What is this?!
 

Hello! I recently bought this lovely plant from my local whole foods. I noticed there is many healthy air roots and also ( from what i can see) the potted roots look lovely and green!

With that being said I have noticed some type of "rot" at the base. Not sure what it is. I have sprayed the are with neem oil and water mix and would like some advice on how to care for this.

There is an image attached. Thank you :)

Looks like a fungal disease.

If you've been misting this orchid's leaves, I'd suggest not doing it anymore.

I don't know what kind of growing environment your orchid's in, but I'd suggest growing it warmer and having better air circulation.

It looks to me like something may have been gnawing at it a bit. Is that pactch dry or moist?

It feels dry and patchy

Make marks with a pen and see if it grows. Has it got a smell?

Dry is good. I agree with others, it would be wise to be extra careful to not letting moisture to touch this spot. It could develop into the stem rot and eventually ruin the entire plant (think about onion rotting as an analogy.)
(I'd keep an eye on the spot and IF it starts developing wet rot, carve out as much of the affected tissue as posssible and apply alcohol or cinnamon.)

For that very reason, the general advice is to avoid leaving droplets of water on the leaves, joints and to blot them off immediately. Also to have a very good air circulation.

I had something very like that on one of mine. Dry and dark looking.

I've afraid I don't know what it was and it did spread over a very slow period of about 12 months and eventually killed the plant. It went deeper into the stem than I could see, and was not just on the surface :(

Keep it separated from the others. Sorry I can't be more help, and I hope yours is something different and the advice above will help :(

I agree with what lepetitmartian said, u should mark the edges of this spot, with a fine-tipped marker/or a pen. And definitely, *be sure to keep it dry! :nod: But, if it grows, you're gonna want to act as fast as you can... the faster, the better! Because rot like this, can spread really quickly sometimes! If it does, I second what Wild Orchid said, *cut it out ~ all ~ of the rotten tissue, and dust with cinnamon. Then its time to care for your "post-op patient", the hard part...

I've found this link particularly useful, and it'll definitely help you with your Phal's recovery, if it ends up needing surgery (*even if the surgery involves cutting off all/or most of the roots!*). In this thread, **http://www.orchidboard.com/community...remaining.html,** in the second post, "birdybrain" says she had to cut off a rotten place on her Phal's stem, and tells/shows how she cared for it during it's recovery... and she saved it! :) This thread will help u a lot with your phal's post-op care! :biggrin: It's got good info in there, birdybrain explains it well, & with pics (best if u read the whole thread) :) Good Luck! I hope it's just an old scar, and nothing more!