Mold on my Doritaenopsis Black Jack skewer

[Narnia]

I got this Doritaenopsis about two weeks ago. It came planted in sphagnum moss which I have no experience with, so I stuck a skewer in it to try and gauge when I goes dry. . . .it hasn't.

Instead, the skewer now has some greenish/bluish/whitish mold growing on it whenever I pull it out. I wiped it off before I thought to take pictures and I'm not going to put it back in. The plant is still in bloom and has more buds opening. Otherwise, I would just re-pot it. Should I re-pot it anyways and just hope for the best on the blooms or should I wait? I don't want mold growing on the roots. . .



On a happier note, my new Encyclia alata got it's first bloom a couple days ago and today it got it's first scent. It's lovely!

[PitcherASAMD]

Originally Posted by Narnia

I got this Doritaenopsis about two weeks ago. It came planted in sphagnum moss which I have no experience with, so I stuck a skewer in it to try and gauge when I goes dry. . . .it hasn't.

Instead, the skewer now has some greenish/bluish/whitish mold growing on it whenever I pull it out. I wiped it off before I thought to take pictures and I'm not going to put it back in. The plant is still in bloom and has more buds opening. Otherwise, I would just re-pot it. Should I re-pot it anyways and just hope for the best on the blooms or should I wait? I don't want mold growing on the roots. . .



On a happier note, my new Encyclia alata got it's first bloom a couple days ago and today it got it's first scent. It's lovely!

I've had the same stuff growing on my skewers and it hasn't hurt them yet. It might be naturally occurring? I'm gonna do a preventative spray of the physan 20 this week and I'll let you know if that helps! Hopefully someone more experienced will chime in with their

Katie

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

The moss looks like it's starting to go bad. I'd change that out. I also suspect that to be the source of your mold.

I usually don't recommend growing Phals potted in moss.

If it's not experiencing problems now because of that moss, you may start seeing it later if it's not changed out soon.

For some reason, orchids seem to have this delayed reaction to certain stimuli. I'd like to use this analogy...

It is known in child developmental studies that human babies have a slower perception of time compared to adults.

With that said, orchids are a completely different species. I wouldn't expect it to experience time the same way we do.

[Narnia]

Ok, so I should definitely re-pot now?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

On another note...

The only kind of mold that should be growing on an orchid and not pose a threat are their known mycorrhizal fungal symbionts. These symbionts are usually Rhizoctonia spp. According to what I've read so far, I believe (although I could be mistaken), the main mycorrhizal fungi that creates this symbiotic relationship with Phalaenopsis is Rhizoctonia mucoroides.

At this point I'm just geeking out. Take whatever you like from this info.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Narnia

Ok, so I should definitely re-pot now?

Yes.

[Narnia]

Done, and I'm glad I did because there was a spot that had mold growth and the roots were totally not getting any air with all that soggy moss around them. However, the rest of the roots looked pretty good - nice, thick, and green. Now I just cross my fingers and hope all my buds don't fall off

[lostonthebeach]

delete