*please* help, I have a phal under attack!

[Jennyfleur]

Hi,
Remember that phal of mine that was growing everything? roots, leaves, keiki, spike... well, I turn my back on it for a week and it's being attacked by somthing!

The new spike (not the one with the keiki) is very sticky, the outer parts of it are turning white and dry (like the sucrose in the sticky is drying and going crispy). The new leaf has also gone dry and has, for all intents and purposes, died.

Upon closer inspection, in a quarantine no-other-plants-area, the spike has lots of those little black bugs (we call them 'lightning bugs', but I don't know their real name) that look like a thin black dash, or a typed comma. I'm guessing these guys are causing the problem but HOW do I fix this and get rid of them?

Is it worh cutting the new spike to help reduce the chance of them spreading to the one with the keiki?

I'll post some pics when I can later, but the bugs are so small, I doubt I'll be able to get a focus on them. Any suggestions in the mean time would be fantastic as I've never had a problem with pests!

[Paul Mc]

I'm not sure, but lightning bugs don't leave that residue so they may actually be helping by eating whatever it is attacking your phal. Keiki's and flower spokes all tale a lot of energy and can be a last ditch effort for plants to propogate and ensure the survival of the species. They also require a lot of energy from the mother to produce and maintain which drains it of the needed energy to save itself. I learned this the hardway.

As people are having a hard time getting on the website, I'd wait to see what others think, but I'd be tempted to cut the flower spike and keiki off so the plant can use that energy to save itself.

Have you checkedthe roots?

[Jennyfleur]

Hi Paul, yes, as far as I can tell, the roots look fine and there's nothing crawling around in them or anything. The spike with the keiki also looks fine (that keiki's been there over a year and a half and has only just started putting out it's roots) and both the keiki leaves and the main plant's leaves look fine. The only bits that don't look fine are the new spike (which is the icky one) and the new leaf that was just showing which now looks dry and dead - another reason why it's a bit puzzling!

The pics here were taken about a month ago when all was well, but it'll give you an idea of the areas I'm talking about http://www.orchidboard.com/community...-too-much.html

I rang up Burnham nurseries (well known grower in the UK) since OB is having a few troubles at the moment, and asked them about it. I've got some ultra bug spray on it's way to try out, but, like you say, the bugs might not be the source of the residue but are attracted to it, so I don't know what's causing that.

I tried to take a picture earlier, but my poor little camera can't seem to get a shot that would help. It's very overcast today, so I might try tomorrow if need be when it's brighter

[Paul Mc]

Yeah! OB is back up and running! Hopefully someone can give you some better insight than I could Jenny! Hope it all works out for you and your little 'chid!

[silken]

It sounds like thrips if they are tiny straight little lines. Do they move fairly fast? I would take the whole plant (upside down or tilted and run it under a gentle spray to wash the sticky stuff off and any bugs until your bug spray arrives. The plant sounds healthy still and just has a pest from the sounds of it. Is it outdoors or in as I would think thrips would only be out doors, but you have different climate than we do, so who knows. Thrips like flowers. good luck!

[Jennyfleur]

Hi Silken - yes, tiny straight little lines is exactly it! I don't know about moving fast, but certainly crawling around at a rate you can watch. I've washed it as you said and wiped the leaves and the spike now feels waxy (but not sticky) - there's hardly any sun today so I didn't want to run water over the plant at the risk it wouldn't dry properly. I'll keep an eye to see if the stickyness comes back.

The plant is indoors and it has been suggested by the man of the house that they may have come from the compost that he's had his vegetable seeds growing in. Either that or they hopped on in the 5 mins it was outside when it was being watered

[Gage]

You can always spray it down with a mild solution of dish soap and water (obviously keep the crown dry). That pretty much keeps any bugs away for me.

[Jennyfleur]

Originally Posted by Gage

You can always spray it down with a mild solution of dish soap and water (obviously keep the crown dry). That pretty much keeps any bugs away for me.

Hmm, that's what I do with broad beans when they get black fly... I thought about it, but I wasn't sure how an orchid would react, but it's good to know someone's tried it

[Gage]

Originally Posted by Jennyfleur

Hmm, that's what I do with broad beans when they get black fly... I thought about it, but I wasn't sure how an orchid would react, but it's good to know someone's tried it

Just make sure it is VERY diluted. Orchids seem to be a bit more sensitive than other plants. I would use just a couple of drops of dish soap in a pint sized spray bottle.

[silken]

I agree, the dish soap if it is fairly weak won't hurt and will discourage the bugs. I don't have much luck totally killing off pests with soapy solutions but it helps control them.