how to deal with a disaster -- rot - Orchid Board

chloroplast · #1 04-14-2008, 05:43 PM

Hello all,

A Phalaenopsis I recently bought developed root/basal stem rot.

I managed to halt the spread, but now I'm left with an orchid with a healthy crown (two leaves) and only two small roots. I've kept it unpotted for ~5 days to let it dry and to monitor it closely.

Any suggestions on how to care for it during this time would be greatly appreciated. Light, fertilizer, and watering advice is needed.

Thanks,

Ken

cowboy51278 · #2 04-14-2008, 05:50 PM

ive brought a few back like that when i started with the orchids. i was a sucker for the rescue at walmart..lol. try putting it in a plastic bag to increase the humidity, pot in a fast draining mix ( i use fine bark with some tree fern mixed in), and low light. just keep the humidity up. some people have tried rooting hormones to help stimulate new root growth. im not totally sold that it works. but so long as you've got the rot stopped you should be in good shape. with two viable roots you have more than twice as many as ive had on some. good luck!

chloroplast · #3 04-16-2008, 11:13 PM

Thanks for the reply and advice; I appreciate it.

Haha....I've also fallen prey to the Home Depot rescue! But I've made it a point not to buy orchids from them anymore.

Rumor has it that one of the reasons some orchids are so cheap is not wholly because they're bought in bulk, but because they're virally-diseased plants (or neighbors of diseased plants) that nursery wholesalers remove from their collection and sell for pennies on the dollar.

Perhaps that's why, no matter how well you care for some of them, they eventually die.

A little off subject, but I thought I'd share the rumor.

Ken

jkhom · #4 04-17-2008, 08:18 AM

Had the same thing happen to me.
I transplanted into the clay pots with the holes in the sides and use a bark mixture. After I did this, it soon grew a Keiki(?) from the side and it's doing fine now.

Whenever I purchased a phal, it was always planted in sphagnum. I think that the moss keeps them too moist, especially since I have a heavy watering hand. I now transplant all my phals as soon as I get them.