Should I pitch the orchid and get another?

[Paul Mc]

The pot is larger than the roots and I recently repotted and made sure it was loosely potted this time for proper ventilation and water drainage. Outdoor temps at night have been in the 60's to low 70s.

I have not taken pictures yet, but I will later this afternoon when I pull the plant out to try out the Listerine suggestion. I will post them as soon as I have them for you to see.

And thanks again for all the thoughts! It is deeply appreciated!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Did this problem occur after or before you repotted into a larger pot?

What are the temperatures that this plant was grown in?

[Paul Mc]

It happened before, but got worse after repotting. It was in the upper 80s during daytime and upper 70s at night, so I was watering a bit more frequently than I perhaps should have. But then the weather got chilly fast and I stopped watering. All the other oncidiums are doing great though - just this one is having issues and they were all located in the same location, under a huge 100 year old pin oak.

I must go do some errands, but I should be back later today to check your recommendations and thoughts, respond to them, and post pictures while I'm using the Listerine.

Thanks!

[jenmonkey]

Philip, is there kind of an "idiot's guide" to determining whether it's bacterial or fungal? Or is it more of just a trail and error kind of thing?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

It can be trial or error.

But generally speaking fungal infections have the "fairy ring effect".

Bacteria generally leaves behind a watery mess.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

One solution I can think of, is the prompt removal of the infected parts of the plant asap with sterilized cutters or other tools.

You can dust the cut area with cinnamon, but it doesn't guarantee that the infection won't return.

There may be other chemical based solutions, such as Phyton 27 and Physan 20, but I'm not sure how well they'd work in your situation.

If the plant is too far gone, then tossing it wouldn't be a bad idea.

[Paul Mc]

Other than the leaves, it looks healthy to me. Is the bacterial rot a root problem or a leave and psuedopod (sp?) problem/ or I guess even both?

Here are three pictures of the leaves. I am preparing to go to the store to buy Listerine. Would that help anything at this point?

I'll take pictures of the roots when I take it out of the pot in about an hour.

The first two are of the leaves as they are turning colors, and the last one is the dead leaf with white spots in it that I was referring to earlier.

[Paul Mc]

Oh, and here's just a general one of the entire plant so you guys can see what it looks like overall.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Is that moss in the pot?

What is the size of the bark (small grade, medium grade, large grade)?

I suspect it's a watering issue. May be too much water.

I recommend a smaller pot. Removal of the moss, and maybe a medium grade bark. Along with the prompt removal of the diseased portions of the plant and a soak in a Physan 20 solution for 30 min to 1 hr, without letting the roots touch the Physan.

[Paul Mc]

It's actually a mixture of charcoal, medium grade bark, perlite and sphag pete moss with regular sphag moss loosely packed around the edges of the pot to hold the mixture in as it has many holes all around it.

I originally suspected it was a watering issue and immediately stopped the watering. I will go and get the physan 20 solution asap then. I got the listerine now and am cleaning the roots then rinsing them off.

I will also be cutting out the discolored portions, though there won't be but two full leaves left, lol...

Thank you for your suggestions and help Philip!

Pic of roots coming in the next hour.