Pholodendron rot problem

From: "Chris Greene" <CGREENE at mail.indyzoo.com> on 1997.11.13 at 23:08:01(1612) HELP! My name is Chris Greene with the Indianapolis Zoo Hort. Dept. specializing in tropical plants. Recently,in our Amazonian exhibit I discovered our largest wild collected Philodendron broken off at the tip.On examining it further,I discovered a case of stem rot. I cut the stem back to healthy tissue(whew,what a rotten smell!) and left it on exhibit.I tried to save the tip but it rotted off. 2-3 weeks later I decided to remove it from exhibit because it was still rotting down the length of the stem.Now, 2 months later,it's been in our gh and its still rotting on the inside of the stem. (the stem is 4" in diameter and about 2' long) Today I discovered a new bud right above the rotting stem but when removing the rotting stem I lost the bud. I have to cut back the stem about 2-6'' every 2-3 weeks to prevent it from spreading down the stem. I've tried drenching w/Phyton & Benlate,I've even tried dipping the tip cutting in sulfur, but no luck. I am desparate to save this plant as it's one of our nicest,wild collected plants from Peru.After cutting back the stem to healthy tissue the stem dries but still rots.The stem turns to mush and smells horribly.Is there hope or is this a dumpster plant? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks,Chris Greene (cgreene@mail.indyzoo.com)

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