Is this rot or?????

[orchidkiller]

I am new here and have been frantically searching for an answer anywhere and everywhere. I have, sorry had 4 orchids plant and one of them was just tossed because of rot in the pseudobulbs. It showed up on one then spread like wildfire throughout the plant but I separated it from the others and thought all was ok.
Now I am concerned about another that seems to have a problem, I think, along the same lines.
Can anyone tell me if this is rot or a virus or....?
The stem?cane is soft at the bottom but hard at the top. And the top of the cane?stem had yellow streaks along the ridges(see photo). And the leaves of this stem/cane have dropped off in the last week.
Do I cut it out? And if so will it destroy the plant as it is the largest and I thought the thriving part of the plant. I am afraid if I cut it out I might as well pitch the whole thing now cause I've gone and killed another one.
Help,whimper,sob.
Yvonne

[kid a]

is it mushy? If not I would leave it until someone else puts in their opinion. Some Dendrobium are deciduous (loose their leaves in fall/winter) so depending on what type of Dendrobium it is it could be a normal thing This might help as far as care AOS | Dendrobium usually can rot will be soft and mushy.

[stitches201]

Glad to see somebody else has the same yucky looking plants like mine. I went and repoted today. I personily think it is rot. Didn't look all that great when I took it out of the pot. I was surprised to see how wet it was. Hopefully you will get a answer to this problem. Will keep a eye on this.
stitches201

[Anton]

I have 3 like that, we are just coming out of winter into Spring.

As mentioned some species do lose their leaves, and when the time is right will start to sprout new growth and leaves as mine are starting to do.

Just keep the potting mix moist, but not wet, letting it almost dry out between waterings. I mist mine when they are in this hybernation phase to keep the roots moist, just enough that the roots on top of the mix turn greenish and no more.

I know they don't look too presentable, and at first I too was worried, but the 3 I mentioned have done this for the past 3 years, and in Spring come back to life.

Here is what they look like when they decide to do something with their lives.

I have both dormant and flowering stages, you be the judge.

[fred]

good advice Anton
also welcome to the forum orchidkiller
nice to have you here with us a great knowledgeable and caring lot of geeks

I am moving this thread into the Newbie Questions

[brookn]

You say the cane is soft at the bottom, and there is this brown discoloration that I can see in the pic. Now unless I am seeing it wrong, it looks and sounds like a bacterial infection. In a case like that, you will want to cut off the infected area into good 'clean' tissue. Treat the wound with some peroxide (I would douse the whole plant), and then dab some cinnamon onto the wound. If you don't treat it, it will spread to the entire plant, and kill it.

Here is another link to use:
Skewer use for watering of orchids

[orchidkiller]

Thanks all.
Anton-your plants look great. I hope I can revive mine.
Kid a-the bottom is soft not really mushy, but I can see something like a paste or thick fluid move when I put pressure on that part of the plant.
Brookn- peroxide & cinnamon won't complete the job I already started? And how do orchids get bacterial infections in the first place? Did I do something that caused it? I picked this one up at the locate garden center and it looked sort of pathetic but the flowers were so beautiful I could not resist.
Anyway-might my other plants "catch" the infection by being within a couple inches but not touching this one?
Thanks in advance-I really appreciate it.

[brookn]

Hi, I'm not sure what you are asking about the peroxide and cinnamon, but the peroxide should cleanse the wound. The cinnamon will act as an antiseptic/anti fungal barrier to more infection, and it will help the plant close the wound. The important thing is to get the cane cut as soon as possible as this can spread rapidly. It can survive on the canes that are left, they look just fine. Depending on where you got the plant, if it were treated badly before you got it, it's defenses were probably down allowing the infection to set in. There is even the possibility that the cane was bumped or damaged in some way. I am not sure about the other plants catching the infection from being near it, but I would water it separately from the others.

[orchidkiller]

Surgery is done and plant is separated. I guess it is just wait and see now.
Thanks so much for the help and the info about the peroxide & cinnamon(cool).
Yvonne