buildup or moss/mildew problem

[Becca]

Originally Posted by Ray

Considering that the buildup is on the plant as well as the medium, it is definitely a mineral buildup issue, so no chemical treatment will fix it.

Considering how dry that pot looks, I think you're not watering often enough and/or are growing in a very dry environment.

Vicki, if you have switched to watering with distilled water, you cannot continue to use Dyna-Gr "Grow" formula without adjusting the pH of the solution up a bit. D-G in pure water will give you a pH of about 3- to 4. What type of filtration does your household water have?

As a point of reference, for folks that don't clean the LECA well enough to start, the leachate deposits are tiny needle-like crystals that look fuzzy, as opposed to the "cement" appearance of limestone from the water supply.

Ray....would this fuzzy look resemble a mold or would it be more crystalline looking? Just wondering if what I thought was mold was really a build up? I know, I know, I have issues with my semi-hydro stuff that is not in high humidity and that is my problem, just trying to figure out what is what since a camera won't capture whatever it is...lol. I do use RO water and the MSU fert.

[VickiC]

Hi Ray,
Yes, the older roots were there when I potted into S/H from bark, but they still seemed to be alive, though. Maybe I misjudged, so hopefully I'll learn better how dead roots look as opposed to live ones.

Along with the older roots, there were also a few new roots that had not yet grown down into the old bark. When I moved the plant into S/H, I was hoping that these new roots would take over before the older ones died (but they might have already been dead ??). Maybe there weren't enough new roots or else the ones that were new hadn't grown enough for S/H yet. ?? I have already potted the plant in sphag and placed it in my "orchid intensive care unit" (a clear plastic box with more damp sphag in one corner), but I didn't trim the old roots away first. I realize now that was a mistake, so I'm going to cut the roots off and put it back where it was.
Thanks for your help,
Vicki

Originally Posted by Ray

Whoa! Those roots look dead to me. I would speculate that they were there when you moved the plant into S/H. If that's the case, it is to be expected (the tailoring of the root cells thing), and suggests that the plant was not putting out new roots when it was transferred.

At this point, I'd cut off the dead roots and sphag-n-bag that baby.

[Ray]

Becca: if the "growth" looks like fuzz, but on closer inspection looks like tiny hairs standing straingt up that can sparkle in the light, it is residuals from the manufacturing process, and suggests the medium may not have been cleaned sufficiently to start. Mineral buildup from water and fertilizer looks more like the photos in this thread.

Vicki: Healthy roots have (usually) green tips and a white velamen coating. The brown roots are likely goners.

Another factor folks tend to disregard is temperature. Because of the airy nature of the medium, evaporative cooling of the root zone can be fairly strong, especially in dry winter months. Roots don't like to grow cold!

[VickiC]

Thanks again, Ray!

Vicki

Originally Posted by Ray

Becca: if the "growth" looks like fuzz, but on closer inspection looks like tiny hairs standing straingt up that can sparkle in the light, it is residuals from the manufacturing process, and suggests the medium may not have been cleaned sufficiently to start. Mineral buildup from water and fertilizer looks more like the photos in this thread.

Vicki: Healthy roots have (usually) green tips and a white velamen coating. The brown roots are likely goners.

Another factor folks tend to disregard is temperature. Because of the airy nature of the medium, evaporative cooling of the root zone can be fairly strong, especially in dry winter months. Roots don't like to grow cold!