Help! Persisting Mold in All repotted Phalaenopsis and Cattleya

[Roberta]

Physan won't kill snails... it's good for algae and fungal issues. If you have snails use a snail bait. If you have caterpillars or other larvae, BT (bacillus thuringiensis) is what you need. For insects, an insecticide. For mites, a miticide. Sound complicated? Yes... you have to know what pest you are treating before you decide on what to treat it with.

The goal is to create an environment that is good for the orchids (fresh medium, fresh air, fresh water) and therefore bad for the pests, which mostly like wet and stagnant and dark. Then you have much less that you have to treat.

[Leafmite]

If you get the little Bush Snails (or Orchid Snails) use either Caffeine (coffee) or Sevin. Either of these options will get rid of Bush snails quickly (no bush snails currently). These snails are not attracted to the baits and are very difficult to kill. I have Sluggo plus for the other types of snails and slugs.

[nuriko1set]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Physan won't kill snails... it's good for algae and fungal issues. If you have snails use a snail bait. If you have caterpillars or other larvae, BT (bacillus thuringiensis) is what you need. For insects, an insecticide. For mites, a miticide. Sound complicated? Yes... you have to know what pest you are treating before you decide on what to treat it with.

The goal is to create an environment that is good for the orchids (fresh medium, fresh air, fresh water) and therefore bad for the pests, which mostly like wet and stagnant and dark. Then you have much less that you have to treat.

thank you Roberta! I have a few new plants that might have had spidermites, I've sprayed with a mixture of neem oil, water and hand soap. I don' t think there are signs of them still being there. I don't even know if they were there in the first place. Would you recommend another remedy? I've heard of horticulture oil, do you have any insight on that? Thank you!!

[Roberta]

Horticultural oil will do pretty much the same thing as Neem... smother the pests. The Neem may have some more lasting repellant effects (or at least it smells like it...) The mix that you used is fine. Now, put it on your calendar to do it again in about 5 days. And then 5 days after that. And so forth... The "contact" spray kills the adults that it hits. Hidden ones may survive, and also larvae and eggs will survive. If you are persistent, you reduce the adult population at each round. In short, "One and you are NOT done".

[estación seca]

Don't cut off any roots. You can't tell which are truly dead.

[nuriko1set]

Originally Posted by Roberta

The mix that you used is fine. Now, put it on your calendar to do it again in about 5 days. And then 5 days after that. And so forth... The "contact" spray kills the adults that it hits. Hidden ones may survive, and also larvae and eggs will survive. .

Thank you! It's good to know that I'm finally doing something correct! I will be spraying with neem oil more more then.

---------- Post added at 07:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:17 PM ----------

Originally Posted by estación seca

Don't cut off any roots. You can't tell which are truly dead.

Thank you Estacion! What about roots that are covered in white fuzzy mold?

I recently got a new Cattleya, and the roots were soooo dried up. I watered it fairly thoroughly, then a couple of days later, mold grew on a few roots. I don't think I can attribute this to my own actions, since all I did was water it. I didn't repot it yet.

Does the situation sound like the roots died and after I watered it just decomposed?

[Roberta]

Physan is pretty safe for roots - maybe 1 teaspoon per quart. Anything that's still there after you spray that Physan solution is probably not mold. But if you have a healthy root environment (a chance to dry between waterings, plenty of air space) any mold will probably just take care of itself without treatment because the environment won't be conducive to mold growth. I'm with ES... don't cut any roots. You need them to stabilize the plant as well as hydrate it, and you just need to get the environment healthy.

[nuriko1set]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Physan is pretty safe for roots - maybe 1 teaspoon per quart. Anything that's still there after you spray that Physan solution is probably not mold. But if you have a healthy root environment (a chance to dry between waterings, plenty of air space) any mold will probably just take care of itself without treatment because the environment won't be conducive to mold growth. I'm with ES... don't cut any roots. You need them to stabilize the plant as well as hydrate it, and you just need to get the environment healthy.

Thank you for such a quick reply! I have no idea what's going on with the root system since it's new and I haven't had time to take it apart yet. I have a feeling it's not going to be pretty in there, so I'm wondering if I should contact the seller and let him know that the roots are a mess. Is that like the etiquette? It just feels the condition of the plant is really not good and very different from what he showed in the photos.

On a good note, all my other plants are doing fairly well. I am watering by running water through. So far no hiccups!

I have a Dragon Tree Eagle (Penang Girl x Black Eagle), and it's kind of just stalled. It has a spike and formed a tiny bud, but the bud has withered and dropped. Since then, it's had no new growth on roots, spike or leaves.

Does anyone understand it's situation? Is it going into dormant stage because of the season? Or does it need to be heated up a bit?

Thank you!

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by nuriko1set

I have a Dragon Tree Eagle (Penang Girl x Black Eagle), and it's kind of just stalled. It has a spike and formed a tiny bud, but the bud has withered and dropped. Since then, it's had no new growth on roots, spike or leaves.

Does anyone understand it's situation? Is it going into dormant stage because of the season? Or does it need to be heated up a bit?

Thank you!

Phals don't have a dormant stage. Your Phal. Dragon Tree Eagle has some other issue. Your conditions are a bit cool, so it may need more warmth. But in general, for those that aren't thriving, you do need to get a closer look at the roots. If you haven't repotted your new plants that had mold problems, that's the first thing that needs to be looked at. (I thought that had been done) Phals in particular can be repotted any time, their rooting pattern is not seasonal. When you do that, and rinse off the roots, you'll also remove potential problems. Don't worry about getting all the old medium off. Preserving roots is more important. But newly acquired plants usually do need repotting... nobody pays the vendor to repot, so plants get sold at about the time that they really need it.

[nuriko1set]

Originally Posted by Roberta

If you haven't repotted your new plants that had mold problems, that's the first thing that needs to be looked at. (I thought that had been done)

Hey Roberta!
Yes it has been repotted already, in very airy, free flowing medium. I stuck a bamboo stick into it, and water when I see the stick has pretty much dried out. I don't want to jinx myself, but I think the roots are doing not bad. Here are some photos:


These photos make the leaves look more green, in actuality they are a bit more yellow. Which makes me feel are they getting too much light? My light meter reads around 700 - 800 foot candles at the level of these leaves, which doesn't see that high.

It might be the cold temperature? So I am looking for a heating pad. I started another trend to make it more clear.

Recommending heating pad

Please feel free to comment on that thread as well. Thank you so much! Happy Thanksgiving!!