Hydrogen peroxide-H2O2

[plantzzzzz]

Is MissOrchidGirl actually a good grower though?

She certainly has many plants, but I'm not confident that they are well grown.

[MattWoelfsen]

Originally Posted by plantzzzzz

Is MissOrchidGirl actually a good grower though?

She certainly has many plants, but I'm not confident that they are well grown.

Sacrilege!

[TomThumb]

Plantzzzzz, tbh i didnt want to say it but i noticed she has a lot of orchids die on her that she replaces constantly. While orchid death is part of the hobby I do feel like her percentage of orchid death is fairly high for her years of experience. It could be that she likes to experiment? But i really think part of it is that she chooses not to use chemical pest and fungus control.

[aliceinwl]

Even 3 percent peroxide can cause tissue damage when applied to wounds on animals so I assume the same is true for plants. I also don’t see the oxygen released by peroxide poured into the soil persisting long enough to provide any real benefit to the roots. I couldn’t find any peer reviewed literature supporting peroxide use on roots, but my search was pretty cursory.

I love missorchidgirl’s enthusiasm and willingness to experiment but she’s definitely not infallible. I think she has a lot of good ideas but she is an amateur too. I use her advice as a starting off point: I do additional research and/or get a second opinion rather than blindly follow. I can also see that a lot of her methods have evolved over time, presumably as she’s learned from mistakes.

[MattWoelfsen]

Originally Posted by aliceinwl

Even 3 percent peroxide can cause tissue damage when applied to wounds on animals so I assume the same is true for plants. I also don’t see the oxygen released by peroxide poured into the soil persisting long enough to provide any real benefit to the roots. I couldn’t find any peer reviewed literature supporting peroxide use on roots, but my search was pretty cursory.

I love missorchidgirl’s enthusiasm and willingness to experiment but she’s definitely not infallible. I think she has a lot of good ideas but she is an amateur too. I use her advice as a starting off point: I do additional research and/or get a second opinion rather than blindly follow. I can also see that a lot of her methods have evolved over time, presumably as she’s learned from mistakes.

I think the use of hydrogen peroxide was part of an idea of “naturally” eliminating pests in the roots??

Regarding Miss Orchid Girl, she is a good starting point. She is willing to show and tell different orchids, different ways to pot orchids, etc. But if you continue to grow orchids, you’ll find the information lacking in depth.

[aliceinwl]

Yes, in the episode I saw she was using it as a natural prophylactic to eliminate potential pests. I watched the episode to figure out why everyone seemed to be suddenly peroxiding their orchids.

I agree that there isn't a lot of depth to the information presented in episodes I've watched, but they're a great starting off point for the beginner: no intimidating technical information and enough care pointers to give people a shot at keeping their grocery store orchids alive (aside from the peroxide).

[Ray]

I have never watched a Miss Orchid Girl video, but apparently if you do, you pour hydrogen peroxide on your plants and they all develop fusarium!

[Marrie]

Originally Posted by plantzzzzz

Is MissOrchidGirl actually a good grower though?

She certainly has many plants, but I'm not confident that they are well grown.

Ouch

[MrHappyRotter]

Originally Posted by aliceinwl

Yes, in the episode I saw she was using it as a natural prophylactic to eliminate potential pests. I watched the episode to figure out why everyone seemed to be suddenly peroxiding their orchids.

There was also an AOS Orchids magazine article in the past year or so with discussion about hydrogen peroxide and its role in horticulture. While I doubt most orchid folks are subscribed to the magazine, those that are often discuss the articles and pass the information along in discussion. Occasionally I notice that a topic (be it cultural or about a specific genus of orchid) will trend online in the months following its discussion in the magazine. So, if you saw an uptick in this topic sometime last year, it's very possible that the AOS contributed to it as well.

Personally, I've used peroxide on my plants for years with seemingly no direct ill effects. I stopped using it prophylactically (against disease) a long time ago, but I still use it to help disinfect after removing infected/potentially infected material.

My concern about using it as a preventative is that it's a short duration topical disinfectant that's potentially going to indiscriminately kill the microbial community on the plants' surfaces, potentially leaving an opportunity for bad pathogens to infiltrate the plant before the good microbes can recolonize and offer protection. If you're going to use preventatives, it's much better to use ones with longer lasting duration (in rotation), or stick with products that foster immunity and/or bolster a healthy microbiome.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Ray

OW - I am going to disagree with you on this one - surprise, huh?

Drug store grade hydrogen peroxide is not a very good oxidizer, but when it decomposes - something it does quite readily - it releases oxygen, which seems more like oxygenation than oxidation to me, although I agree whole-heartedly that a good flush with a water breaker probably does as good of-, if not a better job of oxygenation.

I think so Ray. I can understand relatively high concentration H2O2 doing massive damage. But if low enough concentration, then it's kind of like putting it on our own hand ...... it's not going to destroy the skin, especially when the skin isn't like submerged in the solution for relatively long times.

It might be possible that H2O2 - even diluted - could upset the balance of things - such as kill beneficial organisms already established in or around the root. So wouldn't be surprised if it sets the plant back a bit. On the other hand - I have repotted lots of catts and have sprayed the roots with 6% H2O2 (store-bought bottle from pharmacies, where 6% is kind of typical.... also 3% is available too) ..... which is certainly stronger than 3% obviously. I have not seen any signs of the H2O2 destroying the roots of my plants. My 6% is higher than recommended though --- eg. 3% to 5%. So I'm not recommending people go 6%. I'm just reporting on what I've done many times before.

Whenever I can --- if the roots of my orchids look nice and clean, then I just do my repot with no spraying.