What's happening to my Phals!!!!! - Page 2 - Orchid Board

BikerDoc5968 · #11 08-14-2011, 08:21 PM

Well the good news is because of one of our members, Lars Kurth, and a sticky thread he posted back in October of 2010 I am almost 98% certain my disease is Bacterial Soft and Brown Rot - Erwinia! The bad news is this stuff can devastate a collection in days. So tomorrow I'm off to Home Depot to purchase some copper sulfate and spray everybody in hopes of getting ahead of this stuff. The thing is I've never used copper sulfate, better known as Phytan 27, before. According to the instructions you just dilute and spray the foliage. Before I get to this stage I'll have to mix up some because what the Depot sells are crystals so I have to make up a 21.36% solution which I will dilute out to a gallon. Any chemists out there who could help me do the math.... please. Where's Ray when you so desperately need him!

glengary54 · #12 08-14-2011, 09:27 PM

Howard - You are absolutely correct in your assumptions. A few words of caution, do not copper based products on Dendrobiums or flowers. Erwina is highly contagious and is spread by splashing water. If the plants in question are not very important plant, ie highly awarded, I would throw them out. If you plan on trying to save them, isolate them from the rest of your collection and treat any plants that were close to them even if those plants are not showing symptoms. Being out of the greenhouse and under the trees was just coincidental, it was the hot humid weather that did you in. For the future here is a link to photos of orchids with various health issues identified. I think that this link would be useful as a sticky.

Orchid Diseases

BikerDoc5968 · #13 08-14-2011, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glengary54

Howard - You are absolutely correct in your assumptions. A few words of caution, do not copper based products on Dendrobiums or flowers. Erwina is highly contagious and is spread by splashing water. If the plants in question are not very important plant, ie highly awarded, I would throw them out. If you plan on trying to save them, isolate them from the rest of your collection and treat any plants that were close to them even if those plants are not showing symptoms. Being out of the greenhouse and under the trees was just coincidental, it was the hot humid weather that did you in. For the future here is a link to photos of orchids with various health issues identified. I think that this link would be useful as a sticky.

Orchid Diseases

Thanks Glen. I personally couldn't believe my oak tree had anything to do with it but when stressed out one grabs for any reason to account for what is happening.

glengary54 · #14 08-14-2011, 09:49 PM

Howard - I will tell you what I tell myself all the time - "In the end, no matter how much I may love them, they are still just plants", don't stress out over the small stuff.

BikerDoc5968 · #15 08-14-2011, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glengary54

Howard - I will tell you what I tell myself all the time - "In the end, no matter how much I may love them, they are still just plants", don't stress out over the small stuff.

Glen, at my age, I totally agree and I am not terribly stressed about the loss of some Phals. For me it is the intellectual aspect of not knowing what was doing this to my plants. I assumed it had to be bacterial and not fungal but WHAT???? And the Physan 20 didn't seem to affect things as I expected it to. Now that I know it is Erwinia I can rest more easily and be pro-active at trying to treat the cause. I trust the Copper Sulfate will do the trick. Thanks again

Lagoon · #16 08-14-2011, 10:05 PM

Howard, Glad to see you've gotten some answers. Atlease now you know what you're up against. Now you can begin to try and deal with it.

I wish you luck ~ Go get'em Doc!

glengary54 · #17 08-14-2011, 10:17 PM

Howard - It might but erwina is a nasty little bugger and can kill a plant in a matter of days. When I worked in a commercial orchid operation, we just threw them out and made sure that the employee who handled it washed their hands thoroughly and treated the surrounding area. Good Luck my friend.