Crown rot. Rescued Phal. What should I do?

[Vasilisa]

everyone. I'd like to thank everyone who gives precious advice on this forum. I've been reading this forum for one year and have learned a lot. I've had Phals for almost 2.5 years and had no death cases. Today I went to Orchids by Hausermann in IL to get a fragrant phal - Bellina. I am so excited that I have a new girl in my collection. When I was about to leave the orchid greenhouse, I noticed a disсarded orchid in a trash can. I just couldn't walk away. A sales associate just gave it to me and told me that the orchid had no chance to survive. Ok, the plant has a crown rot. However, it has healthy roots and juicy green leaves. I think this poor little thing has a chance. The bottom of the spike looks black. I think it is rotten. The top of the crown rot is very dry. What should I do now? Any advice is appreciated. Thank you very much.

[aliceinwl]

I’d quarantine it away from your others. I’d also quarantine any tools and consider wearing disposable gloves when handling in case it’s a bacterial or fungal issue.

If there are any moist infected looking areas left on the crown you can apply a little peroxide (don’t get it on the roots) and then apply cinnamon to the area (keep it off the roots too). I’d also repot it to whatever media works best for you and wait and see. My one Phal that had advanced crown rot before I realized something was wrong didn’t pull through, but I didn’t give up on it until there was no live tissue left.

[Vasilisa]

Thank you, aliceinwl. Should I cut off the top of the crown and apply cinnamon to the area ?

[aliceinwl]

I don't think you need to cut anything if the crown area is already dry. I think the important part is to keep that area and the axils of the remaining leaves totally dry. If that dark dead stuff on the top is still moist, or if it looks like there could be actively rotting areas in there, then I'd try to remove as much as possible without damaging living tissue.

I've done some "surgical" removal of dead material on Phals that I've acquired with stem rot. I'm not sure this helped the plants at all, but I wanted to make sure there weren't any actively rotting areas under the old leaf bases. I used a fine pair of shears to clip off already dry dead material piece by piece. I was very careful not to damage any potentially living tissue when I did this. I also made sure to sterilize the blades of the shears as soon as I was done so I wouldn't accidentally spread anything to my other plants.

I think if your plant is going to make it, it'll have to send up a keiki from the base or from the area around one of the living leaves. Accidentally damaging such a growth could be the last straw for such a weakened plant so proceed with caution.

[Vasilisa]

Thanks again. This is my first time dealing with a crown rot. Today I treated the crown rot with hydrogen peroxide. I thought the crown was dry, but fizzing proved that it wasn't. I removed the excessive H2O2 with a paper towel as best as I could. After that, I used my hair dryer on the cold setting and let it blow directly on the crown for about 6 minutes. The next step was the application of a cinnamon powder. Here is another question. Should I repeat the same procedure with the hydrogen peroxide application 2-3 times until the rot no longer fizzes and bubbles? Thank you

[aliceinwl]

I just did one application on the one I treated, but I caught mine very early. The cinnamon really seemed to dry things out (I sprinkled it on pretty thick in the crown and the leaf axils). If no one else chimes in, I'd say use your judgement about re-application.

The peroxide will damage living tissues. The hope is that it'll damage the fungus and/or bacteria infected tissues killing the fungi and bacteria. Then, the cinnamon will dry things out (it may have some anti-fungal properties too). Once things are dry, the environment will no longer be hospitable to the fungi and/or bacteria and the plant can recover.

I don't know how much protection the waxy cuticle on the leaves provides from the peroxide, but I'd be wary of over doing it.