I think the orchid compost is going mouldy

[supersheep]

Thanks Stray59. I have some cinnamon powder, so I'll definitely try that - see if it can help.

Would diluting down some ordinary household disinfectant be ok?

I'm a bit too paranoid to want to just leave it and see! LOL!

[Rowangreen]

I have heard cinnamon can be drying to the roots, so use with caution. Personally I wouldn't use disinfectant.

I think the fungus is probably harmless. I'd try and increase the air getting to it rather than pouring on chemicals.

[supersheep]

Ok, I'll avoid the disinfectant, and hopefully it won't spread.

Thanks guys! Let's hope these orchids can survive - I'm not having a very good track record so far!

ETA - I have just tried the cinnamon, so I'll let you know if it works. But I won't try anything harsher for now.

[Stray59]

I am of a like mind to Rowangreen - I would recommend NOT using a disinfectant - some fungus can be beneficial, supplying sugars and such to the plant, although most are just seen as pesky! I would change the air flow also - good idea Rowan; and I also would take the "wait and see" approach - rather than risk some really nice looking root growth.
Steve
P.S. And by the way - being overly obsessive is a hazard to orchidists anywhere - the only cure is a new orchid to keep you occupied while this one develops as it will - Ha! Relax - orchids are amazingly forgiving and it is (in my opinion) better to under- than over-water - when in question about watering, wait a day before you do; just a rule of thumb I use. An underwatered plant will show obvious signs and take a while to die, but an overwatered plant can be killed in a weekend!

[supersheep]

LOL! I definitely seem to want to keep buying new orchids! But I'm going to try and be good and see how these ones turn out first.

Thanks for all the help guys. I will definitely try to not over-water and increase the air flow.

[tsun1108]

Thanks to posting this!

I had the same problem with my compost and two of my plants are now at death-door.....

Do people usually sterilise bark before use? If so how?

[Rowangreen]

I've only ever attempted to sterelize medium I was about to use for seedlings I was deflasking. (I say 'attempted' because you are quite likely not getting it totally sterile in home conditions). That was sphagnum moss, but I guess you could do it with bark too: what I did was damp it down then put in the microwave for a few minutes.

I still have mixed feelings about it EXCEPT for de-flasking. In the wild nobody's sterelizing medium and dousing it with physan. In fact quite a few orchids have roots that catch falling leaves which then rot and provide nutrients. I think in many cases using a smaller pot and increasing ventilation (by more holes in the pot and something like leca in the bottom) is going to help as much as the chemicals and possibly be better in the long term.

In the wild seedling orchids need fungus to grow. I recently read something that said many paphs grow on rotten rather than live trees and possibly need the decay and would benifit from medium that's breaking down a bit... I think maybe it's more a case of finding the balance so that the plant doesn't get overdosed with nutrients, and doesn't get suffocated by medium that's broken down. Rather than eliminating all decay.

[The Orchid Kid]

Good point. I have a bit of fungus in my zygo pot. I'm just keeping an eye on it. If it gets big and starts eating at the roots I will probs repot.

I might have packed my mix too tight allowing too little air, so my action is going to be putting a few more holes into the pot and maybe cinnamon wash - did that work btw?

I am using coconut husk from a UK based retailer. Are there any rules about recommending specific businesses on this forum? If so, just PM me, otherwise I can post a link. It is good clean stuff, cheap and comes with a detailed info sheet.

[silken]

I would use caution with cinnamon on the roots. It is a desiccant and could damage/dry the roots up. It is usually only applied on cuts of leaf or stem tissue or very lightly on the end of a cut root.

I would boil the media in the microwave or on the stove, allow to cool and re-pot.

[The Orchid Kid]

Thanks Silken. If I do it I will make it very dilute and angle the pot when pouring so goes as targeted as pos to the mouldy bit.