Lepanthes calodycton leaf rot

[vraev]

Hey guys,

I have this L. calodycton which seems to be having this leaf rot issue which I also had with a L. telipogoniflora. I have a lot of those small brown snails...so I think that is the cause. The sad part is this plant is super robust...it grows 5 leaves at a time...fantastic grower...but even while the new growth is opening ...the leaf starts to die like this and dies. I also figured the mount is getting too old...over 2y...so time to remove some of the dying sphagnum moss...I know root rot may also cause such issues...atleast in other plants.







so this is what I did...I pulled out as much moss as I could...







So...understandably..I was stunned with the roots. It looked real nice and healthy... I removed a lot of the old moss and hopefully it should be better with all the air in there. I want to remove it from the mount...clean it off fully and plant on a new mount...so that in the process I can maybe get rid of the snails/eggs.

But a the roots are embedded in the mount. Any suggestions on how to remove this plant? Furthermore, is there a way I can split it ?? I never split lepanthes before. Is a piece of root enough to create a new plant?

What do u guys also think about the issue? Is it root issues or snails?

thanks

V

[WhiteRabbit]

[RosieC]

The roots look OK to me. Purple is not a problem and while mine weren't that purple I see live tips on your roots.

I wouldn't split one that size personally. I've never split one either so can't really advise if you want to do it.

Removing all the moss and remounting would help get rid of any critters, however it will inevitably cause root damage if the roots are stuck in the cork. (Your mount looks very similar to mine by the way, did you get it from Equagenera?).

I would be wary of removing too much moss, these are humid loving orchids and do poorly if they are not kept moist/humid enough. Mine had a tight moss ball over the roots, a couple of months ago I removed it then replaced it with fresh moss, trying to get all the roots wrapped well and using a similar amount to the amount I had removed.

If that were mine I would remove all moss, rinse off the roots well to get rid of debris and search for critters, keep it like that a few days and keep checking for any sign of critters, then wrap it back up with fresh moss. I would be loath to try and remove it from the mount with the risk of damaging roots in the process.

[vraev]

Originally Posted by RosieC

The roots look OK to me. Purple is not a problem and while mine weren't that purple I see live tips on your roots.

I wouldn't split one that size personally. I've never split one either so can't really advise if you want to do it.

Removing all the moss and remounting would help get rid of any critters, however it will inevitably cause root damage if the roots are stuck in the cork. (Your mount looks very similar to mine by the way, did you get it from Equagenera?).

I would be wary of removing too much moss, these are humid loving orchids and do poorly if they are not kept moist/humid enough. Mine had a tight moss ball over the roots, a couple of months ago I removed it then replaced it with fresh moss, trying to get all the roots wrapped well and using a similar amount to the amount I had removed.

If that were mine I would remove all moss, rinse off the roots well to get rid of debris and search for critters, keep it like that a few days and keep checking for any sign of critters, then wrap it back up with fresh moss. I would be loath to try and remove it from the mount with the risk of damaging roots in the process.

Hi Rosie,

Yes! The plant is from ecuagenera.

Thats a good idea. Now that I removed most of the moss, I currently have it inside a 100% humidity dome setup ... so it should not dry out in any way. I will keep note of the newer leaves. If there is still any more damage..thats it..I will risk it and remove it from the mount.

The problem is sometimes I have seen the snails hide inside the crevices of the mount itself. I have took the plunge for my old dying L. telipogoniflora and mounted it on a new mount with few roots and fresh moss. Looks ike it is making a recovery.

I'll update this as I make more observations. Thanks again for the help ladies.

V