Down to one Phal leaf...

[majormtn]

I have a phalaenopsis orchid that is in pretty bad shape. I purchased it last month and the orchid was doing well adjusting to my new environment.

However, recently it's been declining and it's been doing it pretty fast. This all began when I changed the media from sphagnum moss to bark mix.

I'm now left with one leaf and not sure what to do because the leaf is starting to yellow at the base. I tried adding cinnamon in hopes of stopping the spread of what I think is stem rot? I'd like to see if it can survive, so any help/suggestions are welcome!

Or if you feels this is a hopeless, let me know as well.





**I was finally able to link the photos successfully on my computer. Also, the brown color that you're seeing is from the cinnamon.

[Orchid Whisperer]

I tried looking for the gallery you mentioned but could not find it.

Ho long ago did you switch to bark? Was the plant showing signs of probelms before that?

If all of your leaves have fallen of but one, and that one is yellowing, you will likely lose that crown. If the roots seem OK / healthy, you can water them occasionally, and maybe the plant will make a new crown from the base of the plant.

Good luck!

[majormtn]

I believe I switched to bark about 3 weeks ago? I honestly thought the roots wouldn't get too affected by this change in media. They were used to being really damp sphagnum media for a long period of time, that maybe the switch was too much of a shock?

[astrid]

That's probably not going to recover.

Go find a new, pretty phal with good roots and start again!!

I have repotted phals from sphag to bark no problem, and I have repotted phals back into sphag no problem.

Perhaps this one was just sick and destined to die. I have had two oncidium types that arrived to me with a brown soft rot illness that killed them both in about 3 weeks very slowly
So you might have just picked up a sick phal and maybe the media change wasn't the cause.

Idk, we all have killed a phal or two. If you really want to try, just pot that up in some moss/bark mix and water it normally, and there is a chance it could put down some roots. It is really unlikely, but investing a few minutes to pot it and a few minutes a week to water it isn't that bad if you really feel desperate to try to save it.

Normally, you'd want to have at least one good healthy root to keep it going.

[campchi]

I think his one is a goner. Looks like it might have a crown rot. So best to start a new one