Phal Top Leaf fell off!

[josterha]

Hello,

I was repotting a somewhat recent NOID addition to my collection. As I took the plant from the original pot, the top leaf popped right off. I was surprised because it looked otherwise fine. My question is: is the plant now doomed? Could this be crown rot? Can it recover from the top leaf dying? By the way, the roots are fine and the other leaves are apparently fine too.

Thanks for considering.

John

[orchidbingo]

Hi John,

Do you see any signs of crown rot-- soft mushy, discolored areas? I've actually had the terminal leaf fall off on a phal just due to mechanical damage and sunburn. If there is no rot, and the other leaves and roots are ok, the plant can still live and there is a good chance it will throw of a basal keiki.

There is a thread going today that talks about using keiki pro to induce keiki. Now that the terminal bud is gone, the phal will likely keiki on its own if its healthy; but seeing the 4 keikis induced by spraying with Keiki Pro I would give it a shot (of Keiki-Pro that is)

good luck

bingo

[orchidbingo]

Oh, it was Sandi and Bird Song Farm. The thread is Keiki Bliss.

Bingo

[josterha]

Thanks, Bingo!

[mehitabel]

I've had phals' top leaves break off a few times just from handling. It happens when the growth is soft because of too much shade, so you might consider increasing the light and air a bit to toughen the leaves.

In the meantime, your plant doesn't have to die, rot out or keiki. Put cinnamon powder on the place where the leaf broke. This will stop any rot from beginning. Put the plant in a favorable position for growth-- good light, good air circulating, and you will get another new leaf begin *from the crown*, in exactly the place it would have appeared if the leaf hadn't broken. In other words, the growth center in the crown is still intact. The cinnamon will prevent rot from appearing and killing the growth center. The new leaf will grow right thru the cinnamon.

Try it-- it's amazing.

[mehitabel]

Forgot to mention, the broken leaf will also continue to grow. The broken part will be pushed out from the center. The leaf will become a bigger (broken) leaf in time.