Question about Sphag and Bag... - Orchid Board

Kristen616 · #1 05-04-2008, 03:35 PM

I noticed that one of my Phals wasn't looking so hot about a month ago, and when I pulled it out of it's pot I noticed a lot of mushy roots, and the rest were kind of yellowey green. So I am trying the sphag and bag method. I follwed the directions from this site: Sphag-n-Bag to a T. It's been the the bag for about 4 days now, and I just noticed it's growing a fuzzy-looking mold around some of the old flower stalks that I cut down, and around the base of the plant. Is this normal? Should I be doing something to prevent this or am i doing something wrong? Thanks!

Ross · #2 05-04-2008, 03:37 PM

Open the bag and let it dry out a bit. It's too wet. The purpose of the bag is to slow down dehydration, not to keep it funky wet. Also a spray of Physan 20 will knock out the fuzzy white mold.

Kristen616 · #3 05-04-2008, 03:54 PM

Thank you!

Annika · #4 05-04-2008, 10:08 PM

Is there an alternative to Physan? I don't have any and am having the same mold issue with my Sphag 'n Bag, even though I keep the bag open slightly for air movement.
Thanks, Kristen, for allowing me to barge in on your thread!

Ray · #5 05-05-2008, 07:15 AM

Ordinary household chlorine bleach (diluted 1 ounce per gallon or 8 ml/L) is a good substitute.

Kristin - I apologize for those instructions. I forgot to mention rinsing the plant thoroughly after the soak, even though that's what I do, as the sugar left on the plant surface is bound to grow stuff, especially if the plant was already contaminated.

Not too surprisingly, I'm going to disagree with Ross....

Such mold or fungal growth in the sealed bag is not because it is too wet or because of a lack of air movement, it's because folks put contaminated material into a chamber ideal for it's continued growth. Opening the bag definitely reduces the likelihood of the mold or fungus growing, but it also increases the rate of desiccation - which is precisely what you're trying to avoid!

I think you're better off with a disinfectant dip, then seal the bag.

Kristen616 · #6 05-05-2008, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray

Ordinary household chlorine bleach (diluted 1 ounce per gallon or 8 ml/L) is a good substitute.

Kristin - I apologize for those instructions. I forgot to mention rinsing the plant thoroughly after the soak, even though that's what I do, as the sugar left on the plant surface is bound to grow stuff, especially if the plant was already contaminated.

Not too surprisingly, I'm going to disagree with Ross....

Such mold or fungal growth in the sealed bag is not because it is too wet or because of a lack of air movement, it's because folks put contaminated material into a chamber ideal for it's continued growth. Opening the bag definitely reduces the likelihood of the mold or fungus growing, but it also increases the rate of desiccation - which is precisely what you're trying to avoid!

I think you're better off with a disinfectant dip, then seal the bag.

Ohhhh ok thank you. Yeah, I did not rinse the plant between the soak and putting it in the bag. I will do that now and then put it back in the bag. Thanks again!!! This phal better make it after all of this!!!

Lavendula · #7 10-04-2008, 06:51 PM

aah this thread was very helpful - thanks!

RosieC · #8 10-05-2008, 11:31 AM

I had a similar problem with mold and even after a thorough wash and clean of everything (including listerine on the plant) it came back.

I agree there must be mold spores somewhere for them to grow, but getting rid of them can be really tricky.

In the end I went for a more open setup. I already had the plant resting over a pot with water at the bottom (out of reach of the short stubs of roots). I made the bag into a tent over the setup rather than closed up at the bottom, and I take it off once a day and let the setup air for about half an hour. I've avoided mold this way and the plant is still alive after a month, although new root grown is minimal.

nutgirl · #9 10-05-2008, 11:55 AM

Rosie, I too was having trouble with a particular phal in sphagnbag (although it's worked great for me before). It has several small stubs for roots and was showing signs of a new leaf. I decided to give it more air by suspending it in a small glass jar with water in the bottom and covering the whole thing with a plastic bag as a mini greenhouse. I fill the jar with water each day and give it a good soak then drain off almost all the water. It sulked for a while but I now have green tips on the root stubs and the leaves are much firmer. I've even forgotten to drain it and soaked it for several hours with no ill effects, if anything it did better after I did that but I wouldn't recommend it on a regular basis.

RosieC · #10 10-05-2008, 01:22 PM

That's sounds very like what I am doing now and it's keeping it alive and the new leaf keeps growing, but not many roots (although one has a green tip and is growing very very slowly).

I've just noticed in the Sphag-n-bag link above the step with the sugar and rooting hormone. I had missed that step when I read it before so I'm going to give that a go and see if it helps. Problem is all the rooting compound I can find in the UK is a powder not a liquid but I'm going to try dipping the base of the phal into that anyway and see how it goes.