Phal with crown rot..I think

[Asher]

Hi guys

One of my friends was given a beautiful phal as a moving in present, she had no idea how to take care of it so I gave her a mini class yesterday on the basics. On inspecting the plant iIbelieve it has crown rot, I was able to pull of 2 leaves with no trouble at all and what was left was really mushy and soft it looks as if its moving its way down leave by leave. I have never dealt with crown rot before so I have no idea what to do. Is there a quick, easy and cheap way to deal with this so I can try and persuade my friend to help it and not just throw it away.

Any tips/help would be appreciated

[camille1585]

That doesn't sound good! It may already be too late. Trying pouring some hydrogen peroxide down in the crown. Let it sit a few minutes, you should see it fizz a bit as it reacts with oxygen. Then pour it out/absorb it out with a corner of paper towel. Repeat every couple of days. With any luck the rot should stop progressing.

[Asher]

Where would I get Hydrogen Peroxide ?

[Discus]

Most pharmacies and many supermarkets sell it.

[camille1585]

In France I find it (the 3% strength) over the counter in a pharmacy, and in the Netherlands pretty much any drugstore has it. In the UK you can probably find some at Boots I'd assume.

[Discus]

Originally Posted by camille1585

see it fizz a bit as it reacts with oxygen.

Technically, the fizzing is usually the release of oxygen. Hydrogen Peroxide is H-O-O-H. Two of those react together to give you 2x H-O-H and an O=O; quite often this reaction proceeds differently, with the "spare" oxygen in the peroxide reacting with the organic matter around the solution (hopefully the nasties).

I'm sure you know this though

This process also causes bleaching, so peroxides are quite common in hair products (indeed you can use hydrogen peroxide to bleach your hair white).

[camille1585]

Whoops, i was writing too fast! I meant to say it reacts ( or should I saw oxidizes) to create water and oxygen.

[Asher]

Thanks guys i'l have a trip to Boots tomorrow to see what I can find. If I cant find any here in the UK is there anything else that would work? Just incase

[camille1585]

You should be able to find it easily, hydrogen peroxide is one of those basic things you can find anywhere. It's normally as easy to find as rubbing alcohol for instance.

---------- Post added at 05:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:27 PM ----------

Hmm, just had a look on internet, and apparently in the UK there are some chemists (as you call them) like Boots that don't sell hydrogen peroxide anymore because it's a bomb making ingredient! You only need the 3 or 6% one, that can hardly be lethal! Apparently you can find it at Tesco's pharmacy too.