Repotted leafless, grey roots, green spike, gnats, and HEAVY METAL

[chilecorona]

Please help! I'm doing all I can to save my first phal, please see what I've done below. Sorry for the length of post.

1. It's a large regular phal, with leaves about 6 inches long. When purchased it had two spikes with blooms, but only one bud.

2. Within four days all the blooms fell off. Two days later the bud fell off. Everything withered before falling off.

3. Fungus gnats appeared.

4. A couple of days after the flowers fell off, one of the beautiful, green leaves fell right off for no apparent reason! Seriously, just like that!

5. I decided to repot, pray, and play heavy metal music.

When I took the plant out, I discovered it was two plants:

Plant #1 is a leafless nub, but it has a couple green roots and the spike is still mostly green and firmly attached.

Plant #2 has three leaves and few green roots; I cut off its dead spike at the base.

I sterilized the plastic pot and tools while the plants were laid aside.

Most of the roots were wiry and grey and/or mushy on both plants, so I cut off a lot with sterile scissors.

I put both plants back in the same pot. The remaining spike on Plant #1 is Y-shaped. One side has dark green mittens, but the other side was dying so I trimmed the tip and sprinkled with cinnamon.

I placed them near a southeasterly window with closed venetian blinds. It's probably 78 degrees or so there.

It's been one week. No sign of gnats and I still see green roots. I think they MAY be doing okay, but here are my questions:

Plant#1: Why in heck would this leafless nub still have a green spike? Should I cut off the spike or leave it be or toss the entire thing in the garbage? Will it infect my other plant? Also, it's still turning brown past where I cut it already, below the cinnamon. Is the other end of the forked spike with the mittens a lost cause for blooms?

Plant #2: I think there MAY be some barely yellowish spots on the leaves. Maybe I'm paranoid. Otherwise her leaves are shiny and firm.

MANY THANKS!!!

[dounoharm]

wow, this is a can of worms! usually crown rot will make a plant with seemingly normal green leaves just fall off....this is because the actual STEM of the plant is soft and infected and just sheds its leaves...I would think that the plant has been improperly watered at some point in its recent history, which made the one plant shed all its leaves....the flower stem doesn't shed off like the leaves....I think that plant is a goner for sure and should be discarded...the plant with leaves remaining, if those leaves are firmly attached, could be saved....the flower stem should be cut, as the plant cannot support it...I don't think you would get buds from it anyway....if the plant itself is hard and firm, but the top center of the crown is damaged, it can still put out new growth from the base of the plant, a basal keiki....just repot and water as normal, and wait...it could take a year or two to branch out at the base so be patient! otherwise, toss em both and get a new plant and try again! good luck!

[chilecorona]

Is that what crown rot does? Cause the green leaves to fall off? The nub that was left was blackened.

I need to remove them form the pot in order to take out Plant #1 (probably dead plant). I hate to cause Plant #2 more stress, but its best to take its dying/dead sibling out of the pot I guess.

I feel like I shouldn't give up on Plant #1 because it still has some green roots. Maybe I should just separate them and try to save both? What about the baggie method I see here?

Everything I learned so far, I've gotten from here. So thanks!

[RosieC]

It does sound like plant 1 has had a bad case of crown rot. I would separate them, if you want to try and save plant 1 then I would remove it's spike, it is a long shot but it MIGHT be able to grow a new crown. I've never had success with that, but others here have.

Plant 2 sounds like it should be OK.

[chilecorona]

Plant #2 has been repotted, but it lost it's lowest leaf, which had quickly turned yellow over yesterday and today. I'm super bummed because I'm trying so hard to save the little guy!

Plant #1 was tossed; it didn't have any green roots when I took it out of the pot.

[RosieC]

Hope plant #2 makes it for you. Sometimes leaves drop anyway.