Personally, I'd sacrifice that flower spike for the sake of saving the plant.
Get yourself a good stimulant like KelpMax or a fresh bottle of KLN, and it'll rebound in no time.
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I saw this gorgeous phal at my local nursery a week ago, and the poor thing was basically laying on its side in its pot. Yesterday, I revisited the nursery and found the same orchid, repotted in actual soil. I got a great deal because I suspected root rot, and I brought it home last night. I took the orchid out of the soil, rinsed off all of the roots, cut the dead ones, and put some hydrogen peroxide on the bottom of the crown, where most of the roots had rotten off. There were only a few good roots remaining. I let them dry out overnight, and put the orchid in a bark/charcoal mix. Should I sacrifice the flowers that are still open? This is the biggest phal I have ever seen in real life! I hope it bounces back.
The two smaller phals in the second picture are new too...I got them from the same nursery. Only $5 because they are dropping blooms!
Personally, I'd sacrifice that flower spike for the sake of saving the plant.
Get yourself a good stimulant like KelpMax or a fresh bottle of KLN, and it'll rebound in no time.
Be cautious with peroxide. Try not to get it on new growth like root tip's or newly emerging leaves and flower spikes. It can burn these areas.
Ray, I was thinking about that...should I cut it above the second node, or lower? I'd like to put the flowers in a vase...they're pretty.
This was with 3%. I sprayed it onto the leaves of several phals that had new leaves coming in. It pooled up at the freshest areas. Couldn't see it a problem until the leaf grew out a bit more then there was a scar. Those areas were still alive but rough and reddish in colour. That didn't go away. I've talked to a few others who had the same problem
I would suggest then that the young leaf already had damage or was infected. From what I understand of how it works, hydrogen peroxide is broken down into water and oxygen when it comes into contact with an enzyme called catalase which is present inside cells including bacteria and fungus and is in blood fluid. If you hear fizzing that is the catalase causing the reaction and oxygen being released. If cells are damaged then catalase will be present. Peroxide will damage bacterial and fungal cell walls which is what kills them. Hydrogen peroxide is inert otherwise. If you get it on your skin you will not see any reaction unless there is a tiny cut and blood is present, then you will feel a sting and possibly see bubbles.
If you see a scar on a leaf later on after applying peroxide then you may have stopped an infection that was present at the time.
I would cut it at the base of the plant, you want all the energy in the plant to go to the roots not a spike.
After speaking with other people (some with 40 years of orchid growing knowledge) when I had this problem, many said that they had experienced the same thing. When you put it on a wound it can sting a bit. IMHO peroxide should be used with caution on very new growth.
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I think he means at the base of the spike
My own personal experiences with phallies ( hybrid ones like this,) is that it is just not worth while . They are so cheap and easily available - why have a recovering plant doing nothing useful for too long ? I throw them away - if they are in poor condition ; once gone, I soon forget them.
Now a species, available only with difficulty, expensive - that might be different . But even then I usually end up throwing away. they can take so long to recover, and sometimes never do - correction - frequently never do. Of course if I lived in say Brazil or Thailand or whatever, it might be different , but in a temperate country, orchids need a heated space, ( my greenhouse for example) and its always overcrowded. Why occupy it with plants not too good ?