The Crown?

[iandaniel]

I have a question what is the "crown"? with re: to the orchid.

I am assuming it is the base of the leaves where the roots would begin? is this correct?

also is it ok for there to be a black stuff around this area? if not please tell me what it is and what I need to do to fix it.

This is happening on my phals.

[patlee]

You're really close, but go the other way. I think of the crown not as where the roots grow, but where the leaves grow (upward). And if I saw some black gunk (how do you like my technical terminology) around that area I would douse it with hydrogen peroxide(directly into the growing point of the leaves) and dust with cinnamon. All this should be done before noon to give the plant plenty of time to dry before dark

[brookn]

I agree with Patlee, sort of. (Sorry!) As long as you have a fan, and the crown gets completely dry, I would not worry about time of day. Most of the time, I only have time in the late evening to do orchid things, so that is when I do it. I just make sure the room is warm and I crank on a fan to make sure everything dries.

[sandra]

I'll take it one step further and agree with the both of you....sort of .... If using hydrogen peroxide, it won't matter if it's early or late in the day or, if you've got fans blowing or not, I suspect, because unlike water, if it is bacterial or fungal, the h.p. won't act as a breeding ground for it to spread (like water would) but rather kill it, or stop it from spreading.

[patticake]

I think that you're speaking about the "base" of the plant. (in lay terms) The crown is the newest growth area-

[fred]

this may help you




this one is a pic of a Phal crown with a new leaf growing from it.

[iandaniel]

thank you that helps a lot

[PhalPal]

Perfect Fred! Always a man of few but useful words!

[pikevi]

fred: Is a picture worth a thousand words?.. hehehehhe

One could never be more clearer.!!!