HELP! What are these dots? Fungus? Insect eggs??

[debrasoon]

Argh. I lost one very healthy phal to this before and I thought it was isolated and cause of over watering. I just came back from a trip today and this otherwise healthy looking phal, great leaves n root system is also blighted. Noticed cause the leaves below looked like they are going to die n rot and on peeling off found these. Argh. Anyone of our experts here can help? I am terrified it will spread to the rest of my by now large collection. This was a recently mounted phal which has done better than in the pot till now!


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[Leafmite]

I don't know but I hope someone else does.

[debrasoon]

Expert I consulted told me its fungus. Sigh. Gotta give it serious treatment and hope it recovers.


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[james mickelso]

Fungus. Shoot it with a fungicide like Bayer Complete and don't water it so much. Phals can't swim. They can go dry with few problems. They don't need to be kept constantly wet. Wet/dry. Wet/dry. That's what it's like in nature where they live.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Ditto on fungus and reducing the amount of moisture it receives. Improving air circulation will help too.

[debrasoon]

Thank you all! and yes you are right, going to give them NO water for 2 days. No coincidence it happened the last time I was away for a few days. My caregivers have been told to water twice a day, I'm now going to reduce it to ONCE a day.

[lepetitmartien]

Fungus, up to the point it has fructified.

I'd remove the stuff and the sick tissues. Go fungicide (see STAUG website) and disinfect plant and the whereabouts.

Do not touch the stuff, it'll spread.

[debrasoon]

Removed. Soaked and sprayed. Seemed a lot better the next day but the fungal beads returned! Still alive and it's been humid damp and rainy here. Will have to give it another go tomorrow.


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[dounoharm]

you don't give your location or the plants location....I have to assume its in the house somewhere?....yes, fungal, and from overwatering....YOU HAVE TO LET THE PLANT DRY OUT! watering daily is disaster, as you have seen....let it dry FOR AT LEAST TWO DAYS before watering again....you might water TWICE A WEEK, that's a lot! definitely not twice a day, lol....you are drowning your plants, killing them with kindness! think! phals live on trees in the jungle....they might get wet every day, but they dry back out really fast, not slowly like in the house! the breezes dry them out in an hour! we have to accommodate their natural culture with our home environment....thus, we water less frequently, letting the plant really completely dry out for sure between waterings....some slipper orchids and terrestrials need a constant moisture because they are native to the forest floor, but certainly not the epiphytic orchids. rethink your watering strategies! good luck!

[debrasoon]

Thank you. I am in tropical Singapore so they are outdoors under a semi shaded area. Noted on letting them dry out which still means at least a daily watering in our climate. Again it depends on whether it has rained. Have cut back and the fungus went off but came back after it rained so I have to adjust the watering daily. Only problem is when I travel....



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