Well I've killed my first Orchid!

[Undergrounder]

Sorry to hear that Rosie, and even more sorry to hear it put you off sphag for good..

When the crown dies but the root look OK, it was probably a bacterial/fungal infection, like a nasty pseudomonas or what i call 'pin-head' fungus. I grow more than a thousand Phals and just through sheer probabilities, i have it happen occasionally, completely randomly.

It doesn't look like you have any new root growth? Did you change the moss when you repotted it? Like bark it deteriorates after about a year or so, and the stuff you get already from nurseries is usually in a bad state. There's a world of difference between new, good quality long-strand moss and the old, shredded, decomoposing fungus factories that you often get from cheap NOIDs.

[RosieC]

Thanks everyone. I knew it would happen some time... the more I bought the more chance there was of killing one of them

Luckorchid, I think air flow would certainly help the moss to dry faster. I have sufficient in this room for the orchids in bark to have no problems, but it may not be enough for ones in moss especially with the high humidity we have.

Nic... dang, I was in M&S earlier and didn't look (christmas shopping). I've decided the Mini NoID's being sold in moss just now are not in a good way. I put one of them (bought before these three) straight in to bark and it's struggling too although more from dehydration than rot like the ones I left in moss (roots have not liked adapting to bark).

Undergrounder... there were actually more rotted roots then I thought when I looked more closely at the root mass although some are/were still OK. When I got it I removed about half the moss because it was so tightly packed. It seemed OK and not too decayed so I did not replace it (that and I don't have any moss).

It's not put me off Sphag completely, just never for Phals again. I have a small Masdi in a 2½" net pot in moss. Now that moss is very nice, very long strands of good looking stuff. Looks like it was high quality to start with. It still takes over a week to dry in such a small net pot which just shows how humid our enviroment is. The Masdi seems to keep growing and putting out new roots so I'm still going to leave that as it is.

[Ross]

Well, Rosie, I have to agree with Roy. It certainly is traumatic and often represents quite an investment, however it comes with the learning. I've finally taught myself to accept orchid loss as a part of learning. I certainly have killed my share, but I also have learned a bunch and I'm nearly so timid about trying something new or more expensive. Jump back in and try again - that's my best advice.

[RosieC]

Thanks Ross.

It's actually made me consider trying something new. The other two which were in the moss are bare root just now and I'm considering finding a mount for them and trying mounted Phals for the first time.

I actually have a Miltoniopsis which I was expecting to be the first one I would kill as it's not looking good at all, this one seemed so sudden... but ho, hum, I've still got several and I'll just have to get some more to replace it

[Nic100]

Head back to M&S Rosie, they looked really good. Can't remember how much they were but they were in bark with a moss layer on top, and in a Christmassy decorative pot. I spotted one with a spike in bloom and 2 more growing!! The ones in Tesco are smaller with only 1 spike, but the bark was good and they were £12. Oh, and some had new growth as well as the spikes...

Interestingly the 3 minis I bought in spring did fine in the moss they came in and then repotted without any issues into bark. The ones I bought later in the year have struggled. 1 died in similar circumstances to yours, (I'd agree with Undergrounder that a fungus was involved) and the others are struggling to adapt. As others have said - it's certainly been a learning curve.

Good luck with the rest!

[Keltera]

yeah i killed my first two, one got black rot, the other just slowly died off with everything i tried, ohwell, i still have 28

[Sandy4453]

I sincerely say, congratulations. No better way to gain that intuition and instinct than by having lost; what better way to experience the value they hold and how/what to avoid the next time. I personally like spaghnum for my Phals but I can see how some Phals that tend to want to lean more than grow upright, can find problems if there's too much of their necks resting on the moss.

For every one orchid I lose, I buy 2 in it's place! I've got a lot of orchids, Rosie...

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by Sandy4453

For every one orchid I lose, I buy 2 in it's place! I've got a lot of orchids, Rosie...

I really like that idea Sandy

[Undergrounder]

Rosie if you're keen on a change, have you thought about semi-hydroponics? I have all my Phals in that now and very happy with it.

[RosieC]

Undergrounder, I have been thinking about that as well. I was explaining about it to hubby the other day and said I might want to give it a try.

Even if I don't try it with these it's something I will probably have a go with some time in 2010.