Fungus on spaghnum moss Jewel orchid?
 

Ok, so I got this little Macodes Petola exactly 3 weeks ago. Originally I was asking why the top of the spaghnum moss was green, and I was wondering whether I should repot it. However someone adviced me not to do it so as to not shock the plant as it first has to adjust to it's new environment. I was also told the green color wasn't a particularly bad thing.

Ok, so three weeks in... I've been noticing something white on the top layer of the spaghnum moss, it was a little bit to start with but it seems to be a lot more now. First of all I'm wondering, what is it? Is it mould, fungus? Or is it just calcium from the water, I've just been giving it tap water like I do with all my other orchids. Our water is soft water, so I understand that's not too bad.


So if it is fungus... I'm not too happy with this. Does this mean I should repot?


Another thing, this is the first Jewel orchid ever for me, and the first orchid that I'm told should never be allowed to go completely dry. That second part is where I think the hardest part lies in... finding the balance and learning when to water. I'm sticking my little finger in there to check how moist it is, and I'm also trying with a tooth pick (it's really a too small plant/pot for a skewer).

In general so far the orchid looks good. It's opened up two new leaves on each side and I can definitely see it's grown a little since I got it. But yeah, how to find the right balance in watering, I guess that's the tricky thing. I suppose it also doesn't need that frequent watering as it's not so warm anymore, summer is over fall has started.

oh yeah, I forgot the pictures. :biggrin:

For my jewel orchids in sphagnum, I water when the surface moss is starting to feel dry. Along with the fact that these plants like to stay on the moist side (they are forest-floor terrestrials, not epiphytic) when spaghnum dries out, it is really hard to rewet. But most important is to remember that the usual "orchid rules" about drying out between waterings apply to epiphytes - orchids that in nature grow on the sides of trees and so experience a strong wet-dry cycle. These jewel orchids don't play by the same rules. (the forest floor is pretty much always wet) The green sounds to me like algae. Unless it gets slimy, no harm. Too much fertilizer and light will accelerate algae growth. The moss holds fertilizer, so these don't need as much as the epiphytes where it runs off. And they don't want/need much light either. In fact, I have found that mine do much better in the house, well away from a window, than they ever did in the greenhouse where they got too much light and too much temperature variation.

If it was mine i woulg just hand pick the moss with white stuff on it and continue monitoring.

I agree with Veksa. Just gently remove the moss with the white stuff. If it comes back, you could also spray the affected part of the moss lightly with 3% hydrogen peroxide (but keep it off the plant) or physan (diluted 1 teaspoon, 5 ml - per quart, liter)... don't saturate with either, but that would tend to knock the white stuff down if it is fungus. "Lightly" is the important adjective here.... keep whatever product you may use, off the plant.

Thank you guys... I did exactly as you said. I thought I'd try to spray it with hydrogen peroxide 3% and I was very careful :) It seems to have worked, because the "whiteness" is now significantly less. I thought let me try that first and if that didn't work, I'd try the other option of taking the the white stuff away.

But I will definitely keep monitoring this.

Thanks. I must say that I also found the information on this website helpful.

Macodes petola >> Here—But Not

I was wondering about something though, regarding what it says about potting media. It says about the spaghnum mix that "you want this to sit in a tray of water for at least 3-4 months". Hmm, do they mean before you repot?

Because this would mean that if I plan to repot in the future I have to plan it 3-4 months in advance, right? Like keeping the media a couple of months wet before using it, is that what they mean?

And regarding the fertilizing, ok so I understand now, not too much. I've used a spray or mist "fertillizer" on it once so far, as I heard that the Macodes Petola also takes in nutrients through the leaves. It's the one from Orchid Focus. Is this one ok?

Thanks for the link. I also coudn't understand what the author means by sitting in water, maybe at the bottom of the pot? You definitely do not want roots to be sitting in water.
Regarding your fertilzer, is there more info somewhere about what exactly its ingredients are? As you mentioned there is not much info about growing jewels period, but I wouldn't mist leaves with anything but water occationally, I do not want to mess with the foliage.
PS. I keep mine under grow lights for now, seems to be doing ok, misting almost everyday, because top dries quite quickly.

I used to have a bunch of jewels growing in sphagnum, and the pots sat is trays, to which I added the water for irrigation.

By bottom-watering, the moss wicks the water upward, keeping it evenly moist, without compressing it.

I replaced the moss every 6 months.

Regarding the ingredients in the Orchid Myst, I've searched online and there is no info to be found. However I did find a thread here at orchid board with the same question.

Orchid Myst. Hit or Sshit?

I suspect it's not a substitute for regular fertilizer, I only thought I'd give it a try once. I have no idea if it has any benefits or not, but I'll probably not re-purchase it I've got enough of the regular fertilizer.

---------- Post added at 08:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:33 AM ----------

Thanks. That's helpful. :Tup: