rot on paphiopedilum leaf

[lobotomizedgoat]

Originally Posted by Ray

Whew! Much better.

33 ppm N once per month??? At that concentration, you’d be better applying it twice a week.

I'll up their fertilizer! I'm guessing the probiotic and continued vigilance are also in order?

Originally Posted by estación seca

What do you mean by distilled spray? Most people need to water Paphs every few days, not 10-14.

Distilled water from a high output spray bottle onto the media. If the media at the bottom of the pot looks moist I just give them a bit, otherwise I spray until I see some runoff. I do this roughly every couple days.

[Ray]

In my estimation, a regular program of plant probiotics is a remarkable thing, if for no other reason than the virtual disappearance of rots.

[estación seca]

I already posted this in another thread today, but you might find it interesting:

Paphiopedilums by Brandon Tam, Huntington - DVOS 2017 09 21

[lobotomizedgoat]

update:

The rot has spread and the affected areas have darkened. I have some Inocucor on the way and I picked up a product at a local store that I may make a probiotic tea with tomorrow*. But, considering the change, I'm wondering if I should pick up a pesticide to apply first/instead? I'm also wondering at what point I should simply remove the affected leaves in order to save the plant.

Pics from this evening attached, hopefully the color balance is better than those first ones.


*Dr. Earth Root Zone - contains many of the same microorganisms as Inocucor and Quantum with a 2-4-2 fertilizer. It appears to mainly be a soil additive but also has instructions for making a probiotic tea.

[Ray]

I would definitely remove that leaf to start.

That Dr. earth stuff looks good, but I see two shortfalls, the first being that you have to steep it in water and wait for the dormant microbes to activate, and the second being that if you want to pour it on to build up the populations rapidly, you’ll also be pouring on the fertilizer.

[lobotomizedgoat]

After removing some media it became clear that he base of the lower leaf on the opposite side of the fan had also started to go. I tried cutting out the affected area on one of the lower leaves but that left it dangling by very little material. That connection would also have covered the wound from the primary problem leaf so I decided, with a heavy heart, to remove them entirely.

I dabbed the area with hydrogen peroxide and placed the plant under a ceiling fan to dry for the night. I'd prefer to have thoroughly sprayed the wound but I didn't want it draining onto the roots. I was hesitant to add cinnamon for the same reason.

My questions from here are:
1) Is there something I can treat the wound with later that's ok to drain into the root system?
2) Should I just remove it from the pot to treat the wound? (the media seem to be in good shape and it appears to have many healthy roots, so I'd rather not unless necessary)
3) How deep should I refill the media once the wound has dried?

[Ray]

It looks like it may have been planted too deeply, which may have led to an erwinia infection. As long as the base remains dry, it ought to be fine, especially if you start treating with probiotics.

[thefish1337]

Originally Posted by lobotomizedgoat

update:

The rot has spread and the affected areas have darkened. I have some Inocucor on the way and I picked up a product at a local store that I may make a probiotic tea with tomorrow*. But, considering the change, I'm wondering if I should pick up a pesticide to apply first/instead? I'm also wondering at what point I should simply remove the affected leaves in order to save the plant.

Pics from this evening attached, hopefully the color balance is better than those first ones.


*Dr. Earth Root Zone - contains many of the same microorganisms as Inocucor and Quantum with a 2-4-2 fertilizer. It appears to mainly be a soil additive but also has instructions for making a probiotic tea.

Dr. Earth's product contains freeze dried microbes which don't have the same activity or quality. It also has a bunch of terrestrial mycorrhizae which are not useful for your orchid. It will function more as a fertilizer for you. I also noticed from your post that your plants are getting only 30 PPF for 13.5 hours in a NE facing window. You could try increasing the light because that is pretty weak. Paphs enjoy lower light levels but not quite that low, dry shooting for a DLI of 4-6. Paradoxically you could try upping the light, but please also follow the other advice to give a little more fertilizer. The lower leaves could be weakened simply because the plant isn't making enough sugars to support them functionally.