DeflaskBLC: brown rot and curled leaves?

[Orchidenvy]

I purchased a flask of hybrid LCatt. from the North Carolina Orchid show two weeks ago. They were well labeled as well as well sealed within a Eherlenmeyer flask in what appeared to be agar that was black and in a solid gel. The person selling said the plants were around 25 plants unopened/still sterile and of proper size for deflasking. She was the daughter of a known orchid grower who recently left a company and has started his own operation. In fact one of the orchids I own is named after the same individual. (Greg Uzar). So, with that sales pitch I felt relatively safe making this purchase for what appeared to be the amount online flasks are sold at ($55US).

<Fast forward past the next paragraph to get to the bad part>
After leaving the show and seeing in a better lit area one plant was visibly showing a darker pattern on its leaves but then again the Agar is black and there is condensation on the flask so I wasn't sure if it was merely reflection. (As an aside question, I assume that black color is from depletion of sugars as the agar seems clear then turns darker in all articles I have seen?) So, Yesterday I de-flasked, and I used pea sized pre-soaked Hydroton/Leca/Clay pellets for 5 of the seedlings, and used soaked rockwool cubes in 2" net cups for 4 seedlings, and I placed the two shadowed leaved/mosaic plantlets in isolation (separate terrarium glass bottles). There were 11 total all planted as individual plantlets made up of two growths (pseudobulbs) with one or more leaves on each growth. As I inspected each plant, I wisked in water and manually removed any Agar, and any dead leaves (with sanitized scissors), sprayed all plants with Hydrogen peroxide 3 percent solution and transferred the bulk to a clear plastic shoebox (spinach container it has a lid for humidity but i have left it open for now to make sure the rockwool dries some as it seems very wet.

<The problem is revealed>
I'm concerned that many leaves had small brown specks/spots, a couple plants have leaves that are misshapen, and there were a couple larger plantlets with the leaves showing a shadow (in perhaps a mosaic pattern?) This is new for me, so before I wrongly accuse this grower (and I believe this person is a reputable orchid grower as the NC orchid show would probably weed out those that were known to pass off diseased plants).

1.) Is it even possible that a properly sanitized and sealed flask could have had a bacteria or fungus allowing black spot without any other signs of moldy growths on the agar?
2.) Is it even possible the entire flask is somehow from a mosaic-virus infected parent plant and that the larger leaved seedlings are the first to express the virus in a visible way?
3.) Is it even possible that they opened a flask and removed these 11 plantlets from a larger flask and repackaged them to sell as "a flask" to an un-knowledgable buyer?
( I am thinking about this last bit because every other online de-flasking video seems to be 50-60 seedlings that are much smaller in size than these and from what I understand orchid seeds are actually too small to separate out 11 per flask.) I was led to believe these are seedlings and not meri-cloned because they are supposedly newly hybridized orchid cultivars by Greg Uzar without a AOS name but rather the two parent plants listed on the flask...I will attempt to attach photos.

[Ray]

Misshapen and "shadowed" leaves are likely just a remnant of being overgrown in the flask, interfering with each other, and nothing to be concerned about.

I suggest you consider getting a bottle of Concentric Ag Garden Solution and treating the plant, as the survival will be greatly enhanced.

[Orchidenvy]

Thank you Ray! I was hoping that was the case!! I know I'm such a nervous newbie! Phew, so glad! Now if I can keep them alive long enough to get their proper transplant media determined.... But I asked that question is in the S/H forum...

[cricketerry]

To answer a couple more if your queries, the black colour of the agar is more likely to be from charcoal added to it rather than any other reason. Some people add charcoal and some do not.
As to your query about number and size of plants in your flask are you aware that seeds are sown in a 'mother flask' where they grow until large enough and are then transplanted (or replated) into a second flask to grow on. This replate is done under sterile conditions and would have been months before you bought it.
Those seedlings look very healthy to me.

[Orchid Whisperer]

I'm concerned that you sprayed them all with 3% hydrogen peroxide. That is a pretty harsh chemical for tender new-from-flask seedlings. I would avoid doing that in the future.

I just rinse my newly-deflasked seedlings with running tap water until all traces of agar are gone. The plants are set on top of medium-size bark I shallow community pots and kept covered / humid in a clear container, assuring no mold develops. Light at Phalaenopsis levels for a couple months, then increasing, gradually. You want to also gradually adjust them to regular air in your growing environment (less than 100% humidity).

[Orchidenvy]

Yeah, well, maybe I shouldn’t have, but I did the hydrogen peroxide spray as it has stopped some crown Rot on rescue orchids in the past. I am also using lower light levels and a clear plastic spinach container as a nursery but I wanted to try to use expanded clay or rock wool rather than bark due to the air exchange capacity. However, I have orchiata bark and tree fern, the drying Time for the tree fern is daily and the bark is several days slower. I was hoping that using the expanded clay would allow me more control as I can air dry a 2” net pot within a few hours or keep it moist indefinitely by sitting the bottom down in a small amount of solution to wick. I’m watching the rockwool closely though it still
Seems super wet. Still waiting to hear from anyone who has used it with orchids.