First try at s/h. What did I do wrong? Tiny white spots...Mold?

[cluelessmidwesterner]

Whilst doing some research on what to expect in the first few months of a an orchids in s/h, I came across this video that shows/describe what happened in the first four months. This is from Michael's orchids. If the link doesn't work the video is from one year ago (November 17, 2017) and is titled "4 Month Adaptation: Semi Hydroponics". It deals with a Phal but I would guess that the progress of adaptation would be similar in most orchids. I don't know if I would unpot the plant to trim roots at the appropriate 1.5 month mark since I would think it would be too stressful to a plant but that's just my opinion.

[emmajs243]

Oh my goodness! Thank you clueless midwesterner!!! I had watched this and other videos by him many times but completely forgot about him showing the EXACT same mold!!!!

I agree that repotting would be a little overkill....I know that repotting in s/h shouldn't be nearly AS stressful but cutting dead roots, handling the plant, risking harming new roots (at least for me! I do NOT trust myself), just seems like it is going to do more harm then good unless the pot is just awful!!!

Oh man I hope this kiddo does ok!! Thank you again for the reassurance though that everything is going just as it should!!

[estación seca]

Most problems with Phals go away if you keep them warmer.

[emmajs243]

That's good to know! Does it work with Catts too ES?

[estación seca]

You can read about the different kinds of orchids and what they like by paging through threads here on Orchid Board. Pick a forum devoted to one kind of plant and read through it.

Catt generally tolerate much lower night temperatures than do Phals, especially in winter, but there is a huge variability. "Cattleya" can used to refer to any plant in the Cattleya alliance, which includes genus Cattleya. There are a lot of other genera and hybrid genera in this alliance. They are spread all the way from the Carolinas down into southern South America. Any group of plants with this wide a range will have members requiring different things. Most genera in the Catt alliance grow mainly in areas where nights cool down at least some, and some grow in areas with very large day-night temperature swings. Despite this wide natural range, Catts in general can grow and flower with similar care.

Phals also come from a wide natural range. Most (not all) come from warm parts of Southeast Asia. Some come from even warmer parts. A few Phals get quite cool and dry winters. Most Phals do not experience as much of a day-night temperature swing in habitat as do Cattleyas. We can grow Catts and Phals together because hybrids tend to be quite adaptable, but to raise Phals perfectly they should have a warmer spot all year than do the Catts.

And another thing... the photos aren't good enough for me to see well, but I wonder whether you have mealy bugs or scale on the plant. Go to the Pests and Diseases forum and look for photos.

[emmajs243]

Thank you ES. On page one in the comments I posted new photos....scale is an idea I need to look into. I have researched the red/brown looking scale but never white! Mealy bugs.....Idk. They aren't very fluffy like your regular mealy bug but much more like snow mold or almost cob webby!

It's like you took powder sugar or flour and it poofed a cloud everywhere leaving tiny remnant particles in the roots! However....I definitely haven't! I also thought about my humidifier and the way they can put out white dust from minerals BUT I have swapped to RO water in my humidifiers because my "tap" (which is really well water) just produced SO much white dust! My house was covered. Since swapping to RO water, I have had zero dust so I don't think it's that!