# Phrag. Schlimii low temp.



## OR.O (Dec 18, 2015)

Hi guys, I need of your help.
This little Schlimii has arrived just now after a shipping from Germany, the leaves presents some damage for the low temperature... 
what I should do?


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## Hien (Dec 18, 2015)

Since the damages are on all the leaves, I don't think you can do surgery.
If it is cold damage, I think the cells will collapse at those locations and dry up, they will not spread.
I would leave the plant alone.


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## consettbay2003 (Dec 18, 2015)

Personally I would ask for a replacement. Everything about the plant is questionable. From the positioning of the plant and the condition of the mix I think you should check to see if there are any live roots.


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## Paphluvr (Dec 18, 2015)

consettbay2003 said:


> Personally I would ask for a replacement. Everything about the plant is questionable. From the positioning of the plant and the condition of the mix I think you should check to see if there are any live roots.



Agree!


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## NYEric (Dec 18, 2015)

I would not stress the plant. try to keep it warm. It will need all the leaves to get energy. I would also contact the vendor about a replacement.


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## John M (Dec 18, 2015)

I would remove the entire lower leaf with the large amount of browning/damage. Then, I would place the plant in a location where it gets brisk air movement to help ensure that the damaged areas of the foliage do dry up and never cause any problems. If there is dead tissue and poor air movement, especially with high humidity, the dead areas could be used by pathogens to gain entry to the surrounding healthy tissue. So, you want to make sure that the dead tissue/browned tissue areas dry and their margins heal. Some of the other markings look like Oedema, not freezing. It looks like it was possibly packed with very wet potting medium. That combined with cold temperatures could cause cells to "leak". My above recommended care is what's needed to resolve that issue too. In fact, some of those (wet-looking), spots may disappear and the area return to looking normal.

The potting medium does not look bad to me and I can see live roots at the surface; so, there is probably live roots below. I see no reason why this plant wouldn't recover from it's difficult trip. You will end up with some leaves marked and a bit unsightly; but, the next growths will come up clean. Really, other than aesthetic damage, this plant still looks healthy and strong. Just make sure that you get those brown, damaged areas to dry up....or you could simply cut those browned parts off, creating a nice, clean cut into healthy green tissue which will callus over and heal quite quickly. 

The main thing is to keep it in a slight breeze right now to help those leaves stay dry and recover without developing secondary issues like rot in the live, green tissue that is surrounding the areas of dead tissue.

And yes, I agree with the advice to contact the vendor. It depends on your arrangement with him and what he promised to you with regard to the plant arriving undamaged. If you were led to believe that the plant would be shipped only when the weather was warm enough, or if the vendor said he'd use a heat pack and then he didnd't, or if the plant was poorly packed with little or no insulation, then you do have a legitimate complaint and reason to hold the vendor accountable for the damage. In that case, he should either refund some or all of your money or send you a new, undamaged plant.

However, also keep in mind that if the vendor was reluctant to ship to you right now, due to the cold; but, you insisted it would be fine and you wanted your plant now....then, the fault for the cold damage really is yours and you don't have a legitimate right to expect the vendor to suffer any loss by refunding your money or replacing the plant.

However, regardless of fault, the plant looks like it should recover fully with the correct care. My only caution is that if the photos were taken immediately after unpacking, there may be more damage than can be seen in the photos and it will be evident in a day or so. If the plant had been out of the box for a day or two and then you took the photos, then I'd say it's pretty safe to assume that's all the damage you're going to see....and that much damage can be managed and the plant should recover fully.


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## consettbay2003 (Dec 18, 2015)

I live in the UK and temperature in the EU have been very mild so I'm not convinced that the damage is cold related.


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## OR.O (Dec 18, 2015)

John M said:


> I would remove the entire lower leaf with the large amount of browning/damage. Then, I would place the plant in a location where it gets brisk air movement to help ensure that the damaged areas of the foliage do dry up and never cause any problems. If there is dead tissue and poor air movement, especially with high humidity, the dead areas could be used by pathogens to gain entry to the surrounding healthy tissue. So, you want to make sure that the dead tissue/browned tissue areas dry and their margins heal. Some of the other markings look like Oedema, not freezing. It looks like it was possibly packed with very wet potting medium. That combined with cold temperatures could cause cells to "leak". My above recommended care is what's needed to resolve that issue too. In fact, some of those (wet-looking), spots may disappear and the area return to looking normal.
> 
> The potting medium does not look bad to me and I can see live roots at the surface; so, there is probably live roots below. I see no reason why this plant wouldn't recover from it's difficult trip. You will end up with some leaves marked and a bit unsightly; but, the next growths will come up clean. Really, other than aesthetic damage, this plant still looks healthy and strong. Just make sure that you get those brown, damaged areas to dry up....or you could simply cut those browned parts off, creating a nice, clean cut into healthy green tissue which will callus over and heal quite quickly.
> 
> ...



thank you for you time and this exhaustive answer, the pics are taken exactly when it is arrived, now I've put the phragmi in the ''most'' ventilated zone, probably the photos were made too soon and I just have to wait before decide to do any treatment


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## John M (Dec 18, 2015)

Yes. It may change over the next 24 to 72 hours, depending on how extensive the damage. Hopefully, it did not actually freeze; but, just got close. It's even possible that the damage was caused by heat. If during it's travels, the box was in a location that experienced high heat, the initial damage would look pretty much the same. Sometimes vendors use heat packs; but, if they have poorly trained staff helping with the packing, plants can be burned if the heat pack is placed too close to the foliage. I had this happen once with some Paph lowii that came from Sam of Orchid Inn. The heat pack was placed right next to the bundle of plants and the closest plant was slowly roasted! That was very annoying because the temperatures were not cold enough for a heat pack to be needed at all.

The next few days will reveal the truth. Hopefully, none of the remaining green tissue turns off-colour and dies. Good luck.


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