What do you think is on this cattleya pseudobulb?

[Bethy]

Do you think it is rot on the pseudobulb? or something else? It does drain downward when watered.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board.

The photo isn't clear. Is the dark area soft?

What are your growing conditions?

[Bethy]

There is no smell. The dark spot is between the bud and the leaf attached to the pseudobulb. The bud is shriveled.

[estación seca]

It might just be that the bud died for some reason. Usually that happens with insufficient watering, temperatures too high or low, drafts or sudden change in temperature, or very low humidity.

[Bethy]

It could be bud blast. But, I think it's strange that the pseudobulb is also dying back. Is that common with bud blast?

[estación seca]

I can't see that photo well. Mealybugs and scale insects can cause that. Do I see a white cottony patch on the pseudobulb?

[Bethy]

Mealybugs have been a problem. Do you recommend anything better than rubbing alcohol?

[c123anderson]

Originally Posted by Bethy

Mealybugs have been a problem. Do you recommend anything better than rubbing alcohol?

There's quite a bit of posts on various mealybug treatments. I know 'cuz I was researching them about 5-6 weeks ago.

A bit of advice: just the google searches for "mealybug treatments" seemed to be repeats of the same thing. I found much better advice here, which others who had experience that could reply. Plus there's a variety of ways to treat that have been addressed on OB, from very aggressive to organic/non-insecticide.

For me, personally, I didn't find evidence of mealybugs on one plant; I found it on quite a few of my plants, so I felt it necessary to aggressively treat all my plants, having lost at least one young vanda falcata to mealybugs by that point. I chose to treat with imidacloprid (a systemic treatment) and cyfluthrin, ending with a growth regulator Enstar (to disrupt the life cycle and prevent future generations). These are tough treatments, though I would say that most of my plants are bouncing back; the phytotoxicity wasn't too bad. I am also treating my plants with KelpMax and other probiotics to help them heal up after treatment. I am carefully fertilizing them, realizing they're getting a lot of chemicals already.

I started treatment (starting with organics) late January -- about 6 weeks ago. I then treated with the chemicals I listed above. I have not seen evidence of mealybugs in the last couple of weeks, but I am now vigilant and do a careful inspection of my plants for signs of anything out of the ordinary.

[lobotomizedgoat]

Originally Posted by Bethy

Mealybugs have been a problem. Do you recommend anything better than rubbing alcohol?

I had them for a while on a couple plants and alcohol only ever controlled the numbers for me. What finally seemed to work was thoroughly drenching plants and media with imidacloprid treatments, once a week for 3 weeks (I used bioadvanced 3-in-1).

From what I hear imidacloprid products can be hard to find; most stores here carry a 3-in-1 formulation without it. Also, it is extremely toxic to honey bees so you will want to use it when none are around, and you definitely shouldn't apply it indoors. Our weather is mild so I got out my trusty headlamp and did it in the evening.

Lastly, for plants like paphs they love hiding between the leaves at their bases where it can be very difficult to apply topical treatments.

[Bethy]

Thank you for all your help and insights. I will look into those treatments.