Fungus one week after repotting, why?

[Leafmite]

You don't even need to use medium. If you have a clay pot, you can just hang your orchid in it (you want the leaves to be over the rim so they get good light) with a little wire and water the pot each day. The orchid roots will eventually grow and cling to the pot. I have many orchids that do not have any medium. Some are mounted, some are in baskets without medium and one is in a clay pot with no medium. You just need to set them in water each day until the roots turn green. With a rootless orchid, you should set the clay pot in a shallow bowl of water so that the pot soaks up water and provides humidity to the orchid.

I agree that bark is rather an expensive way to go. I'd rather spend the money on more orchids.

You can try LECA or red lava rock as a medium, too.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Black lava rock is fine as well.

[LisaK]

So there are 2 big box home depot / lowes stores near me and only one on online said they had plain bark in stock. No where near me had tiny terra cotta pots available, so I used two clear bottom slated 2 x 2 inch plastic seedling cups that I think fit them after I cut the dead roots. For the bark, at the store I only found one bag that looked wet and like birds nested on it. They sell out of the green house portion of their store. I see they have for a buck more the bark with the charcoal, etc. I dig in and find a bag with no signs of condensation, but when I got home to repot it was very slight but a little damp inside. I laid the bits out on a paper towel while, I repotted and when I went to use them I felt no moisture at all. Praying for no bug eggs. I'll just be sad if I put all this effort/money in them and they die. But the repot looks pretty good.
When I opened them up I saw a little bit of green mold by two roots and some white fuzz that I washed off. A lot of roots were effected by my cinnamon or neem as I expected and became soft, so I sterilized cuticle scissors and cut those parts off. They both now have about 6 roots each instead of 12, like two weeks ago. Even though one of the roots was firm and green, once I replanted it, the vellum came loose at the base where it is black, exposing the root, but since it was nestled in there I have let it be. You may be able to catch it in one of the photos I'm posting. Will that root die off and rot now?
So I washed them in pure water, trimmed off the dead parts, nestled them in 2x2 inch clear seedling pots and picked out the most tiny bits of dry bark to slip in around them, no watering and no cinnamon on the tips of the cut roots. I did put two small shot glasses of water next to them and being by the sink helps with humidity. I hope that causes no harm if it does anything at all.
Orchid Whisperer - I will follow your watering plan. Several days to the first watering with this afternoon being Thursday would make my first watering SUNDAY morning I guess. If I see that furry mold/fungus come back the only way to wipe it all away would be to lift it out of the bark and wash the roots again I think.
I'm feeling good about this. Thank you everyone for your continued support! It means a lot!!! I may see that spike flower after all

PS - I guess I'm still too new I can't post my photos within this thread. I got "Your submission could not be processed because a security token was missing."
Perhaps I can post in the repotting section...

[Orchid Whisperer]

You are correct to leave the root with the damage velum attached. It should be OK.

I doubt the mold will com back. Even if it does, don't un-pot it., doing that repeatedly could damage the roots more.

I hope your surgery recovery goes well. Good luck an let us know how things are going with you and your plant.

[LisaK]

Originally Posted by Orchid Whisperer

You are correct to leave the root with the damage velum attached. It should be OK.

I doubt the mold will com back. Even if it does, don't un-pot it., doing that repeatedly could damage the roots more.

I hope your surgery recovery goes well. Good luck an let us know how things are going with you and your plant.

Thank you for your advice again!
It seems to be the right choice. The one root hanging by only the root with the slipped off vellum is still ok I think. The one firm orange root that started to shrivel soon after repotting has completely shriveled.

Does a shriveled root give opportunity for fungus, etc. since it is decaying material?
When it had signs of fungus it seemed especially attracted to those parts.

The bottom leaves are not as firm as the upper ones but not completely limp. The lighter green plant they look great but if you tap them they give a little. The darker green plant leaves still look a little down and give a bit when tapped, but I think the drying out process is naturally killing the fungus

[Nana Trish]

Lisa, do your plastic seedling pots have holes in them for good drainage and air flow? I have been guilty of watering too much and hovering over my orchids worrying about every little thing and they seem to do much better when I water once a week and then pretty much leave them alone, other than the humidifier and low ceiling fan I have going part of the day. My blooms are lasting longer when I water less and worry less. It's a little frustrating that they grow as slowly as they do, but it's a fact. I have learned, though, that repotting is traumatic for an orchid, so you don't want to do it a lot. (: