Howeara / Leomesezia Lava Burst not looking so good

[rosemadder]

I just got this little one in the mail about a month ago.

It came out of the box looking like this:



All that black stuff worried me from the beginning. Several of the leaves were folded/broken at the base, and there are brownish edges, translucent spots, and yellow areas. The tiny pseudobulbs are quite corrugated.

New roots are growing rapidly from the youngest growths, but that's not all...

Within days of planting it in its new S/H pot, I started noticing the hydroton looking hairy. I started hitting it with homemade soap/neem/cinnamon spray, and it would appear to diminish for a few days, but grow back fast.

Pretty soon I had cobwebby-looking fuzz spreading all over. None of my other plants have it, just this one.


So I've got unhappy leaves,



Nasty fuzz,



And black parts.




I dumped it out of the pot and hit it with some peroxide today. The hydroton is soaking in a bleach solution. I guess I'll be keeping this one barefoot for a while and probably trying out a few treatments. Sigh.

[Discus]

white fuzzy stuff is usually fungus; you might like to try a more potent fungicide; my stand-by treatment when I don't know exactly what fungus it might be is Previcur & Benlate mixed together (the local formulations are conveniently 1ml/l of water of each; I use a wetting agent called "bladbuff", but even a drop of dishwashing liquid will do).

[ALToronto]

I have mine growing in a clay pot with lava rock, on a windowsill in a house, and it's doing great. Ray will disagree with me, but I just don't think that s/h culture is suitable for all plants. Some really do need to dry out.

You have enough new roots coming out that the plant can definitely survive. I'd put some loose sphagnum around the new roots, and then pot it into something that dries out. Even the same LECA you're using for s/h will do well; just don't keep a water reservoir at the bottom.

[Discus]

Originally Posted by ALToronto

Ray will disagree with me, but I just don't think that s/h culture is suitable for all plants. Some really do need to dry out.

Pretty sure he flat out states "tolumnias hate it" somewhere, although in some conditions, it seems they don't.

[ALToronto]

I just read your older thread where you were looking for a Lava Burst, and when you finally got one, it was in bad shape to begin with.

NEVER PUT A SICK PLANT IN SEMI-HYDRO! You are asking for rot. I've placed dessicated plants in semi-hydro, and some have recovered nicely, but some have also died, and now I wonder if planting them in damp loose sphagnum would have been better.

Two of my rescue mini-phals are still in semi-hydro, one single-pb cattleya has finally sent out a couple of new growths, after 6 months of doing mostly nothing, and two healthy phrags are doing really well. All the catts had to be removed from it, and they haven't fully recovered yet.

[quiltergal]

I agree with Al re S/H. Sometimes healthy plants have a hard time adjusting to S/H let alone one that is in trouble to begin with.

For whatever reason these guys seem to be rot magnets.

[silken]

I think that soap, neem, cinnamon spray would work better for bugs, rather than mold. It's often advised not to put cinnamon on roots as it desiccates them. Try some of the above suggested advise and I find a rooting hormone such as K-L-N, SuperThrive or seaweed (my current preferred) would help get some new roots growing on the newer growth.

[rosemadder]

I think the fungus was likely a pre-existing condition, considering how fast it cropped up. Certainly dampness wasn't helping, though. The other 8 orchids I've purchased and repotted into S/H are all growing enthusiastically and having minimal issues with the transition, thankfully.

Soap and neem are definitely more bug-oriented, but I was hoping the cinnamon should affect fungus, and the spray is what I have on hand. This is in a spray where the cinnamon has been steeping in stick form, so I'm not applying dry powder directly to the roots. That probably isn't as likely to desiccate anything, but I bet it the effects don't last as long either.

I'm a bit worried about whether this specific fungus might be a contagious hazard? I haven't seen anything quite like it before, with these long cottony fibers and such fast growth, spreading through areas several inches away from any part of the plant, even in fresh hydroton where there should be very little for the stuff to feed on.

[quiltergal]

Cinnamon spray acts as a bactericide. IMO it won't do anything to control fungus. You need a fungicide for that.

[rosemadder]

....So now it's decided it wants to bloom.