Oncidiums New Growth rot?

[MrHungx]

Many of the new growths on my oncidiums recently turned yellow and soft. It could either be rot or some kind of disease, but I've never seen anything like it The first picture is a Miltonidium Bartley Schwarz "Highlander" and the second is an Oncidium Sharry Baby. Feel free to chime in with any ideas as to what that might be.

[Orchid Whisperer]

The culprit is likely bacterial soft rot. To prevent spread into older growths, you need to cut off any growths showing symptoms of the rot.

Afterwards, cut back on water, especially right after cutting out the diseased growths. Adding calcium to your fertilizer regime may help reduce susceptibility to rot; try 1 tsp gypsum dissolved per gallon of water. Gypsum dissolves slowly, it could take a day or two to dissolve. Add some of this solution to the water you provide you plant a few times each month. Epsom salts provides Mg and prepared the same way, is also beneficial.

[billc]

If the rot is not too deep into the plant you can sometime stop it with a good dose of hydrogen peroxide. It won't work all the time but it is worth a try before major surgery.

Bill

[Island Girl]

^I agree with what the above posters said. and, to avoid this next time, when u water, do so very carefully, so as to not get any water into the new growths. Good Luck!

[My Green Pets]

Oh that is a bummer man, i hope you get it cleared up without too much hassle.

[MrHungx]

Originally Posted by Island Girl

^I agree with what the above posters said. and, to avoid this next time, when u water, do so very carefully, so as to not get any water into the new growths. Good Luck!

I always take care to keep the leaves dry when I water my orchids. I think that this may be due to a lack of air circulation, so I have placed a fan near the plant to see if it helps.

[tucker85]

Make sure your fertilizer contains calcium and magnesium. Calcium will insure strong cell walls that will be much less susceptible to fungus and bacterial problems.