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

[Kayt]

As I was taking pictures of my new Phalaenopsis for an earlier post/question, I noticed that the potting mix has a white, translucent layer of fuzzy mold! I purchased this plant yesterday and didn't notice this until just now. What should I do? Do I let that top layer dry out? Would that kill it off? Do I need to re-pot right away? Do I need to treat my phal in any other way to make sure the mold doesn't spread to the plant? Esh!

[quiltergal]

Is it planted completely in sphag moss or is there just a layer of moss on top of bark? If it's all moss I'd recommend repotting. If it's just a top dressing pull it off and see what the medium looks like underneath. If it's still moldy I'd repot.

[cb977]

I repot everything the minute I get it home because you never know what's lurking beneath what you see on top.

I'd remove all the old stuff, give the entire plant a good spray of Listerine and then rinse, and repot into fresh medium.

[Sandy4453]

Originally Posted by cb977

give the entire plant a good spray of Listerine

Listerine as a cleansing agent, Susanne? Sorry, I'm just now getting reacquainted here and I'm not aware if this is common practice. I haven't heard about this.

Always learning something new...a good thing!

[RosieC]

I only heard of using Listerine when I came to the Orchid board as well. Cinnomon is also good apparently and I use both now.

Make sure you clean the pot thoroughy as well as using fresh medium and the Listerine on the plant.

I have a Phal in intensive care just now and it started to mold. I made the mistake of clensing the plant but putting it back in the same bag (to raise humidity while it's sick) and the same pot. The mold was back again a couple of days later. I've now washed and cleaned everything very thoroughly and so far no mold

[Kayt]

Should I use a different type of potting mix this time? My two orchids came in sphag moss so that's all I know about. What do Phal's do best in?

[RosieC]

I've got my three in bark and tha't all I know about.

From what I've read others saying, Sphag stays damp longer and you have to be even more careful not to overwater. I think different people like different things and I think it also depends where you are (how dry a climet, how hot, cool or otherwise).

For me in the UK bark works well but I'm not an expert so can't really advise on what would be best.

[cb977]

Originally Posted by Sandy4453

Listerine as a cleansing agent, Susanne? Sorry, I'm just now getting reacquainted here and I'm not aware if this is common practice. I haven't heard about this.

Always learning something new...a good thing!

Hi Sandy

Listerine is an antiseptic and I use it all the time on the chids, especially when repotting. It takes care of anything that isn't quite "right" on a plant. When I'm repotting, I spray the entire plant, wait a minute or two and then rinse it all away. Once a chid is potted, if I see a spot or mark that shouldn't be there, I give it a direct spray and just leave it.

I read that you should only use the original brown formula (don't know why ) and I get the store-brands. Somebody else here on OB wasn't able to get that formula so they tried the citrus and diluted it...and it worked well. I've now done the same thing with the mint (when I run out of the regular stuff) and have not seen any adverse effects.

[Sandy4453]

Thanks much for this, Susanne. I just put the brown Listerine on my shopping list.

Originally Posted by cb977

Once a chid is potted, if I see a spot or mark that shouldn't be there, I give it a direct spray and just leave it.

What kind of spotting are you referring to, fungal?

[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.