White fuzz growing on s/h roots - please advise!
 

HI! I'm in Florida, high temps and humidity. I have a Catt whose blooms have lasted about a month. I repotted it in s/h when new root tips appeared even though it had blooms, mainly because it kept getting knocked or blown over. It had some white mold looking stuff in the medium at the time, so I treated it before repotting it. I just noticed in the clear pot now having white stuff again on the roots, at the same time the blooms wilted and got brown spots. What to do?

How long did the blooms last after opening? Brown spots and falling off is what happens to old Cattleya flowers.

Most or all old roots usually die after moving to S/H, sooner or later. White fuzzy mold grows on dead roots, not live ones. Keep your plant warm and humid, and it will grow new roots adapted to S/H.

If most of the old roots died, the plant might not have been able to provide enough water to the flower. But your plant should recover and take off.

My experience has been that Cattleyas do well in S/H, but it takes them longer to get adapted than some other genera.

To tell the truth, she looks very happy. She has a nice root system that is bright green besides the moldy ones, and the flowers lasted about a month after opening. She is very stable in the hydroton, and has a new eye coming out of the cane with the flowers. Do I need to dig up the rotting roots or will it be ok?

Leave it alone. The plant sounds fine.

I get some white mold on roots almost every time I switch a plant to S/H. Or, I did when I lived in a more humid environment. It always sorted itself out in a few weeks. Not to worry.