root rot on vase culture vanda

[Griffon Girl]

The last orchid definately looks like rot to me but it could just be the picture clarity. You can check by gently squeezing the root and if it feels slimy or soft then you have rot.

[Oranagra]

Actually, these root tips don't feel mushy. i know all too well how rot on Phalanopsis roots feels like: when you press on them a lot of juices go out and they end up being completely flat.
But here, even when wet, they feel somewhat firm, and when dry they feel completely firm. so maybe they're just drying/dying off..
But why? my other two vandas kept in the same condition don't have this...
What worries me is that it seems to spread slowly.
I'll grub a better camera and post closeups.

Regarding temperature and air conditioning, i measured it yesterday:
During the day, when no one is at home, the temps reach 32c (90f), some orchids (mainly Cattleyas and Den.Phals) are in direct sun from 2pm to 4pm, i measured the leafs (with IR thermometer) and they seem to get to 40c (105f)
in the evening (and weekends) when the A/C is on, the temps are as low as 24c-26c (75f-80f), And the air is also a lot dryer.

Outdoors (were i don't currently have orchids), i have from 20c (70f) at night, to 35c (95f) mid day (in shade).
I've put one Cattelya outdoors yesterday (next to the same south window where they are indoors) an it had direct sunlight from 2pm - 4pm, leaf temperatures were topping 44c (110f).

[Oranagra]

Here are high quality photos.

Wet:






Dry:

[estación seca]

Some of the tips are dead. That happens because we can't give perfect conditions. We bump the tips, we smach them, we let them stay dry too long.

Your plant should grow fine with those roots.

[Ben_in_North_FLA]

You may have to find the balance of time between soaking and drying out the plant. Vanda must have solid dry spell tween water sessions. Am sure that balance will vary amongst different plants. What is missing from your plant is the tell tale green tip on the growing roots and I suspect the constant wet is a problem that aggravates the condition. Growing vandas in water is a challenge. You can grow vandas in wooden baskets that soak up enough water to last them a couple of days. I would consider that option instead of the water vase.

[Oranagra]

Hi,
i reduced soaking time on the vanda above, but the problem persists and seems spreading (although the newer roots, which were the last to sprout are not affected yet).

but recently one of my other vandas seems to be affected by something similar. and this one doesn't have a lot of roots, so it really worries me.

note: the gray area, which seems mushy, is actually quite stiff when dry. but it doe seem spread, and today the rest of that root tip got yellow (was green yesterday).

[Oranagra]

here's a photo when that root is dry:


p.s. another thing that worries me with this one, is some black marking on the leaves, although they seem to exist for quite long, and if they spread, it's very slowly.

[Swimmingorchids]

I know this thread is coming up to a year old now. I guess I am reviving it as nobody really came up with an answer for this problem which was clearly some kind of rot that was spreading.
I hope the plant survived but it spread from one plant to the other so not a good sign.

I am an orchid newbie myself, but my first instinct would have been to soak it in a 0.3% hydrogen peroxide bath after snipping off the infected areas.

I've recently started sterilizing my scissors which I think was spreading disease when I got some. Even after sterilizing all pipes, connections, reservoirs etc the rot came back. After an even deeper deep clean taking all pumps apart and bleaching everything and scrapping all plants I managed to get rid of the problem. Only for a friend to give me a clone I'd given for safe keeping to bring it back again.

Anyway was interesting to see the problem spread on the inside of the root compared to phalaenopsis root rot.

[Oranagra]

I'm not sure if it was rot or not.
When dry, these root portions were quite stiff.

Maybe it was some kind of deficiency? I later found that my water was lacking Calcium and Magnesium.

Anyway, it eventually stopped, and all these vandas are doing great now.
I soak them for 3 hours about once in 2 days.

And recently I started adding Kelpmax from time to time and this staff does wonders. Within a month each orchids started branching out some 10 new root tips, and some 2 new stem roots.

[Sommeil]

Good to hear your vandas are doing well now! I have recently started a vase culture for my vandas as well.

So you say you soak them for 3 hours every other day?! Wow, I've been soaking them for 30 minutes daily, but this was while I had them indoors. I just decided to move them outdoors so they can get more sun, but I do worry about the potential things that could happen to it.

The roots do seem to dry out a lot quicker outdoors, so I will need to soak them for longer. Thus, I'm worried about potential root rot from the roots touching the bottom, so now I'm considering lining the bottom of the vase with leca. Theoretically, I can leave just a little bit of water on the bottom and the leca will be able to soak it up and provide some humidity while also keeping the roots aerated.

I might be overthinking it. Have you tried growing your vase cultures outdoors?