I have a phalaenopsis that has crown rot. 😩 I've already sprayed it with peroxide & sprinkled cinnamon on it & I'm going to repot tomorrow, but my question is has anyone ever used cinnamon essential oil for this? I don't want to kill it, but I thought maybe it would be better than cinnamon (the spice) Also open to any other tips/tricks. Thanks!
I've never used oil but I've salvaged some phals using the peroxide and cinnamon, but also using Keiki past around the crown. Not only does it promote the growth of keikis but also helps with root growth. A rooting hormone applied also helps. I like to mount my Phals so I can watch the roots. The ones that I've saved I mount with a little bit of moss to terra-cotta saucers. If you google mounting orchids to saucers you'll find links to forums on how to do this.
Powdered cinnamon may not be as chemically concentrated as the oil, but it has very good desiccating properties, giving it the advantage in crown rot treatment.
Repot, hope and pray, and never, NEVER, get water in the crowns of your plants again.
Thanks so much for all the wonderful advice! I tried to repot last night but when I pulled it out of the pot I was horrified. It was packed in moss & it was so gross. The poor little roots were so tight & suffocating. I cleaned it up as best I could & did peroxide/cinnamon again & reported this morning. It looks ok now, but we'll see. I got this one from my Gram's funeral in January. They were her fave flowers & mine as well so it's a very special plant to me. And it's so tall. It's gorgeous! I'm always so careful about watering. I think it was already sick when I got it (it came from a florist)