Algae Problems

[estación seca]

Before you go around spraying stuff, find out what you have first. Do you have any photos to show us?

[FourN6]

As a matter of fact I do have a picture. I had to remove the plant from the mount. Not only was the smell unbearable for me, I started seeing a lot of insect activity on the moss so the mount had to go.

The plant is Dendrobium Victoriae reginae. In the picture there is a nice cluster of roots, what I think is a dead cane and some nice healthy growth. I'd really like to pot this in a hanging net pot but it's a bit oddly shaped for that.

Can anyone tell me what growth the roots are supporting? If I remove the healthy growth and remount or repot, will it grow its own roots? I'll admit, I've never seen this before.

[bil]

Originally Posted by FourN6

As a matter of fact I do have a picture. I had to remove the plant from the mount. Not only was the smell unbearable for me, I started seeing a lot of insect activity on the moss so the mount had to go.

The plant is Dendrobium Victoriae reginae. In the picture there is a nice cluster of roots, what I think is a dead cane and some nice healthy growth. I'd really like to pot this in a hanging net pot but it's a bit oddly shaped for that.

Can anyone tell me what growth the roots are supporting? If I remove the healthy growth and remount or repot, will it grow its own roots? I'll admit, I've never seen this before.

Yeah, the roots are supporting the two new canes. I would mount it up without too much moss. A net pot full of moss might not go well.

[Salixx]

Just a thought, but seeding with live moss might help prevent this in the future - the live moss would compete (and likely win) with the algae.

Another option is to let them mounts dry out a little more between waterings. I may be lucky, but I have a lot of plants from Andy's and they don't grow a lot, if any algae. I do let most of them get pretty crispy before I water again though. I know they certainly don't smell unless I stick my nose to them and then they just smell earthy.

Also, a picture of the stinky stuff would be helpful if you're not sure what it is (i.e. mold, algae, etc).

As for the plant, I wouldn't remove much. If the leafless cane is still green, it's still alive and providing nutrition to the growing parts. If it's brown, you can remove it. I would leave the other roots and two canes alone though.

[FourN6]

Thank you all for the advice. Attached is a picture of the new mount. It's a bit small and the plant sits a little crooked but it's way better than what it was. The two canes with leaves are growing new roots so my fingers are crossed they'll help keep the plant alive. The leafless cane was great for anchoring to the mount. I used a bit more moss to mount than many would but I can only water 2-3 times a week with my crazy work schedule. I'm hoping the Den. Unicum next door will inspire the Victoriae reginae to grow

[Roberta]

Don't cut leafless canes until they are shriveled and brown... this plant can, and does, produce flowers on leafless canes. Mount it up with nothing under the roots (so the new roots will be encouraged to grow onto the mount, a bit of sphagnum on top of them for the moisture - the current good roots nourish the plant, but they won't grab the mount, only new ones will do that..