My worst paph fears!!

[Daethen]

All of my paphs are doing so very well. Except my Chiu Hua Dancer, I just found the top leaf turning black at the bottom! I feel like crying. I have been trying so very hard not to overwater, not to underwater. Not to give too much light, not too little light. Pooh!!!!! I did a peroxide treatment. Should I cut the leaf? Is there any hope that this growth will ever flower? Is there hope that it will produce another growth. I am heartbroken. Any and all help is very appreciated.

[RJSquirrel]

not the old chaff on the outside of the leaf turning black around the bottom? does it peel off?

when you remove the "onion skin" its nice and green underneath..mine do that..if its the actual leaf turning black...

I have only had 1 paph with a top leaf that turned black..It flew across my front seat in my car and was broken then really sick after that car trip.The whole top fell off the plant a few weeks later ...

Treatment for fungus/bacteria wont hurt a bit at all if thats the case of fungus or bacteria.

Has it been repotted lately? might try that if not. Could have some funky media thats old and broke down collecting junk like mineral salts, chlorides.

If it was healthy one day then black the next thats a pretty aggressive malady that does need something done fast....

[kiki-do]

A picture would really really help. How long have you had this one? Have you checked the roots? Where do you keep it? Is there any type draft?
Please post a picture and give us more history on this one. We will try and help!

[Daethen]

I tried to get a picture and couldn't get a good close up. Will try with better light tomorrow. It hasn't been what I would call robust from the beginning. It is a bit whimpy. It had four leaves when I got it about 3 months ago and lost one right away. Since then it has held its own. I have not repotted it for fear of causing more trauma. Dumb I suppose. Will do that in the morning. I wouldn't say it was healthy one day and sick the next, the leaves are kind of tight at the base and I probably didn't see the problem till it crawled up far enough to be obvious. It is not the onion skin, it is the base of the top most leaf. I don't think it has been in a draft, but I could be wrong about that. I did move it to a warmer location as soon as I saw the problem. I will post pics first thing in the morning. I haven't gone overboard with fert. I try to flush all my orchids out well with plain water but it could be broken down medium or salts I suppose. This was the one I HAD to have. Probably shouldn't have bought it because it was more expensive, but you know how it goes. Thanks for the help and hope we can keep her alive.

[stonedragonfarms]

I agree with the others that a picture would help; that being said, and not seeing the plant, it sort of sounds like perhaps water sat in the crown and induced crown rot. I find that this most often happens if plants are watered late in the day, and kept in cool stagnant conditions. Again, just my 2 cents until we can see pics. We'll try to help as much as we can,
Adam

[Daethen]

I am going to repot today. I will post pics after I do. That way if there are root issues I can include them. Just have to find some me time to do it.

[BikerDoc5968]

Jonada, if this is what your plant looks like in the crown, then, yes, it is crown rot. This is one of my plants so it does happen to all of us at some time or another. I don't for certain, but I would assume this is no different than on a Phalaenopsis and you'll have to wait until your Paph grows a new fan to see it flower. The usual culprit is water left in the crown overnight... even small amounts will do it. This is why many of us use Physan-20 or SA-20 every month or so as a preventative measure to decrease the fungal/bacterial population hopefully to decrease the risk of this problem. Don't know that I'd repot at this time.... just be more careful going forward and if water gets into the crown, use a piece of paper towel and wick away the water.

[Daethen]

Ok, so I repotted this morning and forgot to take a good before picture. Here is the scoop:

This is the compost that came out of the pot:



These are the roots after rinsing:



This is the roots after trimming off the hollow parts (they really weren't too bad):



This is the end of the topmost leaf that was brown all the way around this morning so I gave it a good tug and out it came:



And this is the final product. I gently split open the base of the now topmost leaf and sprinkled cinnamon on the area where the rot had been to try to dry it up:



It is now on top of the tv in the warmest room in the house. It is in front of a south facing window but is high enough not to get direct sun. The tv is on for a good portion of the day so it is warm from the bottom. How do you think I did?

[Zoi2]

Just my 2 cents worth, but it looks as if your potting media is a bit too high on the plant. If you just pot to the base of the fan you'll have an easier time keeping water out of the crown.
Joann

[Daethen]

I can raise it up no problem. It had been higher in the old medium. It was my thought to put it deeper. Thanks for the tip.