Problem with phal. Base of leaf black

[Jane]

This phal just finished blooming today. When I bought it, it was crammed into a very small pot. There was almost no growing medium, but it had gorgeous blooms and was doing very well, so I decided to leave it alone until it finished blooming.

I noticed today that the base of the leaves is turning black. What should I do? I haven't repotted it yet.

Photo is here:

thanks.

[jankey]

if that black area is soft, you've got some sort of crown or bacterial rot.

1) isolate plant asap

2) pull it out of the pot, clean off all the old medium, treat the black area with hydrogen peroxide or one of the physans (or even remove the leaf and cut away as much of the black as you can reach) and then dust with cinnamon

3) repot and keep pouring H2O2 or physan on it about once a week.

see also:

under 'fungicides' and 'crown rot'

and

if however the black area is hard and dry, i'd just rinse it down with H2O2 when you repot and keep an eye on it.

--j_a