Wils. starry night - brown spots, white bugs - Beginner

[BerryStarryNight]

Hi there - I've been a board stalker for a while debating to join or not, 'another' forum - now I need some good advice.

A little background, that is relevant...

I got a Wils. Starry starry night, similar care to an Oncidium. I got this from a vendor on ebay, and the plant was just as pictured and healthy in the middle of this past March. It had buds and spikes, and probably 1.5 weeks to open. I HAD to get it out of it's seedling container (with that foam stuff that stays wet) as I am not a greenhouse and can't provide the immense light and humidity. I also read they like to breathe.

I transplanted into a loose bark mix (appropriate for Oncid.), and was careful to pick out as much old media as I could, and didn't hurt or have to cut any of the roots as they were all plump and white.

Once I transplanted, even though I did not want to being so close to bloom, it seemed to take off and started opening like crazy. I had 10 blooms open within 5-7 days. I let it dry out between waterings, but I am still feeling out the waterings as it seems mine likes more water. I can check the roots since I have it higher up and the bark is loose.

All of the sudden, a week and a half into bloom I have two flower drops, one small spike I had to cut (yellowing), and two blooms basically in limbo between closed and open bloomed - it was ready to go several days ago and stopped.

So, I now have these bugs that look like sesame seeds, upon further inspection. I must have had them for the better part of a week or two, I thought it was from the blooms opening, residue, idk as I noticed them when they bloomed. They never moved.

Well, now I see more, and they move. They also drink beads of water from the plant as I saw today, when I tried to spray them off with the mister. They seem to hang out on the back and front of the flowers. Looks like they are perhaps feeding pollen or something. They are not on flowers that may be dropping soon.

What are they, how do I get rid of them, are they in the new media (Sunbulb 5002 better grow)?

I also noticed today that there are small black spots on the undersides of the leaves. The tops are fine.

I have attached pics. Please help me, I appreciate it.
On 'orchid bug 2' there are two bugs in the pic, one drinking, literally I watched it

Also on the bugs, I have dogs in the house - I am going to throw the media away because it's in the closet where the dogs crates are. Could these be an issue?

Any other critical questions/comments are welcome.

Thanks - Nick

PS - how long should I expect these blooms to last in the first place?

[howze01]

The bugs look like Aphids. Will wait on someone to say how best to treat. Only thing I know of is that Ladybugs eat them. Good luck!

[RandomGemini]

These types don't like to be repotted. Their roots are sensitive to changes in the media, so the flower drop seems pretty normal to me, given that you'd just repotted the plant.

The bugs are not my area of expertise, neither are the black spots, but I'm curious to see what others have to say about them as I have similar spots on a Brassia hybrid I picked up at the local orchid show a couple weeks ago. I didn't think much of them at the time, because they are so tiny. Mine haven't grown either, so I don't think it's a fungal infection. They might be nothing at all.

[BerryStarryNight]

I had a feeling that any stress incurred by the plant would be due to repotting. The old media was soooo moist and retained when watered I felt it was important for the plant to dry out. So the flower drop does seem right for that. I repotted around 3/20 or so for reference.

[Vanda lover]

Those are definitely aphids. They are usually fairly easy to get rid of. I use a home made spray but you could use what ever you have available. Even a few drops of dish soap and a teaspoon or so of rubbing alcohol should work. Keep an eye on it and repeat if needed.

[BerryStarryNight]

Thanks for the input

So, should I be spraying the plant and media? The bugs are on the flowers and all up in there. I just don't want to ruin the healthy flowers.

---------- Post added at 12:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:37 AM ----------

From other readings, it seems that I spray the whole plant.
I used the soap and alcohol with water, super diluted. Seemed like the didn't like it, we will see if they retreat or die and fall off.
I sprayed the fern next to it as well (they were not together when orchid was initially invaded)

-- any input on the black spots? I will let this post sit for a while, hopefully we can figure that out too.

[RandomGemini]

I'm still researching, but it looks like these spots may have been caused by the grower keeping these plants too moist and they might be an indication of a fungal infection... I'm not sure if a fungicide should be used or not though.

[Vanda lover]

I haven't had any problem with damage to the flowers when I spray. I have been having problems with scale and mealy, so I am spraying almost weekly. Quite a few of my orchids are in bloom and it doesn't seem to bother them. I have to spray the phal flowers directly, because mealy gets on the backs of the flowers.

[WhiteRabbit]

If aphids, a stream of water will wash the off, but you need to check the plant daily for more.

You can also use rubbing alcohol (70%) in a spray bottle (hasn't harmed buds nor blooms in my experience) - again checking the plant daily. The soap and rubbing alcohol mix is also effective at killing aphids, but the soap can damage buds and blooms (still check plant daily).

I've been recently battling aphids on outside orchids with buds and blooms ... it's that time of year .

[Vanda lover]

Originally Posted by RandomGemini

I'm still researching, but it looks like these spots may have been caused by the grower keeping these plants too moist and they might be an indication of a fungal infection... I'm not sure if a fungicide should be used or not though.

I can clearly see the aphids in the photos

---------- Post added at 02:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:38 PM ----------

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

If aphids, a stream of water will wash the off, but you need to check the plant daily for more.

You can also use rubbing alcohol (70%) in a spray bottle (hasn't harmed buds nor blooms in my experience) - again checking the plant daily. The soap and rubbing alcohol mix is also effective at killing aphids, but the soap can damage buds and blooms (still check plant daily).

I've been recently battling aphids on outside orchids with buds and blooms ... it's that time of year .

I agree with this, though I haven't had a problem with the soap. Hand soap is a little milder, so I often use that, but only a few drops of soap.