Help! My Phalaenopsis is dying quick!!

[jill.nelson]

Hello,
I'm fairly new to owning an orchid. I've had this Phalaenopsis bloom twice now, however now it is dying fast! The problem was, I had moved to a basement suite which had no natural light . The leaves started falling off from top to bottom. The spike was also dried out so i cut it off. Now I have moved to a new place with natural light. I repotted my orchid, found some dead roots and cut them off. However, there were still some relatively healthy roots. After repotting I also fertilized my orchid with 15.15.18. I only have one leaf left, and it appears very limp and lifeless although there is still some colour to it. I'm wondering what steps I can take to save my orchid... or is it too late? Please help!!

PS: Sorry the pictures are so hard to make out... the files had to be so small to work on this website! The pictures are of the root and leaf. Thanks!

[walingwaling]

hmmm, looks like crown rot to me. just keep the roots moist and provide some air movement, never give up on phals, it may take weeks and all of a sudden...
good luck!

[Tmai]

hmmm, looks like crown rot to me. just keep the roots moist and provide some air movement, never give up on phals, it may take weeks and all of a sudden...
good luck!

I agree - never give up. but life is too short to depend on ailing orchids. Go and get some healthy ones to show your poor baby what to do!!! And they will bring you beauty while your phal recovers. Good luck!

[ManilaByNight]

Have you treated your ailing plant with some fungicide or medication to stop/prevent the bacterial rot if any?

[jill.nelson]

Have you treated your ailing plant with some fungicide or medication to stop/prevent the bacterial rot if any?

No, I haven't treated it with a fungicide. I'm fairly new to this, what do you suggest?

[Arkic]

I had the same problem with a phal, and I was told that as long as it's got a leaf there's a chance (mine lost all it's leaves, but it had some really healthy roots and air roots, but no leaves - they all yellowed and fell off - was one of my favourite orchids too :-( , anyway a person at an orchid nursery said that if it doesnt have leaves then there is nothing to do anymore. Not sure if that's really correct, or she just wanted me to buy a new orchid, but at any rate, I couldnt save my phal) So take care of that leaf!
And good luck.

[walingwaling]

there is one more last trick, called water culture, there is several posts here. im trying it for myself for the moment.
i've had a few phal's which came back from the dead after months, even without leaves on it, if the roots are kept moist.

[ManilaByNight]

No, I haven't treated it with a fungicide. I'm fairly new to this, what do you suggest?

I'm not sure what kind of fungicide is available over there. Here in the Philippines we have Dithane in powder form which we dilute in water following the instructions on the package which is then sprayed on the upper and bottom part of the plant. Watering is witheld for a few hours (or a day) until the fungicide dries off and sticks to the plant so it doesn't easily gets washed off. However this is just a preventive measure. Once the disease has entered the plant we have what is called a systemic fungicide which is locally available called Alouette. I think there is an equivalent made by Bayer of germany but I forget the name.

I don't know much about local laws and regulations governing the avaialbility of plant fungicidies and chemicals in the U.S. and I presume they're kind of strict regarding those stuff. I've read somewhere here in the forums about some growers using peroxide as this could be more readily available and not be difficult to obtain? Haven't tried it though nor do I know of what strength to use.

Just bear in mind to reduce watering and avoid getting the leaf and stem parts wet. Altho keep the roots barely moist (as in humid) and not soaking wet.