Help: Phalaenopsis, No Leaves, Rotten Crown, Poor Roots, Leaves Budding in Stem?

[Roberta]

Now I see the new growths... yes, keikis. Hopefully they will grow big enough to have roots before the mother plant and spike give up the ghost.

[KristofferNgo]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

I know you think you will be extremely careful. However any peroxide on roots harms the root hairs. It's best not to even use it rather than have any risk. Of course this is my opinion and it's worth what you just paid for it.

@Roberta, @Dollythehun: If hydrogen peroxide is not recommendable, what would you recommend to 1.) treat crown rot and 2.) a "less chemical way" to disinfect roots with pests like small snails, etc.?

[Roberta]

Cinnamon is a good (and natural) fungicide. You don't want that on the roots either, but a little sprinkled in the crown might help, and won't do harm. Generally, once the crown is gone, it's gone and for monopodial (single point of growth) orchids like Phals, the only hope is to get new basal growths, or keikis like you're seeing on the spike that may become independent plants. If you have tiny snails (bush snails), coffee, or coffee grounds seems to be one of the few things that kills them. (I think if you do a search on "coffee" you will find a number of posts describing the details) If there are other issues in the root zone, most can be mitigated with fresh medium, especially if the plant hasn't been repotted within the last year or so. If the roots are getting sufficient air, it's also an environment that tends to resist fungal and bacterial "insults" .

[KristofferNgo]

Ok, for the Cinnamon, how long should I leave it on the crown rot before wiping it off?

[Roberta]

Just sprinkle it on and leave it. If nothing else, it tends to help dry up the area. At best, will maybe stop the progression of rot, but it's not a cure. The crown is the growing point, once it is dead (looks dry, no growth) it isn't going to come back.

[estación seca]

Phals commonly produce multiple growths from the base as they get older and larger. Keikis are growths in an unusual place. Most Phals don't routinely produce plants on flower spikes. When they do these are called keikis. Basal, typical growths aren't called keikis.

[KristofferNgo]

@Roberta: Thank you very much
@estación seca: Thank you very much for the additional information.

[Mountaineer370]

Thanks to both Roberta and ES for the additional information. I now understand the difference between a keiki and a basal growth -- and the fact that it is correctly called a basal growth and not a basal keiki.

[KristofferNgo]

Hello,

Just an update on the keikis.. the larger keiki has grown a bit more and the leaves have been "opening up" while the smaller keiki just fell off. The mother plant didn't grow any new roots, all the roots are super hard, no velamen, and dried up. The crown and stem are all dried up to the core. The only living thing is this keiki. The keiki still has no roots, but black patches are starting to appear. Is it a good idea to cut the keiki and have a high humidity set-up so that it can grow roots on its own?