Crown Rot
 

Watering my orchids (outside) this morning, I noticed what seems to be the beginning of some crown rot on a phal. There is a slight shadow on the 2nd leaf. Not sure if it comes across on the picture. Also dark spot near the bark.


My question is this. Should I try peroxide or go with Physan, and if so, 20 or 27?

Thanks guys!!

Hi Lin :D

I've used peroxide in these cases with great success :clap:

I usually spray it, let it sit a few minutes, dump it out (if it's actually sitting in the crown) and then throw a bit of cinnamon in there.

I would also cut back on watering. The moss in the pot looks really wet. Best of luck...looks saveable to me if you follow Susanne's treatment. :)

Thanks for the advice because I wasn't sure the peroxide by itself would do the trick. I had just watered when I noticed the dark shadow and took the picture. Don't worry about overwatering, I am the worlds chamption under-waterer (that can't be a word). My plants are always drier than they should be, often to the point where it has a real impact on their growth. :biggrin: I'm really trying to water more.

This is outside, under a screened tent and probably some rain sat in the crown longer than it should. I always go out and wick it away, but I could have missed it long enough for trouble. It's a balancing act, they do so well outside over the summer, but there's always risks involved....

Thanks guys!

Maybe it is just me, but I don't see anything to be concerned about , looks good to me .. Gin

That looks just like what happened to my wife's Phal that got a little too much sunlight. It wasnt direct sunlight, just bright enough to hurt the plant (or so we assume). So I am wondering if this is what happened to your plant or does her plant have some sort of rot?

On her plant the bottom two leaves turned yellow and dropped off. It had four leaves and one new one coming in. The "burn" spot was isolated to the two leaves that dropped. We assume it is connected to light because of where she had it and that the "burn" showed up all of a sudden.

Dave

It's not crown rot, as the "crown" is the "cup" at the top formed by the growth point of new leaves.

It might be a little bit of rot at the base, and the advice so far has been pretty good.

My attitude about such a case is: "Hmph. Oh well. No big deal."

It does look like some rot underneath. I would remove the 2 bottom leaves, looks like there about to go anyways. Keep the sphag out from that area, its the worst place for moss to be (IMO).
Peroxide or rubbing alcohol 2x daily will help a great deal. Fanning is a good idea.
I've lost 2 orchids like this ... just didn't catch it in time.

Is it possible to have the plant planted too deep?

I have pulled some of the spag away from the base of the plant and I'm pouring peroxide in there twice a day.

Ray, there is a spot of rot deep in the crown of the plant, it's just that my camera isn't good enough to show it, so I was showing the spot of rot on the upper leaf.