My phalaenopsis potting mix is moldy! - should I re-pot?

[Sandy4453]

Originally Posted by cb977

It's kind of hard to explain, kind of like getting a recipe from Grandma, you know a pinch of this, a dash of that

Whenever I see something that looks like it shouldn't be on a plant, I hit it with the Listerine. It may not get rid of what's there but it certainly stops it's progression.

OK, gottcha! It's like chicken soup for orchids.

Thanks again.

[cb977]

Yes!!!

That was perfect, Sandy

[JennS]

Sometimes my orchids get a little white fuzz on the top of the mix or on the slits when they are really wet and I have to bring them in to shelter them from a bad hurricane or something. The first time I got really freaked out and repotted everything, steralized, treated with fungicide, etc. Then I got sick of that and just left them. It seemed like after they dried out it didn't come back. IF you have it on just a couple, I would repot just to be safe and do the listerine treatment especially on the roots. Then clean the pot too and repot. If you have like 60 orchids that look like that you might wait a little to see because repotting 60 is alot more work! Haha...

[Sandy4453]

Originally Posted by cb977

Whenever I see something that looks like it shouldn't be on a plant, I hit it with the Listerine. It may not get rid of what's there but it certainly stops it's progression.

Susanne, quickie question for you, please....Can I use it to spray on the back bulbs I cut off, followed by a little cinnamon? I just did a re-pot on my Miltassia that may need more cutting and I don't want to remove the plant from the pot, just cut and treat with whatever's recommended. Listerine? Alcohol? Doesn't matter?

[JackiBlu]

Hmmmph. Listerine? Who knew?

Now this is a new one by me.

I can't imagine the original vs any of the different flavors would make a difference, thats only a scent/extract of some kind. But the 'grandma's' of the days gone by maybe only new the original version (which is what my grandmother used faithfully on herself) and I have always stuck with the Listerine product as well. Its mostly alcohol and menthol I think.

Ahhh.. here is the
ACTIVE ingrediants:
Thymol 0.064%
Eucalyptol 0.092%
Methyl Salicylate 0.060%
Menthol 0.042%

INACTIVE ingrediants:
water
Alcohol 21.6%
Sorbitol Solution
Flavoring
Poloxamer 407
Benzoic Acid
Sodium Saccharin
Sodium Benzoate and
FD&C Green#3 (for the Cool Mint color)

Just a guess, but I would imagine its the Alcohol and menthol that are the helpful ingrediants. Maybe the bensoic Acid too?