Help! - Orchid Board

MT-Phal · #1 11-21-2009, 11:53 PM

A month ago I repotted my phal into S/H. Everything was going smooth; the new leaf grew at a record pace, a new root was emerging, and the older roots weren't dying off very quickly. All of that changed this week.

Last week I noticed a small bit of mold on the tips of one of my roots, which at the time at a new bright green tip. I removed it with an alcohol swabbed q-tip. Unpotting a day later, there was a small bit of mold here and there. All removed and phal was repotted, a root or two were trimmed. This morning I awoke to see that mold had returned. I unpotted, and lo and behold it had come back with a vengence. It was EVERYWHERE. I just trimmed back one of the roots which had rotted in the middle, shame b/c the end of it was green and healthy. At this pace, I'll lose all my roots within a week. What can I do?!

The temperature in southern california has dropped at night to upper 40s. I am using a heating pad, but it doesn't keep the top layer of PA warm. Could this be a cause of the mold? I have also been using a small fan, which is on and off throughout the day... though the mold wasn't that huge until this fan was used.

I just bleached and drained my PA again, and now it is soaking in water. My phal is in tupperware with some of the roots half submerged in a liquid seaweed/water mix.

Please help. I'm desperate.

trdyl · #2 11-22-2009, 08:37 AM

While the old roots die off mold is common. To keep it down I use Physan 20. For my soak before potting I put the PA in a Physan 20 solution. I also dip the plants in a Physan 20 solution for a few minutes before potting.

shadytrake · #3 11-22-2009, 12:09 PM

Yup you need to spray again with the Physan and go ahead and mix up some alcohol / peroxide and spray it too. Keep the fan on the pot.

I had a case with my Max and had to spray 2 times. You also need to let the fan do its thing by drying it out. Don't water again until you get the mold under control. The Phals can stand not being watered for a week if there is a little water in the reservoir. I wouldn't use the heating pad. Can you use a heater fan instead?

MT-Phal · #4 11-22-2009, 04:54 PM

Oh. Thanks, guys. I didn't know that mold was common when the roots were dying, that does make me feel a bit better... just knowing that it's not entirely my fault. I don't have any physan, but I'll make an alochol spray. My "Luke Skywalker" root has some sphag (stolen from my roommate's pot) around it, so I'll let the medium dry a it while keeping that one moist. Thanks again.

MT-Phal · #5 11-22-2009, 11:56 PM

My phal spent the weekend in sort of a bag and water mock up; a plastic bag placed over the plant while it sat in tupperware, some of it's roots with tips in the water.

Tonight I took the bag off, cleaned up some of the mold that developed while in the bag, and swabbed & cinnamoned away... trimming a little. Currently, my phal is actually in PA, in the tupperware with just a sliver of resevoir. The idea is to keep "Luke Skywalker," with his bit of sphag, moist and growing while keeping the other roots not totally wet. My idea is that the Skywalker will stay moist while the older roots aren't wet enough to mold and die off any quicker.

Ray · #6 11-25-2009, 10:07 AM

You should never pot up a plant with its roots submerged in the reservoir. They will suffocate and die.

Once a plant is well-established in s/h however, you will see the plant growing its roots into the reservoir, and that's fine.

MT-Phal · #7 11-25-2009, 04:58 PM

hey Ray, when my phal was in S/H none of it's roots were in the resevoir. Pretty high above it, actually. The only time some root tips were actually in water was when it was OUT of S/H, when it was sitting in a tupperware container.

Ray · #8 11-26-2009, 11:41 AM

I misunderstood. Thanks.

orchids3 · #9 11-27-2009, 04:59 PM

Is the mold "Snow Mold" and if so is Physan followed by Hydrogen peroxide the best treatment? Plants I recieved from one vendor had snow mold. I treated with Physan followed by a systemic fungicide. There was not mold for a long time but those plants tend to get moldy every so often. I wonder if some molds and funguses dont become systemic to the plant and return easily when the temperature, humidity*, nutrient triangle is just right and compounded by bad air movement?*Humidity or dampness

Believe the funguses or molds spread by spores is that not right?

DelawareJim · #10 11-28-2009, 12:00 PM

No, it's definitely not snow mold. Snow mold is a turf grass mold that usually appears when the snow is melting in the spring.

Turf Diseases: Snow Molds

Cheers.
Jim