*sob* Erwinia

[fishmommy]

Oh my goodness. Erwinia is wiping out my collection. I just wanna cry.

Went on vacation for 2 days and came back to a dozen new infections. Sprayed everything with Phyton 27 just now.

This feels like the end of the world to me

[Bud]

Physan can be quite expensive. Use kitchen chlorox spray to clean the surrounding areas(chlorox kills bacteria) but make sure it doesnt get in contact with the roots of your orchids...I am sorry but you need to repot.


In addition to infected plants, Erwinia can also be found in the guts of insects and bodies of water introduced by aerosols, runoff into rivers and dumping of infected plants. After rainfall upon diseased plants, an aerosol containing the bacteria is created. Fifty percent of the bacteria that become suspended in aerosols can survive for five to ten minutes and may travel for miles

[Eyebabe]

Keep your area a bit on the dry side as well for a while.
So sorry to hear about this...it's terribly frustrating!

[Leafmite]

I think a collection infection is every orchid hobbiest's biggest nightmare. I am very sorry to hear you are dealing with this. If you haven't already isolated your sick plants from your healthy plants and separated your healthy plants from each other (in case one of them is already infected), I would recommend you do this if it is possible to stop the spreading. I had luck using alcohol on leaves and bulbs to stop some sort of fast-moving rot on one of my catts but I don't know if it would work on what you have or, if it was just dumb luck. Wow. This is just terrible and, again, I am sorry to hear the news. Hope you can save the rest of your babies!
Leafmite

[Kimbubbley]

[fishmommy]

Thanks for the support, and I do appreciate all the advice!

[camille1585]

How terrible to have to come home to that! That would be my worst nightmare when it comes to the orchids. Hope the Phyton works for you.

If you have some that aren't too badly affected and the rot isn't in/near the crown, I recommend cutting off /excising the lesions, separate those plants and hope that's enough. 2 summers ago I caught an Erwinia infection very early on my orchids, and cutting off affected leaves and treating once was enough to stop it in it's tracks. Some Phals look really beat up now with large chunks of leaf missing, but at least they're alive!

[Anisa]

I was able only stop the infection when I used Phyton27 ... that and keeping my collection on a drier side for a while.
Sorry to hear you got hit. It is frustrating to see how fast it destroys an orchid.

[Paul]

Man, that really blows! You have some good advice here. Hopefully it will help you to bring the spread to a halt.

[Bud]

Is all your orchids indoors? I remember this time of year the frost comes early in NH...maybe when you turn on your dry heat the bacteria will dissipate and you can catch up on eradicating it. Good luck Mom!