Orchid Loss(es)

[Bulbopedilum]

Ive been losing quite a few orchids in the past month or so, mostly because of rot caused by the very rainy weather. Most are not completely dead but I doubt they'll survive. List:
Calanthe sylvatica: black rot
Bulbophyllum echinolabium: rot as well
Bulbophyllum lepidum, might survive: rot
Bulbophyllum ovalifolium: Heat probably

For some reason posting this calms me a bit so I'll just post this...

[Paul]

Surprised the bulbos had an issue.
Were they potted or mounted?

[Salixx]

I'm sorry for your losses - it's sad and I have found black rot to progress rapidly.

I recently moved and lost several plants to black rot myself and it's deeply depressing. Fortunately I haven't lost any of my "special" plants.

[Bulbopedilum]

Originally Posted by Paul

Surprised the bulbos had an issue.
Were they potted or mounted?

All were potted.

[Mountaineer370]

I'm sorry to hear about your plant losses, Saka. It's tough to go through that after we have loved and cared for them. I hope the losses will be minimal and things will turn around for the better for you.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by Bulbopedilum

All were potted.

I see. in your conditions ... if rains are frequent and if high humidity is common, I'd recommend mounting bulbos or growing in baskets. For that matter, you might consider doing so for many of your orchids.

[Bulbopedilum]

Originally Posted by Paul

...I'd recommend mounting bulbos or growing in baskets. For that matter, you might consider doing so for many of your orchids.

Yeah, all my mounted orchids have been doing fine so far (most of my orchids are mounted), but I dont have much space. I grow most of my mounted orchids on the railing of my porch (I just hang the mounts there, although I do have some orchids directly mounted on a tree). I dont have much space for baskets.

I think I could mount a bulbo directly on a tree, I'll try when I have a bulbo to mount.

[ColbyKal]

Why is mounting the orchids so effective? What does the plant get from that exactly?

[Ray]

Originally Posted by ColbyKal

Why is mounting the orchids so effective? What does the plant get from that exactly?

Orchid must have free air flow around their roots. The trick for we growers is balancing that with the plants' moisture demands, and the accommodations are on the opposite ends of a continuum when mounted or potted.

A mounted plant certainly had lots of air, but keeping up with the moisture demands can be tough, as they dry out so fast.

In the case of a potted plant, on the other hand, we have to be sure that the spaces in the potting medium stay open enough to allow plenty of air flow.

When we water, most pours right through the medium, some is immediately absorbed by the plant and the potting medium itself, and some is held in the spaces between media particles by surface tension. It is that last fraction that suffocates roots and kills them.

Apparently, in Bulbopedilum's environment, most of the time the water evaporates quickly enough that the suffocating, interstitial water only sits there a short time, so the spaces open up and allow the roots to "breathe" freely again. During the current "monsoon" season, that's not happening rapidly enough, so there is root suffocation and death, leading to bacterial rot.

Mounting or potting in a basket (providing a lot more air flow that does a pot) alleviates that now, but means the plants will need more watering effort in the "dry season".

[Bulbopedilum]

More rot victims, likely due to a prolonged rainy season.
1 Ascocentrum
Big pbulbs of NoID Bulbophyllum, 2 survived and have a new growth.

Tubers which rotted because of other reasons.
Big Nervilia campestris tuber: Bacteria infection
Peristylus maingayi: Unknown
Corybas pictus: Unknown

On the other hand, Calanthe sylvatica might actually survive, but that's a big "might".