The Orchid Garden

Dtps. Pretty Nice 'York"

Question:

Hi…I’ve only been growing orchids for a few months and have only managed to kill the Phals. The first one was not really murder, since I bought it in pretty bad shape at the Home Depot. The roots were completely rotted. This one though was a big, strong plant… I think it has crown rot. The leaves were all mushy towards the center. All four leaves have now fallen off.  I don’t believe it is root rot, since I’m growing it in treefern. What do I do now with the stump? Should I try to save this plant? Should I just dump it in the trash and hope that my deep depression will subside as time goes by? Thanks for any help. Gabe

Response:

Hi Gabriel, OK, this is going to sound weird, but the plant is trashed, so you really have nothing to lose. Cut away all the rotted parts including the stem, to the point where there is no black discoloration or other evidence of rot (smell). Clean your cutting implement thouroughly (!!!!!) after each incision so that you are not infecting the fresh tissue. I’ve heard that a series of single edged razor blades can be used for this, or sterilizing (flaming) the blade after each cut. IF YOU ARE LEFT WITH ANY PART OF THE STEM THAT HAS A LEAF AXIL UNDAMAGED JUST BELOW YOUR LAST CUT then you just *might* get a side shoot to sprout. Pour Listerine over the cut tissue. Seal with cinnamon powder. Put in a shady spot. DO NOT TOP WATER! Water only the medium. Give it months. Its either going to work or not. If the rot goes all the way through the central part of the stem (all the internal vascular tissue) and down to the roots then the plant is trashed. (This reminds me of all those WWII movies where the medic reads a book as to how to perform an appendectomy) If it has a good root system then you got a chance. Go buy another plant to make yourself feel better. This last step is often overlooked, but it does assuage the orchid gods. Its how they know your intentions are pure. Its also how you can get as many orchids as Al has. That should tell you something about Al… K Barrett – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi…I’ve only been growing orchids for a few months and have only managed to kill the Phals. The first one was not really murder, since I bought it in pretty bad shape at the Home Depot. The roots were completely rotted. This one though was a big, strong plant… I think it has crown rot. The leaves were all mushy towards the center. All four leaves have now fallen off.  I don’t believe it is root rot, since I’m growing it in treefern. What do I do now with the stump? Should I try to save this plant? Should I just dump it in the trash and hope that my deep depression will subside as time goes by? Thanks for any help. Gabe

Response:

Thank you K and Al for your responses. Listerine! Why didn’t I think of that!? I’ll follow your advice. I already feel a lot better and will go out and buy another Phal to appease the gods. I have already learned a valuable lesson from this, but it would still be nice if I could nurture this particular plant back to life. Thanks again. Gabe

Response:

I’ll follow your advice. I already feel a lot better and will go out and buy another Phal to appease the gods. I have already learned a valuable lesson from this, but it would still be nice if I could nurture this particular plant back to life.

Even though many say that phals are one  of the easiest orchids to grow I find that under my conditions they are actually one of the more difficult ones…..I finally seem to have things going right with moss and less watering.  At any rate, if you are knocking off phals you might give some other type of orchid a try…perhaps a vigorous paph hybrid or species. They seem to grow like weeds under my growing conditions. Howard

Response:

If it has a good root system then you got a chance. Go buy another plant to make yourself feel better. This last step is often overlooked, but it does assuage the orchid gods. Its how they know your intentions are pure. Its also how you can get as many orchids as Al has. That should tell you something about Al…

It is certainly possible if the rot has been stopped and if some healthy stem tissue still exists, that the plant will form a new growth point. "Topping" a Phal used to be a primary way of multiplying it; wait until it gets tall and then cut it in half.  People used to do this with their *awarded* plants…back in the dark ages of the mid 1900s.  Very often the bottom half would develop one or more new crowns.  It is a slow process and will probably be 6 to 8 months at the very least before you see anything new happen.  Count the first few months as a success if the plant ceases to decline. You may have to repeat the last step from above several times before the orchid gods are assuaged. Al (ah-sway-jd)

Response:

Filed under: Growing Orchids

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