Trying to keep my phals alive after discovering crown rot! help!

[dizziliz]

Hi Everyone! Im a noob! so Ive got three good size phals (had four but one was beyond saving and I know it). Im in eastern Washington so at the moment there is very little sunlight and its cold!

So I was watering my phals and I accidentally gave one a light shake and two leaves fell off. so I poked around and next thing i know the whole leaf head comes off! The part that was left was black and fuzzy as well as the core of the leaves. DId some research and....crown rot. One of them had to be thrown away. the other while it still has no leaves, its roots are green and firm so i think it can be saved.

I have a few qestions:
1) I noticed one of my two other orchids (relatively new to my home) roots were showing signs of potential root rot even though it hasnt been watered much. The other of the two was still in the sphagum moss with no bark. So i repotted them both in terracotta pots with drainage. All i could find was standard Orchid potting medium. not specifically phal medium. it was all i could find so i used it. it has some coarse bark and dirt and perlite. Is this okay?

2)Is there anything i can do to help my Phal with no leaves survive? obviously i cant re pot it now while its already stressed out. I know i shouldnt fertilize it either so what can i do?

3) one of the orchids i repotted has three dead spikes should i cut them and where? im very confused on where to trim spikes whether they are green or not.

Thanks for the help!

[silken]

Welcome to Orchid Board. Many of us seem to struggle with our first Phals. The newly potted ones in the orchid mix should be OK if you have them in fairly small pots (should just fit the roots) with good drainage and you let the bottom and centre of the media dry out before re-watering. Phal roots need good air and drainage.

The one with no leaves and rotten stem could be a goner. They need leaves to photosynthesize. However, if the roots are good, it could grow a basal keiki (baby). I wouldn't re-pot as it is in enough stress. But make sure the roots dry out in between watering. Phals don't like to be dry for long but get root rot if kept wet all the time. You could put some Physan on the rotton stem or if you don't have that, use some cinnamon which seals and disinfects or hydrogen peroxide-anything to help disinfect and dry it up a bit.

Crown rot happens when water is on the leaves and in the crown and left to sit. Always only water the media and any aerial roots with Phals and most orchids. Putting them in a warmer place would help stimulate new growth. Phals are warmer growing anyways.

You can cut the dead spikes right down just above their base or if they are still green partway down, you can cut them to the green part just above one of the nodes on the spike. They may re-bloom. Some choose to cut right down to let them grow roots and leaves. It depends how healthy the plant is as to what you should do.

I hope that helps.

[quiltergal]

Two things. You say your medium has coarse bark and dirt? If the "dirt" is very fine this will not be good news for your Phal. The media is most likely already partially decomposed and the "dirt" will fill in the spaces the orchid needs for air. You are looking at potential root rot. What brand of orchid mix did you get? Some of the premixed media is intended for more terrestrial orchids and is much too fine for epiphytic orchids.

What size terracotta pot did you put it in? If the pot is too large you again may be looking at potential root rot. The roots should just fit snugly in the pot. If the pot is too large the center of the pot doesn't dry out fast enough and the roots in the center will rot.

[Edward Brookes]

The advice you've been given is really excellent. I personally am unable to give up on any orchid until I have crispy dry husks to persuade me to throw it out, but I agree the totally rotted plant is probably long gone. The importance of fresh air is not often emphasised in advice given to growers, orchids rarely grow in dank still conditions, but fungal & bacterial pathogens certainly do! If necessary, a small fan can be installed to circulate the air in your immediate growing area, & as advised, ensure that the leaves of your plants NEVER have a little puddle of moisture nestling in their folds, even if only overnight. If you do spill water into the crown, flold a piece of tissue paper & poke it down amongst the leaves & mop up the water.

[james mickelso]

The orchid mix you have will work just fine. Just sift it through a window screen to sift out all the fine material. Anything smaller than a BB should be discarded. You could make it work without sifting but it would take too long to explain. I'd put the leafless phal in a small Tupperware with a wad of cotton or paper towel in the bottom kept wet with a lid and I'd put some holes in the lid and sides. That way it would be humid without being wet all the time and give it a little heat. Hopefully a basal keiki will sprout. But if they were the HD or Lowes plants I'd chalk it up to learning and get a couple new ones.