The Orchid Garden

Mushy Leaves — then Drop from Phal — Please help quickly!

Question:

The way you have described your plant doesn’t make me think any cinnamon, which can act effectively as a contact bacteriacide and fungicide, is necessarily warranted. You say the plant "didn’t look very happy", and now is dropping a lower leaf. Many severely stressed plants will drop the older leaves. They will typically yellow first, as you mentioned. If you aren’t seeing wet, mushy tissue at the bases of the leaves, the plant is probably not infected with anything that cinnamon, or any other agent, is needed for. It’s just stressed…most likely from lack of water. That doesn’t necessarily mean you should water it more. In fact, that may be how it got to the stressed condition… it was over-watered, causing root rot so now it can’t absorb adequate amounts of water. Bringing such a plant back from the brink of disaster involves very careful control of dampness at the roots (presuming there still are any), and high humidity to minimize water loss from the remaining leaves. If you are successful in getting new roots to grow, then you can slowly resume more normal watering practices and the plant will tolerate lower humidities since it can again absorb water effectively through its roots.   How did the roots look when you repotted and what did you repot into? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am quite new to growing orchids and reading some of the posts it talks about using cinnamon in the leaf bases for rot.  Can someone be more specific?  Is that ground cinnamon and how much should be used and how often?  I bought a phalaenopsis about 2 weeks ago which didn’t look very happy in the store and was marked down in price, and have repottted it, and now one of the bit bottom leaves is turning all yellow (just within a few days even).  would cinnamon help? Sounds like bacterial rot or Phythophtora rot to me. I’d dump a bunch of cinnnamon in the leaf bases (all, not just the apparently affected ones) and hope a lot. Usually, with rapidly-proceeding rots, things are a lot farther along than you tend to realize. Find a copper-containing product (Phyton 27 is my choice, others use Kocide, etc.) and use it for prevention of these sorts of problems. Your new growing room sounds nice, but probably has optimized conditions not only for your plants, but also for their pathogens. Three leaves from my Phal developed large mushy areas at the base and then fell off — all within 24 hours.  Luckily, three remain (its a large plant), but one is already showing signs of softness.    I’m will cry if this dies!!!!! There have been are only two recent changes in its environment: 1)  I broke off the spike 3 days ago in hopes of forcing another one. (Broke it in the right place…)   It had been flowering for several months. 2)  I had it sitting in a gravel bed, but DID NOT have a saucer underneath it.   Although no water could have gotten directly into the pot, I guess evaporation could have traveled up the pot holes and to the roots. I do not water at night, and I’m careful about keeping it out of the base area. The roots, by the way, are abundant and extremely healthy looking. Please!  Any ideas? Could this be a natural reaction to breaking the spike??? I’m heard about cutting away the rot and powdering with cinnamon….is it worth a try? Thanks for your help! D.

Response:

Thanks!   I did the cinnamon thing last night, but just the affected area. I’ll go do the whole leaf when I’m done here. I hope to have purchased some Phyton 27 before lunch… Who?…me?…panic?!

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Sounds like bacterial rot or Phythophtora rot to me. I’d dump a bunch of cinnnamon in the leaf bases (all, not just the apparently affected ones) and hope a lot. Usually, with rapidly-proceeding rots, things are a lot farther along than you tend to realize. Find a copper-containing product (Phyton 27 is my choice, others use Kocide, etc.) and use it for prevention of these sorts of problems. Your new growing room sounds nice, but probably has optimized conditions not only for your plants, but also for their pathogens. Three leaves from my Phal developed large mushy areas at the base and then fell off — all within 24 hours.  Luckily, three remain (its a large plant), but one is already showing signs of softness.    I’m will cry if this dies!!!!! There have been are only two recent changes in its environment: 1)  I broke off the spike 3 days ago in hopes of forcing another one. (Broke it in the right place…)   It had been flowering for several months. 2)  I had it sitting in a gravel bed, but DID NOT have a saucer underneath it.   Although no water could have gotten directly into the pot, I guess evaporation could have traveled up the pot holes and to the roots. I do not water at night, and I’m careful about keeping it out of the base area. The roots, by the way, are abundant and extremely healthy looking. Please!  Any ideas? Could this be a natural reaction to breaking the spike??? I’m heard about cutting away the rot and powdering with cinnamon….is it worth a try? Thanks for your help! D.

Response:

Point your browser to the URL below, and check out the "Free Information" link.  Under it is a "Home Remedies" category that gives alternatives for cinnamon use. The loss of a low leaf is probably inconsequential, and cinnamon is a topical fungicide, not a systemic. — Ray Barkalow < First Rays Orchids http://www.firstrays.com Secure Online Ordering & Lots of Free Info! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am quite new to growing orchids and reading some of the posts it talks about using cinnamon in the leaf bases for rot.  Can someone be more specific?  Is that ground cinnamon and how much should be used and how often?  I bought a phalaenopsis about 2 weeks ago which didn’t look very happy in the store and was marked down in price, and have repottted it, and now one of the bit bottom leaves is turning all yellow (just within a few days even).  would cinnamon help? Sounds like bacterial rot or Phythophtora rot to me. I’d dump a bunch of cinnnamon in the leaf bases (all, not just the apparently affected ones) and hope a lot. Usually, with rapidly-proceeding rots, things are a lot farther along than you tend to realize. Find a copper-containing product (Phyton 27 is my choice, others use Kocide, etc.) and use it for prevention of these sorts of problems. Your new growing room sounds nice, but probably has optimized conditions not only for your plants, but also for their pathogens. Three leaves from my Phal developed large mushy areas at the base and then fell off — all within 24 hours.  Luckily, three remain (its a large plant), but one is already showing signs of softness.    I’m will cry if this dies!!!!! There have been are only two recent changes in its environment: 1)  I broke off the spike 3 days ago in hopes of forcing another one. (Broke it in the right place…)   It had been flowering for several months. 2)  I had it sitting in a gravel bed, but DID NOT have a saucer underneath it.   Although no water could have gotten directly into the pot, I guess evaporation could have traveled up the pot holes and to the roots. I do not water at night, and I’m careful about keeping it out of the base area. The roots, by the way, are abundant and extremely healthy looking. Please!  Any ideas? Could this be a natural reaction to breaking the spike??? I’m heard about cutting away the rot and powdering with cinnamon….is it worth a try? Thanks for your help! D.

Response:

I am quite new to growing orchids and reading some of the posts it talks about using cinnamon in the leaf bases for rot.  Can someone be more specific?  Is that ground cinnamon and how much should be used and how often?  I bought a phalaenopsis about 2 weeks ago which didn’t look very happy in the store and was marked down in price, and have repottted it, and now one of the bit bottom leaves is turning all yellow (just within a few days even).  would cinnamon help?

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Sounds like bacterial rot or Phythophtora rot to me. I’d dump a bunch of cinnnamon in the leaf bases (all, not just the apparently affected ones) and hope a lot. Usually, with rapidly-proceeding rots, things are a lot farther along than you tend to realize. Find a copper-containing product (Phyton 27 is my choice, others use Kocide, etc.) and use it for prevention of these sorts of problems. Your new growing room sounds nice, but probably has optimized conditions not only for your plants, but also for their pathogens. Three leaves from my Phal developed large mushy areas at the base and then fell off — all within 24 hours.  Luckily, three remain (its a large plant), but one is already showing signs of softness.    I’m will cry if this dies!!!!! There have been are only two recent changes in its environment: 1)  I broke off the spike 3 days ago in hopes of forcing another one. (Broke it in the right place…)   It had been flowering for several months. 2)  I had it sitting in a gravel bed, but DID NOT have a saucer underneath it.   Although no water could have gotten directly into the pot, I guess evaporation could have traveled up the pot holes and to the roots. I do not water at night, and I’m careful about keeping it out of the base area. The roots, by the way, are abundant and extremely healthy looking. Please!  Any ideas? Could this be a natural reaction to breaking the spike??? I’m heard about cutting away the rot and powdering with cinnamon….is it worth a try? Thanks for your help! D.

Response:

Three leaves from my Phal developed large mushy areas at the base and then fell off — all within 24 hours.  Luckily, three remain (its a large plant), but one is already showing signs of softness.    I’m will cry if this dies!!!!! There have been are only two recent changes in its environment: 1)  I broke off the spike 3 days ago in hopes of forcing another one. (Broke it in the right place…)   It had been flowering for several months. 2)  I had it sitting in a gravel bed, but DID NOT have a saucer underneath it.   Although no water could have gotten directly into the pot, I guess evaporation could have traveled up the pot holes and to the roots. I do not water at night, and I’m careful about keeping it out of the base area. The roots, by the way, are abundant and extremely healthy looking. Please!  Any ideas? Could this be a natural reaction to breaking the spike??? I’m heard about cutting away the rot and powdering with cinnamon….is it worth a try? Thanks for your help! D.

Response:

Sounds like bacterial rot or Phythophtora rot to me. I’d dump a bunch of cinnnamon in the leaf bases (all, not just the apparently affected ones) and hope a lot. Usually, with rapidly-proceeding rots, things are a lot farther along than you tend to realize. Find a copper-containing product (Phyton 27 is my choice, others use Kocide, etc.) and use it for prevention of these sorts of problems. Your new growing room sounds nice, but probably has optimized conditions not only for your plants, but also for their pathogens.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Three leaves from my Phal developed large mushy areas at the base and then fell off — all within 24 hours.  Luckily, three remain (its a large plant), but one is already showing signs of softness.    I’m will cry if this dies!!!!! There have been are only two recent changes in its environment: 1)  I broke off the spike 3 days ago in hopes of forcing another one. (Broke it in the right place…)   It had been flowering for several months. 2)  I had it sitting in a gravel bed, but DID NOT have a saucer underneath it.   Although no water could have gotten directly into the pot, I guess evaporation could have traveled up the pot holes and to the roots. I do not water at night, and I’m careful about keeping it out of the base area. The roots, by the way, are abundant and extremely healthy looking. Please!  Any ideas? Could this be a natural reaction to breaking the spike??? I’m heard about cutting away the rot and powdering with cinnamon….is it worth a try? Thanks for your help! D.

Response:

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