Rotting- Decay, I have no idea, help?

[Cookiemonster]

hello everyone,
Can someone help me diagnose this problem and what I should do to stop it from spreading further, my phal has four leaves and this is the only one with the problem, I dont want it (Whatever it is to spread) thanks!

[puddin]

Is the leaf on the bottom of the plant or on the top? If it's on the bottom, then it could be an old leaf and it's natural dieing off. On your last picture, that looks natural. I have no idea why it does it, but many of my phals look that way.

[Cookiemonster]

Hello ,
no.... that bad leaf is the top right leaf, the one under it is in better condition.... the left side the leafs are perfect, someone told me it could be insect attack of some sort or a mold ...

Im so confused, I bought it in bloom about a month ago and it just keeps going downhill...

[Stefan]

the first thing you should do is spray your plant,if you think it is an insect attack. This wont hurt the plant in anyway, try to get a natural spray. Also check the other leaves to make sure there is no spread of attack or mould.. Check the potting mix. if it is mouldy or grainy, like dirt, you may need to repot it.

[Cookiemonster]

I came home tonight the entire leaf was YELLOW, im gonna cut it off with a sterilized tool later today, what should I spray on it, Im thinking whatever it is, I dont want it to spread *knocks on wood*

[Ross]

Methinks it's some form of rot perhaps caused by sunburn or too strong light? Normal rot starts from an explainable condition. With Phals, most often it affects the center leaf first and would be a result of water standing in the crown. It also can start at base of outside leaves and be caused by rot in the roots and base. But this guy is in the middle so something started it. The question is where to go from here. Removing the leaf is a first step, but how to get it all without maming the rest of the plant? I personally attack any form of inside rot like this with a systemic fungicide like Thiomyl. I liberally dose the leaves and potting mix with it. But if your mix is already too wet, the roots may not be effective. Don't think there's an easy answer here.

[Cookiemonster]

I live in arizona, so I watered once every 6-7 days, my plant is in bark medium and is blooming....

the leaves started getting a bit wilty so I started watering every 3 days then THIS happened, my plant is sprayed with insecticide so I dont think its an insect thing even though I could be wrong, I will cut off the leaf and put some cinnamon there hopefully it'll stop---
Im new to orchids so I dont want to kill my first baby that would be so disheartening ...

What do you think I should do other than chopping the leaf off?

[Ross]

The container may have something to say. If you have the Phal in a plastic pot, then once a week may be fine. Lots of folks here use an old chopstick or bamboo stick of some sort to probe the mix and check for wetnee. I choose to go with pots meant for waterlilies as they are actually a fine plastic mesh. Lots of air gets to the roots. There are also pots like Product Listing - 4.5-inch CLEAR, Slotted Plastic Pots which are slotted to allow lots of air in. Just 'cause you're in Arizona doesn't mean your plants won't rot The environment in the pot tells the story. For instance, my area runs max humidity of 50% in summer and lower in winter, normally. That's pretty low. I just repotted a Phal 'cause it felt kinda heavy when I hefted it. Turned out lower roots had rotted and I trimmed it up and now it resides in waterlily basket like the others (it was the last hold-out).

[puddin]

Originally Posted by Cookiemonster

Im new to orchids so I dont want to kill my first baby that would be so disheartening ...

It's always sad when you lose an orchid. I killed my first one too because I was watering wrong and I had next to no experience. Still have my second one, though. Amazing, really. I bought my second one like a week later.

[Cookiemonster]

So today, I go to water this Phal and OH MY GOODNESS, right as Im putting the water dozens of these tiny really tiny white things start crawling on the bark I almost panicked!!! What the hell is that, my flower is blooming, but I think I will cut the spike down and take care of whats going on underground, seems like some kind of pest infestation --- no wonder my plant seems so sick
Do you think this is the right course of action to take- I'd rather have no flowers and save this baby...

What do I need to kill off these little @#$^ers and save my plant, I'd appreciate anything.
thank you