Algae growing on my Elizabeth Ann Buckleberry roots?

[Cymbaline]

I noticed some odd growth on my Elizabeth Ann Buckleberry's roots and I'm wondering if anyone knows what it could be and whether it's a bad thing?

Could it be algae?

I ask because back when I first bought it, it showed some black fungus and I took extreme measures to get rid of it . Described HERE ).

To rehabilitate the poor thing I was soaking it daily in fresh water and every few days in very diluted solutions of KelpMax and fertilizer. It's living in a makeshift green house of sorts and it was ( still is ) always moist.

It's still living in my makeshift greenhouse and I mist it almost daily but only soak it about 1x a week but it still stays pretty moist in the enclosure I have.



So I'm just wondering if anyone knows what it maybe and whether it's harmful? I'm sure if it's a type of algae it maybe because it's very moist and humid and maybe I can start to cut back on the humidity since it seems to be doing okay.

[SouthPark]

I reckon they're just regular non-orchid plants that germinated from seed/spores that happened to be in your media, or somehow got into the media. You can always keep them there for a while, unless you later notice that they compete too much with the orchid.

It's not algae.

Or - if you're looking at the white hairs on the roots ----- then those white hairs are just part of the root. That's part of the orchid roots.

[neophyte]

it's foreign plant growth encouraged by high humidity and the magical plant-boosting powers of kelpmax. you may want to eradicate them before they become established (or else if they end up being fast-growing weeds, you may need to re-pot the orchid, which has already undergone considerable stress).

as for the hairs, they're probably just root hairs that the plant has produced to maximize absorption of the nutrients from the fertilizer (+ water).

if you choose to decrease humidity, you will need to water more because the bark is pretty chunky and will dry quickly.

[Subrosa]

Liverwort. It likes moist, decaying medium. Not harmful itself, but it does indicate the medium is breaking down.

[Cymbaline]

Thank you everyone. Any suggestions for getting rid of it ? My first thought was maybe scrape it off. Or maybe just remove the plants from the homemade greenhouse.

[Subrosa]

Originally Posted by Cymbaline

Thank you everyone. Any suggestions for getting rid of it ? My first thought was maybe scrape it off. Or maybe just remove the plants from the homemade greenhouse.

Do both. Remove what's there of course, and reducing the humidity will help suppress its growth. Replacing the medium would help greatly as well.

[Cymbaline]

Originally Posted by Subrosa

Do both. Remove what's there of course, and reducing the humidity will help suppress its growth. Replacing the medium would help greatly as well.

Okay Thank you. Dang that medium isn't that old really. Oh well I wanted to repot these guys anyways into something that they can sprawl out on.

[neophyte]

I doubt the medium has broken down so fast, but since liverwort reproduces via spores, it may be a good idea to replace the medium. As Subrosa said, it only really thrives in high humidity (it's a very primitive plant and doesn't have vascular tissue) so lowering the humidity will definitely help.

(edited to fix typo)

[Cymbaline]

Originally Posted by neophyte

I'm doubt the medium has broken down so fast, but since liverwort reproduces via spores, it may be a good idea to replace the medium. As Subrosa said, it only really thrives in high humidity (it's a very primitive plant and doesn't have vascular tissue) so lowering the humidity will definitely help.

Thank you!

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Cymbaline

My first thought was maybe scrape it off. Or maybe just remove the plants from the homemade greenhouse.

The white hairs are part of the roots, so make sure to not remove those hairs.

As for the little green plantlets with the roundish leaves - just use your fingers to carefully pick them off.