buried.

[quiltergal]

The phal looks like it has crown rot. The roots are still nice and green from what I can see. It may send up a basal keiki. I'd unpot and see what's going on down below.

On the catt cut off the spike when it turns brown. Some like a short rest after blooming. What kind is it?

[flhiker]

Hi Terri, The Catt is Lc.Irene's Song "Montclair" HCC/AOS. I removed the Phal and had a few dead roots but also had couple of new healthy looking roots as well.

[Tindomul]

In my experience I have not had anything bad happen by leaving the spike after a bloom. It will die and shrivel anyway. I personally prefer not to cut it off, but I suppose either way is fine.
Good roots is a good sign, Im not sure how well plants recover from crown rot though.

[flhiker]

What causes crown rot? I have this plant outside and it may get sun during the afternoon and it does get rained on. Is it to much sun or water?

[Tindomul]

From what I've learned crown rot is caused by the accumulation of water in the crown. If the water is left standing there all night you will get rot. If you are going to place these outside, position them so that the water is drained by gravity, or protect the crown somehow.

[Vanessa]

I have had very good luck with removing the mushy part of the crown rot without destroying the Phal and dumping a good amount of cinnamon in the crown. Keep the leaves dry only water the medium. I get lots of sick orchids from my snowbird friends when they head North for the summer.

[cb977]

Hi Dave
I would cut the spike on the Catt once the bloom is no longer at it's prime.

As for crown rot, it happens when water sits in the top of the plant, the crown. For those of us who grow outdoors, rain (what the heck is rain? ) has a tendency to get in there and the best thing to do would be to go out afterwards and tip the plant so the water runs out. When crown rot has already started, if you act quickly enough, it's not necessarily a goner. I saved one of my paphs a few months ago by putting a few drops of hydrogen peroxide into the crown, waiting a few seconds and then emptying it out and threw in a pinch of cinnamon for good measure. It worked! That paph has a beautiful new growth coming up and looks great.

The key is to try to avoid it in the first place
Let us know how it comes along

[flhiker]

Thanks everyone I will try the peroxide and cinnamon and hope for the best.