Angraecum didieri turning black. Leaves dropping.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

Roberta, the charcoal idea was on the Orchid web site. His video featured a huge one and he said they loved to be potted in.charcoal. I have a 4" mesh basket that I'm.going to use and thanks for the tip on the dry material. Air circulation around here is usually good.[COLOR="Silver"]

My question would be, what specifically does charcoal contribute? It may be that it is simply helped to provide the general physical environmental conditions that the plant wanted. Charcoal tends to adsorb (and therefore pull out of the environment) organic acids that creep in as bark decomposes (to keep the mix "sweet" longer). It has been traditionally used in a lot in mixes, I suspect some of that is "we have always done it that way". Considering how environmentally unfriendly the stuff is, I'd suggest that it be used only when there is a good reason for its properties, not by default. (If a plant is repotted before the mix goes "sour" - acidic breakdown - which should happen anyway, then charcoal is probably not needed) I have known quite a few people who, when they had trouble getting charcoal in the ideal size, left it out and saw no difference. And stopped using it.

[Dollythehun]

Hey, I'm only the messenger. Maybe the charcoal sucks out pollutants? Why is it environmentally unfriendly?

So large, airy, fast draining material.

[junebug's orchids]

My growing conditions are intermediate-warm. It's been in the low 70s in the house.

I have been misting the tank daily and the moss I mounted with dries quickly, so I didn't worry about it. No ferts right now as we're in dormancy. The only thing I can think of is I had patchy wet spots in the moss with dry spots elsewhere, or the wood it's mounted on stays too wet. It's mounted in the spot that gets the most ventilation in the terrarium, and was always fairly dry when I misted the next day.

I don't see any fungal growth. When I pulled the leaves out that had fallen, they were dry, firm, and black where they touched the stem.

The plant does still have a good root. Should I really just throw it out? That would be a bummer.

---------- Post added at 02:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:42 PM ----------

Oh and I mist with RO water :/ or Distilled water. In the spring I was going to start using water from one of my fish tanks that uses mostly RO water rather than buying ferts (why do that when I have water similar to their wild water?). But it hasn't warmed up yet, so it's just been misting.

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[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

Why is it environmentally unfriendly?

So large, airy, fast draining material.

To get charcoal, one needs wood... often from third-world countries where people chop down their native trees to plant those that grow fast, and don't provide environment for animals or other plants (including orchids... think Madagascar where 90% of the native forests have been cut down and replaced with eucalyptus and pine). Then the wood is burned in a low-oxygen environment (so one gets charcoal, not ash), giving off carbon monoxide which along with being a greenhouse gas, is poisonous. So deforestation plus emission of greenhouse gases (and toxic ones to boot)... what's not to love?

[AnonYMouse]

Do as Ray recommends.

Originally Posted by Ray

Looks like erwinia to me. Not caused by the water - or missing a watering - but very easily spread by splashing.

I would get rid of that plant immediately, and treat the tank with a topical disinfectant like Physan.

I don't know what else is in that tank or if they will be affected by erwinia. Better safe than sorry.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by AnonYMouse

Do as Ray recommends.



I don't know what else is in that tank or if they will be affected by erwinia. Better safe than sorry.

If you really don't want to get rid of the plant, at least take it out of the proximity of the other plants. If it is able to recover, it can do so under ambient room conditions (it does not need the terrarium environment to thrive and might do better out than in anyway)

[Leafmite]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

"I will probably try adding Plaster of Paris to the red lava rock to give a steady source of Calcium. Maybe the Cattleyas will benefit from this idea, too"

You gave me the idea to use eggshells. I now crush them.onto of every pot of anything remotely Catt related.

Yep, I still use eggshells for all my Cattleyas and many other orchids, too. I am just thinking that a chunk of Plaster of Paris might not slip out of the sides of my basket pots quite as easily.

Junebug, this usually does happen when a bit of water stays somewhere on the orchid and, once it starts, it goes through the orchid quickly and systemically. You can try to take it out of the tank, treat it with a systemic fungicide, and see what happens. Maybe it will put on a side growth. However, I have never had much luck with trying to save them once they have gotten a fungus issue. On the bright side, I doubt the other plants will have any issues as long as they are healthy. If you want to put another Angraecum in there, I would clean the tank and make certain that the entire plant and mount dry quickly after being watered.

Just a note: Hausermann's has them for $9.99. I am not sure if they are blooming size but I can let you know as mine will arrive in a few days.

I have a tank without a fan but the lid is not set directly on the tank to allow air exchange and the T5HO light warms the tank quickly and helps to dry everything. The orchids that need to dry quickly are near the top of the tank and these orchids are dry within an hour of being watered. I don't know if that helps.

Good luck!

[Dollythehun]

"Just a note: Hausermann's has them for $9.99. I am not sure if they are blooming size but I can let you know as mine will arrive in a few days"

I got mine there, it's a 2" pot.

[Leafmite]

That is the size of pot I am getting, too. Has yours bloomed previously?

[SaraJean]

This is a such a good thread. I have been wanting to try one of these for a while (they have cute itty bitty baby ones at Louisiana Orchid Connection, I’ll have to check out Hausermann's too), now I have some motivation to pull the trigger
Had no clue about treating them with fungicide or making sure they have some calcium, and was clueless about the potting material vs water requirements