Phalaenopsis crown rot?

[Jessir57]

Hi all. I am Jessica and this is my second orchid purchase. I just bought it about a week ago and suddenly the flowers are droopy and the roots don't seem so well. The leaves are in pretty good condition for now. I attached some pictures. What should I do? Is it a case of crown or root rot? Any help or ideas will be appreciated. Thank you

[rbarata]

How do you water it? From above? Soaking?

[Jessir57]

I have been soaking it.

[rbarata]

And do you let water level reach the spot where it's black?

One more question...what are your temps?

[Jessir57]

No I do not. I bought this about a week in a half ago I think whoever took care of it before had watered it from above. Not sure. I live in Miami temp. Are in the 70s 80s now.

---------- Post added at 11:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:48 AM ----------

Do you think I should clean it with hydrogen peroxide 3% and repot? The flowers are still there which is what confuses me. Not sure if I should wait for them to completely die off or do something about it immediately

[rbarata]

Sorry but I'm not experienced in rot issues but I think someone more experienced will answer. However maybe you could follow this thread. It deals with the same issue.

Another good one I think you could read to prevent future issues.

[estación seca]

It's hard to tell exactly. The roots don't look great, but the if all the ones in the pot look like the ones exposed, things aren't too bad yet.

Roots in the pot are often in bad shape when you buy the plant. The plant is probably ready for repotting, so I would do that now.

Cut off the stalk of dying flowers. Unpot the plant and look at the roots. Cut off any black, squishy ones. Leave the rest. Repot into new bark. Keep the plant as warm and humid as you can to encourage it to grow new roots. Water when the bark is dry.

There is a thread in the Beginners forum for learning to grow Phals. Click on Forums in the left menu, then Beginners. Near the top are the sticky threads. Look for The Phal Abuse Stops Here.

Don't ever put hydrogen peroxide on roots. It can kill them. If you only have a few roots left, and you kill them, the plant has a harder time coming back.

[Jessir57]

Hi so I took out the orchid from its pot and noticed most of the roots attached to the crown on top where dead except for the bottom ones. I cut the ones on top and cleaned out the ones in the bottom and repotted with fresh new bark. I had to yank out the bottom leaf because it had a pretty bad rot spot on it and I didn't want to stress the orchid any further. I also cut the flower stem as recommended. I'm hoping the plant recovers. I left it outside, with enough light, and humidity as well.lets see how it goes. Thank you all for your help and tips.

[rbarata]

Don't let it get any rain.

Keep us updated...with photos.

[Jessir57]

Sad to mention this but I doubt this orchid will survive. After I cut the bad roots, used a fungicide, and repotted..the rot came back again within a few days and it looks real bad. I don't know what else to do.