New Phals and a flying pest question

[james mickelso]

The small phals look like they are already in bark. If so no need to repot. Remember that phals like most orchids are epiphytes that grow on trees and branches. They send their roots along the trees bark and get their moisture fromn rain and dew. So it is natural for them to grow their roots on top of the potting media. Leave them alone until they are growing well. If you repot them chances are you will pot them in too large a container and invite root rot. These just came out of a GH where it was warm with lots of air movement and the light length and intensity was controlled for maximum growth. Now they are in your house where it is way different. They will take time to adjust. Don't over water them. And the color on the leaves is quite light. Or is that just the color of the pic?

[silken]

In your last 2 photos I see brown specks that look like scale. Scale does sit on top in little brown bumps like that. They are quite hard to scrape off and have fairly hard shells. There are different varieties and some may be softer. I would keep these isolated from other plants for a while and remove those brown spots. If it is scale, you will need to treat them with something to get rid of it.

[NYCorchidman]

Originally Posted by MrsH530

Do I need to worry about gnats?

No!

By the way, thrips are much smaller than gnats and you cannot see them when flying around really. just so tiny.

[MrsH530]

Originally Posted by silken

In your last 2 photos I see brown specks that look like scale. Scale does sit on top in little brown bumps like that. They are quite hard to scrape off and have fairly hard shells. There are different varieties and some may be softer. I would keep these isolated from other plants for a while and remove those brown spots. If it is scale, you will need to treat them with something to get rid of it.

Thanks for the info! I had scraped some of these off before. Looking at pictures online, it doesn't seem like that to me, however I would *much* rather be safe than sorry. Should I treat with Physan 20, or something else? I haven't had to deal with pests yet, so I don't currently own anything other than fertilizer!

---------- Post added at 06:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:51 AM ----------

Originally Posted by james mickelso

The small phals look like they are already in bark. If so no need to repot. Remember that phals like most orchids are epiphytes that grow on trees and branches. They send their roots along the trees bark and get their moisture fromn rain and dew. So it is natural for them to grow their roots on top of the potting media. Leave them alone until they are growing well. If you repot them chances are you will pot them in too large a container and invite root rot. These just came out of a GH where it was warm with lots of air movement and the light length and intensity was controlled for maximum growth. Now they are in your house where it is way different. They will take time to adjust. Don't over water them. And the color on the leaves is quite light. Or is that just the color of the pic?

The color is *very* light. Almost lime green.

Thank you for your advice. I didn't know if the little ones wanted to be kept on the damp side (using my moss mix), or if it was better for them to stay in bark since that was what they were used to. I'll keep them in the bark, and monitor them closely for when the bark dries out.

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

No!

By the way, thrips are much smaller than gnats and you cannot see them when flying around really. just so tiny.

YAY! I can definitely see these guys flying around, crawling around all over. It started on my plants, and now they're on my table, floor, counters.. etc. We seem to have super bugs where we live that are annoying to get rid of, so I guess this is just another one of those guys. Time to break out the fly traps!

[silken]

Physan 20 is a fungicide/bactericide rather than for bugs. To treat scale you need a pesticide such as Malathion or a systemic with scale listed as it being effective for it. Some choose to scrape off the ones they see and treat with insecticide soaps. I find this never gets rid of them but only controls them.

In Canada I use the systemic Merit which has the ingredient imidacloprid. It takes a while for the plant to get it into its system so I spray weekly with Malathion for a few weeks to get adults and eggs as they hatch. Then I let the Merit go to work. Scale can persist long after you think it is gone. In the U.S. there is a product called Bayer Rose and shrub systemic or something similar to that name. It has the same imidacloprid in it and some members here use that with good results. I don't think we can get it here in Canada. Scale gets into the crotches of the plant and undersides of leaves as well and spreads to other plants. It is my most hated pest and maybe the hardest to eradicate completely.

In your last two photos I see little brown discs similar to this link on your plant. It may not be scale but looks like it to me.
Google Image Result for http://www.aos.org/images/img_content/education/brown_scale.jpg

[MrsH530]

Ok cool. I will go look for something tonight. Like I said, I would rather not take the risk of not treating, especially since I have an untrained eye with pests and diseases. Thanks for the help!