Leaves Falling Off + Old Age??

[Ray]

I believe Ross is referring to a bacterial ot fungal infection within the plant, probably as a result of something dying and rotting below the surface of the medium.

Physan is a topical (direct contact) treatment, not a systemic one, so it will not have any impact. Thiomyl, on the other hand, is a systemic fungicide.

I have seen plants react that way to environmental (low pH, as King mentioned) and nutritional extremes, too.

[orchidgirl82]

Thanks so much for all your feedback!
I attached more pics. I unpotted it so you could see the roots. Here i noticed they are rotten and molding it looks like. Only the air roots are healthy. I'm really not sure how this happened as it was my healthiest and oldest plant. Before I repotted it all the roots were green and healthy. I can't believe they would all spontaneously rot like that!

Can it be saved?? If so, I would love instruction on what to do. I would hate to lose it.

[Narnia]

It looks like you still have a couple of good roots in there. I'd cut off all the rotten ones, maybe give it a dunk in some hydrogen peroxide and repot it in a well draining bark mix. As for the crown, I have no idea. I'd say just do what you can and hope for the best.

[dounoharm]

i am afraid your orchid is history, probably due to compacted moss around the roots....moss holds so much more moisture than you can imagine....and needs more than one week to dry out....the crown is more than likely dead, it started from the bottom down by the moss and worked its way to the top....best thing to do is repot any others you might have, and get them out of the moss....

[Ross]

I agree. If it's important to attempt the save, then try a systemic like Thiomyl. Keep in mind - a systemic works if it is drawn up by the plant. That requires functioning roots since the leaves absorb so little. I get Thiomyl from Thiomyl OSG23: Camp Lot A Noise Tropicals

The decay I refered to is in the core of the plant.

[orchidgirl82]

Hi everyone,
Thank you so much for your advice and feedback.
i cut off all the dead roots. gave it a physan/water wash, air-dryed upside down and repotted it in a small plastic pot with bark mix. I HOPE maybe it will grown a new crown as the one on it is clearly rotten. I think I will most likely lose it but I did my best with what I had. It still has lots of healthy air-roots so we'll see. I will post an update if anything changes...thank you all for your help.

I really love the idea of mounting them, my only problem is my location. I live in a rental apt. with minimal light and don't have a wall with any sunlight to put them on or a ceiling in which I am allowed to drill a bunch of holes. Hopefully my conditions will suffice until I am in a home more amenable to growing.

I repotted a few of my other chids in the bark mix as well...and found they too were rotting. I'm still not sure why since the moss always was good for me in the best. Perhaps it is the time of year and the poor ventilation like you all suggested. I will invest in a small fan to circulate some air.

Thanks so much and I will update with any changes!!

[Ray]

Light is the least of your worries with a mounted plant - especially phals, which can thrive in really low-light conditions.

More difficult is watering, as that has to be done a lot with "mounties".

[Ray]

Light is the least of your worries with a mounted plant - especially phals, which can thrive in really low-light conditions.

More difficult is watering, as that has to be done a lot with "mounties".

[orchidgirl82]

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick update that I lost this chid

Thanks for all your help. I have a lot to learn when it comes to saving them. I bought a bark mix and repotted a few in that since i have no air circulation so hopefully they will like that better moving forward.