Basal Rot aka Southern Blight Help!!!

[snowflake311]

I am at work so can't get photo now but I was looking up this problem I have with my favorite phal hybrid. It's in spike too.

It looks like Southern Blight I repotted it yesterday all new bark and moss mix in a different pot too. It was in clay now it's in plastic. Roots were ok not great. What more can I do. I am losing the 2 bottom leafs at first I thought it was just to old age but they look weird and I looked up Southern Blight and this looks just like it.

Is my plant doomed? What can I do? This is the first time I ran into a problem like this I am freaking out because I love this plant I know it's weird.

I will get photos tonight.

[Brooke]

Southern Blight is a soil fungus problem and it usually appears in hot, humid weather. When I had huge gardens, my hosta would sometimes get the problem and it is curable with the proper fungicide.

A picture would help but if it is the bottom two leaves turning yellow but the rest of the leaves look fine, it probably is loss of oldest leaves.

Brooke

[snowflake311]

The 2 bottom are going but the one above it is getting yellow. It's not a normal yellow it's like a red pinkish yellow. I will get photos tonight.

This same plant rebloomed very quickly after the old blooms fell. I was reading that can be a sign the the plant is dying? Its in spike but looks like shit I am freaking out.

When I took it out of the pot I had a rotten root and some black in the middle but all over roots looks good not great but good like there it hope. I have had the plant since may 2014.

[snowflake311]

I took off the worst leaf after taking the photo. I just don't this this plant looks well. I there there is hope but what should I do to fix the problem? I repotted it its in Plastic now not clay. I don't know what more to do?

You can see on the left is the worst. and above it you can see the Yellow starting close to the main part of the plant.





In this Photo I already took off the really Yellow leaf on the left.

[wintergirl]

I like my large phals to dry out, I use large bark. In spag moss I think they are too wet and the roots are rotting.

[Brooke]

You have stem rot which is the same bacteria as crown rot. If you can stop the rot before it reaches the crown it can recover.

You can try pouring regular drug store peroxide in the crown letting it flow down the stem. If you have Physan, doing the same thing might also stop it.

Anytime you have yellowing starting at the base of the growth, it is a bacterial problem and not old age yellowing. Old age yellowing starts at the tip of the leaf.

Good luck and I hope you can stop the infection.

Brooke

[snowflake311]

Thanks so much I will try peroxide tonight. How long does it take for the plant to get to this point? Because this plant bloomed so quickly I wonder if that was a sign it needed help?

I should cut the spike right?

[snowflake311]

After removing the other Leaves that were going yellow I could see the rest of the plant looks good. Here is a photo of it. I am so confused by this plant.






I had some Fungicide3 that I sprayed on it tonight and will also try the peroxide in a day. I am also going to keep it on the dry side.

[Ray]

Southern blight, aka basal stem rot, is caused by the sclerotium fungus.

Snowflake, check your PMs.


Ray Barkalow
firstrays.com