Foaming of distilled water
 

I soak my orchids in distilled water once a week, or as needed. Most of them are in clay pebbles, and since I have them for a while, I soak them in the same water one by one. So no problem there. But I have 4 orchids in different media: paphs are in their orchids mix of everything and I soak them separately and I have Onc. Sharry Baby and onc hybrid in original media I brought them home with. What worries me is Sharry Baby. Every time I soak it, for the past 3 years, when I take it out, the water is foamy (brownish I get it - wood decomposing). It really doesn't matter whether I soak it first or last, the water will end foamy. It really confuses me. This orchid had some snails problem in the past. Could it be, there are still some snails hiding deep down there making distilled water foam? It's confusing, distilled water should be neutral with no chemical reactions and surely it doesn't react with any other media I have. Any advice/experience with such thing? I took out all the media I can reach through roots, but mostly it's stuck on roots and I'm afraid to damage them all if I push it.

1. DO NOT soak plants in a common bath of solution. That is the ideal way to share plant pathogens.

2. Pure water is actually quite chemically aggressive, as it contains no minerals to buffer and stabilize it in any way.

3. As to the foaming, I agree with you that it might be some sort of residue. I have never seen foaming as a reaction to watering, so cannot imagine what is going on.

Maybe the grower had it soaked in a strong soap solution to treat for insects? If that were the case, I would imagine it could take a half hour under running water to flush it out. So just a soak could be pulling enough soap out to make the water sudsy. That's my little theory, but I'm curious what others might think. :)

Foamy Pool or Spa Water | Tech Tips | Reliable Pool Solutions

Could it be accumulation of organic debris? But I don't get how it happens. And with bark, of course there is organic debris.

I don't know about the soap, why would someone add soap there? In 3 years it could kill an orchid, or get washed away.

As the pot is simply soaking with no agitation or aeration ( like a spa ), even a soap solution won't form bubbles. That implies a chemical reaction releasing a gas.

Or.... An insect blowing bubbles?

In any case, it sounds like repotting into fresh medium is in order.

Any pictures?

A soap water spray will kill bugs but not harm the plant(s). It can be commonly used.

If you have old medium sticking to your roots, just soak the roots a little. The medium usually loosens and comes off.

be kind and repot

Can't take pictures, it has just been watered on Tuesday, next time it will need soaking will be next weekend. And this weekend is way to busy for doing such delicate thing as the roots and the media needs thorough soaking before they will give in to removal of it. Partially. There are tons of roots.

Sounds to me like you need to repot.... If your using bark.... I'm almost sure it is breaking down and releasing decomposed fibers(brown stuff) and the releasing gases from decomposing(foaming).

What type of pot is it in?

Plastic pot. I sometimes take out the plant with roots and all because there is so much of it and clean the pot so there is no residue there.

I repotted the plant yesterday and after I removed all media, and soaked the roots in water, there was still foam!

Here are the pics:
http://i42.tinypic.com/2lk62ch.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/2v0mpty.jpg

If that's all you're worried about - forget it!

What I am worried about is, why in the world is this orchids still foaming when it has been soaked all over throughout the year and no other orchids ever did so. This one never had one watering without leaving foam. No other orchids ever left foam after soaking. It is complete and utter mystery to me.

That little bit of foam could be from an insect that has taken up residence in the pot, or from a single piece of medium that is slow to let its air out when soaking up liquid.

If you're really concerned about it, repot.