Epiweb and Beneficial Microbes?

[Tschimm]

Thanks for this thread Alex.

I recently potted two Dendrobium in epiweb cubes in clear plastic pots.
They dry out very quickly.
When I water them in the morning, they are dry in the evening (at least there is no more condensation to see at the inside of the clear pot)
I chose that medium because the plants are outside and I don't want them being too wet when it rains for a couple of days.

So I wonder why the roots of your plants rot if it's not wetness ...?

[AlexS]

Originally Posted by Tschimm

Thanks for this thread Alex.

I recently potted two Dendrobium in epiweb cubes in clear plastic pots.
They dry out very quickly.
When I water them in the morning, they are dry in the evening (at least there is no more condensation to see at the inside of the clear pot)
I chose that medium because the plants are outside and I don't want them being too wet when it rains for a couple of days.

So I wonder why the roots of your plants rot if it's not wetness ...?

I have this unfortunate tendency to pick up really battered, unhealthy looking orchids from garden centres out of pity. All of the Dendrobiums I'm growing in Epiweb are garden centre rescues so they probably had the rot when I got them. I've always been nervous about dividing plants in Epiweb for fear of damaging the roots, usually I just move them into a bigger pot, without disturbing the roots at all, but recently they've gotten too big for the location I have them in so I've had no choice but to divide which is how I discovered the rot in the first place. It certainly isn't very severe, and as you say I think it is very unlikely to have started in the Epiweb because it is so free draining, so probably just something I missed when I got them to begin with.

Kindest regards,
Alex

[Nexogen]

I have used and use; Root Excelurator, Voodoo Juice, Piranha, Tarantula and Great White. Of all the best for my plants is Root Excelurator and Great White none gave me problems.

[Optimist]

Originally Posted by AlexS

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that the stoners tend to get the best products?

I get a lot of my orchid and aquatic plant info from them. The experts on growing plants in a basement or under lights?

--stoners---

[Anastasia Beverhausen]

Hi Alex, just wondering which product you bought that had all of those strains in it, and if you found a difference or would recommend it? Please lmk your results, thank you in advance!

[Nexogen]

Ups! I forgot to mention; Root Excelurator, Voodoo Juice, Piranha, Tarantula and Great White
are beneficial microbes and fungi.
Root Excelurator - House and Garden
Voodoo Juice, Piranha, Tarantula - Advanced Nutrients
Great White Premium Mycorrhizae - Plant Success

[Ray]

Using multiple species of microorganisms is preferred, as each one excretes specific metabolites that have different effects on the local environment. However, part of the issue with the use of multiple formulas of microorganisms is that the various species may compete with each other, rendering some of them ineffective.

Commercial mycorrhizal products tend to be of little value to orchids, as the fungal-orchid associations are quite specific, and those species are not typically found in products for sale.

[AlexS]

Originally Posted by Anastasia Beverhausen

Hi Alex, just wondering which product you bought that had all of those strains in it, and if you found a difference or would recommend it? Please lmk your results, thank you in advance!

Hi, Anastasia
The product I chose is produced by a British firm, The Nutrient Company. I got the liquid inoculate, but they also do a powdered version https://www.thenutrientcompany.com/p...y/trichoderma/. I don't know if they ship outside of Europe though. The same species of Trichoderma , along with a number of bacterial strains, are also found in this product GrowBigger which is available in the US. The rot was only recently uncovered, and the TNC Tricorr arrived in this morning's post, so I haven't had a chance to use it yet. I will be happy to provide any information I can about it's benefits, assuming there are any, if people are interested. However, as mentioned, since I don't have any control plants it won't be a truly worthwhile experiment.

Kindest regards,
Alex

---------- Post added at 12:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:49 AM ----------

Coupe of questions for Ray and Nexogen, if you don't mind.

Ray, in an earlier post you mentioned that Inocucor contained fungi other than Trichoderma, are these species known to be beneficial for orchids? Is there anything in the results you see with Inocucor that you can attribute specifically to the fungi?

Nexogen you mentioned AN's Piranha and Great White Premium Mycorrhizae. I don't have any in depth knowledge of the subject, but have done some reading so I have a layman's grasp (fingers crossed) and I understood that Orchid Mycorrhizae formed their own group and showed a very high level of host specificity. Furthermore I believe that these same fungi can be highly pathogenic to other commercial crops, so I have always thought that commercial fungal inoculates, excepting Trichoderma, were of limited use with orchids. That being said I have read some posts on various forums from members who have been using mycorrhizal on terrestrials with some success. Are you using these products on terrestrials? I only grow epiphytes myself, and a few lithophytic species, and wondered if you had tried these same products with epiphytes and had had any obvious success with them.

Apologies for the barrage of text and endless questions.
Thank you in advance for any information you can provide.

Kindest regards,
Alex

[naoki]

Alex, you are in the right track about orchid mycorrhizae. Although it is not as well-studied as other mycorrhizae, as Ray said, most of the commercial products doesn't contain relevant fungi (as far as I looked around). I believe that there is (or was) a product in Japan (and/or Korea) which is targeted for orchids. I believe it was extracted from Cymbidium, and benefits were observed in some controlled experiment, but I can't remember the details.

[Nexogen]

Except Root Excelurator, which I guess is based on a microorganism producing auxin rest (Voodoo Juice, Piranha, Tarantula and Great White) I have not seen any increase or decrease intake in plants. Perhaps some microorganism has an invigorating contribution. Anyway (knock in the wood) I have not had any negative effect.
-----------
Honestly (of all the poop in hydroponics); I had great success (it is by far the best) with Liquid Karma from Botanicare.