Black rot on phal

[StanTheMan]

Hello, everyone. Nothing new I guess, but I noticed this Phal at one moment dropped one bloom and the other ones looked dehydrated. I thought ok I'm not watering enough (I have kept these phals a little bit neglected, works for some and for some others it doesn't haha). Then one of the leaves dropped (it wasn't the newest nor the oldest), I thought ok unusual. And now I noticed this black spot. Is this total damage or is there any way I can save this? Thanks in advance,

Stan.

[Shadeflower]

hey stan, the black spot doesn't look soggy and not all black spots are a concern but the roots that are visible are all dead and should imo ideally be cut away. Possibly one live air root is visible in the background.
If the roots are all as bad as what we see on the picture that is your main concern.

[StanTheMan]

Hey, Shadeflower. Thanks for your swift reply. That black spot is definitely mushy (didn't touch it before but it is not pleasant to feel at all). Most roots I can see through the pot look green and plump, but I guess I'm still going to take it out of the pot to check it out. I'll keep posting.

Stan.

[Shadeflower]

Ok do it gently. I think it would be wisest thing to do. LEt the whole plant dry out a bit too. See what others say about the soggy spot. Drying it should be the first step.

[StanTheMan]

Okay so this is the result. It definitely does not look good. I guess at one moment I got water in between those leaves and oh well... I tried to dig a little on the mushy spot and it seems the infection is deep, as in not only in the leaf but also in the inner part.

Is there a way to save this??

Oh and as for the roots they seemed OK, some dead roots but also good alive roots, so the media definitely wasn't the problem.

[StanTheMan]

With a quick google search (thank God I have the time to do this haha), I applied hydrogen peroxide to the area and I'm keeping the plant with no substrate in the meantime.

[Shadeflower]

Originally Posted by StanTheMan

With a quick google search (thank God I have the time to do this haha)

a lot would disagree as not many use Hydrogen peroxide on their orchids but not as bad as the infection.

You say the substrate was not bad, I say you are lucky you have a few roots left

You say water got into the leaf cracks. I'd say rotting media crumbs got in there instead.

But that's not really here nor there. I think you might need a proper fungicide but I can't advise much on that. As much as people dislike HP, it's a chemical like a fungicide which is also very harsh on orchids but if a treatment is needed then its better than doing nothing.

We all come across a struggling orchid from time to time. stem rot is one of my worst foes and unfortunately I am not the right person who can say yep I know how to fix that every time...

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Shadeflower

We all come across a struggling orchid from time to time. stem rot is one of my worst foes and unfortunately I am not the right person who can say yep I know how to fix that every time...

I don't think that anybody has the fix for all cases... Once rots get a foothold, sometimes one wins and sometimes one bins ...

[estación seca]

It's easier to prevent than cure. Try to be sure the medium is well aerated. I'm coming around to thinking beginners should use large bark or LECA to learn, not smaller media. Keep them as warm as you can. Provide good air circulation.