# What are the chances??



## Stone (Apr 17, 2013)

Its a venustum alba. The rot got into the base of the plant before I noticed. All the roots are gone and so is half of the plant base. I had to cut and cut until I found green tissue. Not much left! the leaves are barely hanging on to one side. Soaked in banrot and planted into sphag. It is effectivly a cutting!


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## gonewild (Apr 17, 2013)

Better keep 100% humidity.
Apply root hormone.

But since it had rot to start not much hope.


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## John Boy (Apr 17, 2013)

There's nothing left the plant could grow roots, or growth from. It's for the compost I'm sad to say.


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## NYEric (Apr 17, 2013)

In my sad experience i dont think it will survive but good luck.


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## Ozpaph (Apr 18, 2013)

i would dunk in rooting powder as well - nothing left to lose.


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## Trithor (Apr 19, 2013)

Ozpaph said:


> i would dunk in rooting powder as well - nothing left to lose.



Has anyone ever had success with rooting compound on paphs in a circumstance such as this? I understand that there is nothing to lose, just asking


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## Ozpaph (Apr 19, 2013)

never tried it but like you said; cant hurt this plant.


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## gonewild (Apr 19, 2013)

If there is a part of the stem/rhizome left there is a slight chance. But it looks like it is cut past the stem.

Since it has no root tissue the only way to have a chance to form a root is to keep the leaves alive. The only way to do this is in a near 100% humid environment.

Rooting hormones will speed up root formation but in this case probably not fast enough.

To answer your question I have tried auxins a few times on Paphs but zero success. The plant always dies from infection before roots are formed.


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## Stone (Apr 20, 2013)

Most of the stem was cut away. There is only a bit left on one side. I had a look at it today. there is a slight swelling on the cut side! Its on bottom heat but I used no rooting hormone.....yet.


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## Stone (Jun 2, 2013)

*Update*

Success.......so far..I wouldn't have believed it but 2 new shoots! No roots yet so the plant has been ''consuming'' itself to survive. One leaf left but I think/hope it will make it.


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## SlipperFan (Jun 2, 2013)

Great -- hope springs eternal!


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## SlipperKing (Jun 2, 2013)

The last ditch effort to survive! All it needs is time.... You have a better chance then what you started out with.


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## Trithor (Jun 3, 2013)

That is amazing! Did you use rooting compound, or just potted in sphagnum?


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## NYEric (Jun 3, 2013)

I'm shocked! We need more info.


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## The Mutant (Jun 3, 2013)

I'm impressed... Maybe I should put my barbatum var. nigritum in sphagnum too? It has started on a new fan, but no roots so far (it's also consuming the older fan in its efforts to survive).


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## Stone (Jun 3, 2013)

I was kind of shocked as well. I don't think its out of the woods yet. If it looses its last older leaf, I doubt it will have enough reserves to continue growing. Its no longer in sphag, just topped with it and held down with wire. Its now in the hot box with 20C min and 100% humidity, lights and a fan 24/7.
I don't know what else I can do but wait


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## mrhappyrotter (Jun 3, 2013)

Well, good luck. It shows that these plants have a will to live.

Maybe I should have put more time into a plant I chucked this weekend. Sadly, I hadn't paid it much attention lately, but I noticed this weekend that the bottom leaves had brown rot at the base. When I pulled them off, I noticed that the next two leaves also had brown rot, so I pulled them off, leaving only the top-most leaf. Then, if that wasn't bad enough, I unpotted the thing and realized that all but one of the roots were rotted. As much as I adored the plant, I didn't think that was enough material to make a recovery any time this decade (without lots of TLC and coddling) so I decided it had to go.


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## Rick (Jun 3, 2013)

Back on the old slipper forum we talked about the "sphag and bag" system for putting roots on rootless plants now and then. Maybe once or twice since starting up ST.

My first belatulum went rootless several times and was brought back by this technique. There's been lots of others over the years, and probably resulted in about 50% starting new roots. 

Feeding high K in the first place probably caused most of the root rot to start with. Since low K (I know only 2 years into it) my root issues have dropped considerably, and the ones with poor or no roots have come back better than ever. Better than the old 50/50 odds of the old days.

Keeping humidity high and either adding a dash of rooting hormone or kelp I think is the way to go. No "inorganic" feed for the time being until reestablished.

As you've noted it's feeding itself from old growth for the time being.


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## dodidoki (Jun 16, 2013)

Mike, if I would be honest, I would throw out it with garbage...I could not see any part of rhizome so I thought that there is no any chanche for saving plants....


New growths mean new rhizomes so plant has good chanche to survive now. But I would say: we can see a miracle or we can see a genious grower!!!! ( with good luck) Congrats 1000 X !:clap:


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