Mold on Sphag and Bag Phal - Help!

[butterfly_muse]

Hey guys, I am working on sphag n bag in a small container with a couple phals with weak/no root systems. I cut off the dead roots, doused them in some peroxide, dunked them in root hormone for an hour, stuck them in a container with paper towels. They were NOT touching the paper towels at any point.

And I just checked on them and there is white fuzz ALL OVER the base of the plant. Overnight. Literally. What is that? What do I do? Can these plants be saved?

Help!!

[ALToronto]

Probably not. Your experience with sphag and bag is the only one I've had with it.

You can try gently wiping the fuzz with peroxide, and then take the plant out of the bag, just place it on moist medium.

[butterfly_muse]

Like inside of a cup or just lay it on something? My guys live in bark so the best I could do is a paper towel..:/

[ALToronto]

I had 5 rootless mini-phals that I had to nurse back to health. I kept them in coffee mugs half-filled with small bark chips, lots of sphagnum, some perlite and charcoal (typical seedling mix). Misted lightly every day, just to keep the sphag moist. No bags, just the tall sides of the coffee mugs. I potted them in the same mix in proper plant pots as soon as they started growing roots.

In the end, only 2 of these 5 plants have survived and are on their way to recovery. I look at the rescue experience as a lesson.

So don't feel too badly if you lose this one - mini-phals out of bloom are usually discounted to $5 or less.

[butterfly_muse]

This one actually came potted with another that has one dinky root and a new leaf - I'm more concerned with trying to save that one. They were potted as if they were one plant so I didn't find out until the medium was gone. :/ I have bark, charcoal and perlite...but no moss. Would a paper towel work or do I have to get moss?

[ALToronto]

Don't use paper towel, it will get moldy. You don't need moss for healthy phals, but these guys will do better in a more moist medium. Get the stuff from New Zealand, it's of much better quality than the cheap Chilean sphagnum.

[butterfly_muse]

Should I keep it moist all the time?

[ALToronto]

Just moist enough that the moss is soft and not crispy. Not so wet that you can squeeze water out of it.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

The fungus is trying to break down the dead plant material that is still on the plant.

Remove as much of the dead plant material as possible if you're able to, as safely as possible.

Without that dead plant material, the fungus will have a more difficult time coming back, but it's not a guarantee.

Otherwise use a fungicide.

You can also try raising humidity with a humidifier instead, if the wet paper towel and container thing isn't working.

[RosieC]

I had the same experience with trying to keep a humid atmosphere to recover some phals. I didn't do sphag and bag but kept them in a covered propagator tray with a vent in the top. Unfortunately the humid environment for the recovery is just what the mold also wants.

As Philip has said, you either need to remove the dead material the mold is feeding on (I didn't manage to do this enough and it kept coming back) or use a fungicide (I didn't try this, they were too far gone by that time).

Sad to say chances are slim, however my personal method would be to use peroxide to remove the mold, then pot in bark, moss or lecca in as tiny a pot as you can. I've used old yogurt pots with holes cut in them in the past. The aim is that it's such a small pot that it dries completely in one or at most two days, then water every time it dries out. I have found they like to dry fast but be watered frequently. I would also mist the leaves (above and below) each morning, ensuring no water is left right in the crown (use a paper towel to remove if/when it gets in there).

Having said that I've not saved one with no roots at all, only one with just a tiny stub of root left. I have kept one alive for 6 months this way though.