Yellowing stem on miniature Phal - Orchid Board

cassie.g · #1 06-23-2014, 06:50 PM

I just picked up my second orchid. It's some kind of miniature phal hybrid, but it did not have a label so I'm not sure of the name. When I saw it in the store I noticed some yellowing on the stem. I knew I probably should've chosen another plant, but I couldn't resist the blooms on this one.

So, I'm wondering if anyone could diagnose this and tell me what treatment options I have. I'll be repotting shortly (I'm waiting on some supplies from RePotme).

The main question is really, would this be considered crown rot, and should I treat it like crown rot?

Aside from the yellowing stem and root rot, the plant seems fairly healthy. It has a new leaf growing and a budding root and the stem is still firm despite the yellowing.

Thanks in advance!

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #2 06-23-2014, 07:41 PM

The information on what to do is already on the OB on numerous threads, including the stickies in the Beginner Discussion forum.

Please read the stickies.

And it also has a bit of bleaching from over exposure to the sun.

cassie.g · #3 06-23-2014, 08:24 PM

I read the stickies and I don't recall finding anything, but I'm sure it's there. I just missed it. I'll go back and reread.

The photo I posted is quite bright under the lights in my kitchen which I think makes the plant look a bit worse than it actually is. I do see the sun damage though. They had the plant in pretty bright and direct light at the nursery. The light back home is much more indirect so hopefully, once I take care of the stem damage, it can do okay. We'll see if I have the skill to tackle this one.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #4 06-23-2014, 08:34 PM

The recommendation would've been to repot immediately.

cassie.g · #5 06-23-2014, 08:40 PM

As soon as I get the materials I will. I just got the orchid a few hours ago and ordered the medium and pot as soon as I got home. Unfortunately, I don't have a good orchid nursery near me. The garden center I go to doesn't have clear pots at all (which is strange to me) or any medium fine enough for a mini.

RandomGemini · #6 06-23-2014, 09:11 PM

I use the same size medium for mini phals as I do for the regular phals. I just pick through the regular sized stuff for the smaller pieces of bark and break up the moss with my finger tips.

cassie.g · #7 06-23-2014, 09:23 PM

Wish I'd have thought of that! Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely keep it in mind.

Also, I'd like to kind of revise the question I posed in the original post. I think what I'm mainly asking is, would this be considered crown rot and should I treat it like crown rot? (I'll edit that into the main post.)

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #8 06-23-2014, 09:50 PM

It's not crown rot.

Over exposure to light - bleaching.

cassie.g · #9 06-23-2014, 10:47 PM

Oh! Now it makes sense. I thought that yellowing was the beginnings if crown rot. Okay. Thank you very much.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #10 06-23-2014, 10:56 PM

No, yellowing does not always mean crown rot. It can, but it could be something else too.

That's why I ask for pics all the time.

Different causes of the problem can look similar to each other. The differences between symptoms can be very subtle sometimes.

Pics = more reliable diagnoses + faster diagnoses

No pics = educated guesses that may or may not be entirely accurate

---------- Post added at 07:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:51 PM ----------

Btw, I'd also recommend cutting the spikes with sterile cutters and putting the flowers in a vase.

Just in case there are other problems, the plant can save up energy.

You don't have to cut the spikes if you don't want to.