Eeek, First Deflasking Emergency

[Rowangreen]

I've just brought home some flasks, had hoped I had a few days to sort myself out, but it looks like I have to deflask one quick as I have mold growth! The tub is in a sealed bag and I guess it must have got a nick in it at some point in my journeying Handholding apreciated!

Flask is Pabstia jugosa. I had hoped to leave it a few weeks as I can't really see pseudobulbs and I'd thought it best to leave until they'd formed, though the leaves are just touching the top of the pot. Currently the mold colony is not touching the plants, but the size it is I expect it could fill the pot in a day.

My available supplies are sphagnum moss, perlite, chunky bark and Orchid Focus bark and coconut mix (I guess I could break down some bits of the last two, but small bark is not instantly available). I was thinking of using a mix of moss and perlite: would that drain a bit better than moss on it's own?

[Rowangreen]

Since I don't have a fungicide, I'm thinking of giving the seedlings a dunk in a mild bleach or hydrogen peroxide solution. Good idea?

Thanks!

[Bloomin_Aussie]

I wouldn't. The seedlings should be fine as they are since they've come from a sterile environment. Just try to wash all the agar off by soaking them in warm water. Worry about sterilising the media you are potting them out into. If you don't have fungicide, you could use boiling water or cook it in the oven/microwave.

EDIT: sorry, I just re-read the bit about the contamination. I'd still avoid bleach or peroxide and just do as above. See if you can scrape out the mould with a spoon or something before you start pulling plants out that way you'll minimise contamination.

[Rowangreen]

Just to update I deflasked on Friday evening. I also did some Paph hybrids and an Angracum elephantium (freebie from the show I went to) first, as they were ready. All are looking good so far. I have them in a propagator so they are getting 99% humidity (according to my monitor which I suspect can't say 100%!) and I'm trying to keep the temperature between 20 and 25C, though it has been a bit under and over (heat mat seems to be a little too effective, so I can't leave it on).

[keithrs]

With the humidity that high you will need a small fan to circulate the air to avoid rotting if you have not already. Try and lower the humidity to 70-80% if you can. You can put a towel between the heat mat and the tray to help keep the temps even if you would like.

[Rowangreen]

Eeek, haven't got a fan. Will go open the vent break out a towel!

Thanks!

[Rowangreen]

I also have to re-do the Paphs. Rather than neat fans with roots they came out 'elongated' with leaves then roots, then leaves, then roots... Got some advice off Jerry Fisher yesterday and he reckons I should remove the lower leaves and plant up to the top roots. I had done a 'best fit' with some leaves buried and some roots a bit exposed.

[Rowangreen]

Still OK today (Tuesday morning here).

I re-did the Paphs on Sunday evening. The first one (the chunkyest) got leaves cut off, but I found I could pull them off the others cleanly. Felt mean, and the plants look much smaller now they are planted deeper! You can just see hints of patterning on their leaves: can't wait to see how they turn out. From pics I've seen the cross is very variable in that respect.

After thought I decided not to try and drop the humidity suddenly. I have advice from an expert I know in real life that humidity is the number one priority and should be dropped slowly. And after all, lots of people successfuly raise seedlings in 'propogators' made with plastic cups etc. I'm sure the humidity is high in them too (unmonitored...) and my set up probably does create a few convection currents. Everything still looks clean in there, and I think roots are growing.

The Pabstias have a little 'elongation' going on too, but will have to sort themselves out as they are too fragile to stand much handling I think.

I think I will probably get the phals out today. They could go a bit longer in flask, but they seem to have grown considerably since I got them! I think it would be better to get them out now so they can 'harden' with the rest rather than wait and end up with them desperately needing deflasking and needing a separate propagator! Also one that has some roots out of the medium is showing problems with those roots: I'm not sure if it's just from the flasks getting chilled while I was travelling around with them (some exposed Paph roots also lost hairs, but those have shown no further bad signs). Anyway, I want to get that one out and see what's going on with it.

I did take pictures, which I will post at some point hopefully. Spent ages doing pictures from the BOC show and I'm not sure anyone's looked at those! Guess I should have used the free time to sort the ones for this. Duh!

[Rowangreen]

A month on, and believe it or not I still have 100%! I did de-flask the phals, and it looks like I made the right choice the way they have grown!

I got some spots of mold on old roots, but actually decided to leave them, and several weeks on those plants are still OK. I think it may have just been a little surface mold on traces of nutrient gel, and not actually harming the plants.

I have now got a little surface mold on my pot of Pabstias, so I'm trying to get them a bit dryer now. Up to now they've spent most of the time in 100% humidity, but with increasing periods of exposure to lower humidity. Right now they are up to doing several hours as low as 65%, so I think soon I'll be stretching that to most of the time. Juggling humidity and heat is tricky, as they are in an un-heated room which could go down to the low teens centigrade, and the mat I have is a bit too warm! Fingers crossed I can work it out.

I still don't have a fan... Pabstias have had only de-ionised water (with a little fert) or collected condensation off the lid. Others have had the same plus some tap water with fert. (My tap water is good but hard)