Broke off entire crown when removing stem from phal

[SERENAT]

I have twelve orchids of different species but mostly phals. I have a few for 5-8 years but one of my newer phals has been troubled from the start. Unfortunately it was given by a dear friend and is special so I may be over tending to it as it seems. Anyway, today I was removing it's dead stem and checking its withering leaf when I popped off the entire crown. I'm mortified and mystified as to how this happened but more so I don't know how to help my plant. Suggestions please.

[mexicowpants]

Ouch. I feel your pain.
Phals aren't really my forte, so you may want to wait for some more expert advice, but what I would suggest is to seal up the lesion as fast as possible to prevent it getting infected - use a good powder fungicide such as Captan, or alternatively powdered cinnamon. Then you just need to sit back and keep your fingers crossed that it throws out a basal keiki pronto - without a crown that part of the plant won't grow any more, but if the plant is strong and healthy enough, a new growth should start up from the base of the plant - a basal keiki.
Good luck!

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

[fishmom]

That's good advice. It is the same as when you get crown rot--if it is not too bad, a keiki may result, or even two if you are lucky. I would take this opportunity to check the roots and give it a repotting with fresh medium if that hasn't happened recently, to give it it's best chance. I find that my phals usually reward me with a burst of growth when I repot.

[estación seca]

It's not that easy to pop off a healthy Phal crown, so there may have been a problem you didn't know about. I echo the above advice, especially checking all the roots.

[jcec1]

Just wanted to add, be patient. I lost a crown on one of my phals (I dropped it) and it took two years to start a new one. It just sat there quietly doing nothing, and then just when I decided to throw it out a new growth started.

[SERENAT]

Thanks everyone for your advice. There's something to the idea that the plant may have had an underlining issue - it's been a problem child from the start when I received it. It's medium smelled mildewy so I immediately changed it and noted mushy roots and cut it back but it's really taken some time to adjust. Finally had new leaves in the crown and then pop... I really appreciate the advice

[No-Pro-mwa]

You have gotten good advice so I will just welcome you to the board. Patience is always the key.