Deflasking advice

[xFl]

Originally Posted by Gardening in WM

1/2 tsp in 5 gallons of water should be fine.

I have seen growers use 100 x more bleach with no ill effects but I am also weary of using bleach on my plants.

The roots are looking very healthy. The leaves have got some white mold on them but mold is not detrimental to orchids. Just wipe it off with some toilet paper.

If you know how to grow phals you should be fine, these are the healthiest looking flasklings I have seen, certainly healthier than what I have had to work with before.

Keep them covered to maintain high humidity. Air them out daily if you can. Once you see the roots growing a bit they will be getting used to the new environment. They really are in good condition and I doubt the bleach did much harm. Just never let them dry out and keep them airy, don't pack the moss, keep it loose. They will grow slow to start with. As long as you don't see any wrinkling, yellowing or decline you are doing well even if they will be slow going.

Thanks so much! So far none are deteriorating, but it has only been a few days Everyone seems..the same, which I will take as a good sign.

---------- Post added at 04:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:10 PM ----------

Originally Posted by MateoinLosAngeles

This sounds as outlandish as advising to dunk a baby in bleach after birth.

The only reason I can think of for this myth to have spawned is the assumption that bleaching the plant might offer any protection against aggressive pathogens – protection that would dissipate after the bleach dries and kill any beneficial bacteria. Maybe at some point, commercial growers tried this out to prevent viral transmission between plants. But, who knows, it showcases people's lack of general understanding of microbes.

There's something to be said about using a good probiotic. Going back to the baby analogy, evidence suggests that children exposed to germs grow more robust immune systems. In fact, some studies point to children who grow up on farms or have pets being less likely to experience immune-related illnesses. The hygiene hypothesis: How being too clean might be making us sick - Vox

Not only that, but if you were born before 1990 in a foreign country (and your parents weren't knuckleheads), you might've received the BCG vaccine a few weeks after being born. Some studies suggest the vaccine boosts innate immune mechanisms (trained immunity) for an undefined period of time – in addition to accomplish its intended protection against TB.

Bacterial and fungal inoculation wouldn't necessarily apply to the concept of trained immunity, since inoculation aims to foster a symbiotic relationship and not to train the plant's immune system. However, if the colony is maintained and the symbiosis successful, who's to say that couldn't potentially help the long-term health of these seedlings.

I currently alternate between Quantum Total (Ray, above, sells it) and Inocucor Garden Solution. Inocucor is hard to find nowadays, but a product called BioAG from SCD Probiotics seems to have a very similar composition. A product that I haven't tried yet but that retails at a not-terrible price and seems to include a good amount of mycorrhizae is Plant Probiotics from Micra Culture. (This is all assuming labels tell you anything, which they mostly don't).

All of the above include Bacillus subtilis which antagonizes and can kill several strains of Erwinia. Quantum and the Micra Culture products also contain Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, which is sold and used as a "bio" fungicide to fight several pathogens. Many of the additional strains are nitogen fixing bacteria that help the plant process nutrients in exchange for carbon. I'm sure your newly deflasked orchids would be in good company with either of the above.

I'm not deflasking orchids, but every plant I propagate is sprayed with a solution containing Quantum and Kelpak and I can't complain.

This makes a lot of sense, I think going in next time, I'll skip the disinfectant. I'll look into buying the probiotics for sure, even just to have for my mature plants - thank you for the recommendation!