Thinning Dots on petals

[orchidlauren]

Theres green dots on my orchids oetals that are thin and translucent, whats causing these? help asap! I don’t beleive anythings causing damage, handled with care!

---------- Post added at 05:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:12 PM ----------

not sure how to post an image

[Roberta]

See your other post, with instructions on posting photos. Thinning on the petals, sounds like thrip damage. Little, teensy black bugs. A spraying with rubbing alcohol (put a sprayer in the alcohol bottle is the easiest way) Soapy water in a sprayer will also slow them down. If the spots are black or green, could also be a fungal or bacterial issue (like botrytis) Have the plants perhaps received a chill? water splashing from another plant could also spread bacterial/fungal infections.

[orchidlauren]

I haven’t seen any small bugs except for in the media, they only stay there, I’ve never seen them climb anywhere above the roots but I can assure you they’re more beneficial than harmful, Most likely a fungus im guessing? It also causes these green dots to create a bump on the backside of my flowers

[Roberta]

That does look more like a bacterial/fungal/algae issue. Not sure about the bump. That alcohol spritz might help in general. If there was a lot of algae or similar stuff in the medium, water splashing onto the petals might have spread it. All the more reason for a repot, clean up the environment.

[orchidlauren]

Yup! Thank you, theres algae growing in the media, will be repotting this week! Is there any alcohol percentage recommended? I have 91% and 70%, just wondering so I don’t go overboard

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by orchidlauren

Yup! Thank you, theres algae growing in the media, will be repotting this week! Is there any alcohol percentage recommended? I have 91% and 70%, just wondering so I don’t go overboard

70% is fine. 90% is too strong and may damage blooms. So the cheapest, easiest is what you want.

(By the way, some people swear by peroxide... I never use it myself.. it might kill algae in media, or might not, if you must use it, keep away from roots because it can damage the tiny hairs)

[orchidlauren]

Thank you so much! I’ll be replacing all of the media just to make sure this doesn’t repeat with the spagnum, are there any brands you recommend aswell?

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by orchidlauren

Thank you so much! I’ll be replacing all of the media just to make sure this doesn’t repeat with the spagnum, are there any brands you recommend aswell?

Availability is the issue... Do you have a nursery that has New Zealand sphagnum (or for that matter, orchid bark)? (I have found New Zealand sphagnum to be cleaner, with longer fibers, than Chillean) If not, sphagnum is easy to get online, and cheap to ship because it doesn't weigh much when it is dry. (Be sure that you get it nice and wet before using it... and when choosing a container to hydrate it, note that it expands hugely. (Hydrate the whole package, so that you don't break fibers when you use it) If you need an online supplier, I have used Flori-Culture: Orchid & Specialty Growing Supply - they do carry New Zealand sphagnum. I have found them to be reliable and helpful.

[Veksa]

Hope you will pot it in a diferent plastic pot, the one in the picture has only one hole at the bottom, not enough for good air circulation. Growers put orchids in them, but it is not a good pot for long term.

[orchidlauren]

Thank you for the recommendation, I’ll get into those soon, And I definetly will get new plastic pots for both my orchids.