One of the two new orchids (a Phal) I had bought at a local orchid nursery is having problems. The grower keeps them in moss (not a bark mix) and he told me to water once every two weeks and that I wouldn't have to change the medium for a year. However, it's only been a week since I bought it, and I have not yet watered it (just misted) and it looks like there is mold growing on the top of the moss.
I think I should probably get all of them out of the moss and into an orchid bark mix which will not hold so much water and will hopefully not mold. Do I need to worry about breaking one or two roots if I'm having problems getting the moss out from between them? Should I spray the roots with a 10% bleach solution or with a hydrogen peroxide solution or something prior to repotting to kill any mold that might be on them?
Any other suggestions? I'm new to this orchid thing, and I'd really like them to live. I'm feeling more and more uncomfortable about the directions (and orchids) I got from this grower, though his looked good.
Orchid Help
Mold or algae? Can you post a photo? It would be unusual to see mold on sphagnum and algae generally is not harmful to the plant.
I think it's mold. It's kind of hard to see in the picture, but if you notice the fuzziness, that's the mold. Kind of a whitish grayish maybe? I think there may also be fungus gnat larvae in there too, as I saw a little bitty wormy looking thing. I think there is algae as well, as the medium does look kind of greenish. The other orchid I bought at the same time had that same greenish look to it, but it has not gotten moldy. I think it dries out quicker than this one.
I was thinking I'd repot into the better-gro special orchid bark mix and maybe treat with Physan 20 or hydrogen peroxide, just to be on the safe side?
Oops. Forgot to attach the picture.
LOL, I must be missing the problem. It looks fine. A ceramic pot is not the way to grow a plant that's used to dangling its roots in the air. That's the biggest problem I see. If there is mold growing you can just pick it off the surface. You can leave the plant intact and move it to breathable terracotta or switch to bark. Once you switch to bark you will have to water several times a week because new bark will go dry fast. As the bark breaks down over the next several month you can back off on the water. Still, you will need to water a Phalaenopsis one or two times a week. As for the fungus gnats...get those mosquito dunks, break off a chunk and let it sit in water for a day or so. Water with that for several weeks. The dunk chunks will kill the gnats but you need to continue for a bit because there are multiple generations.
It's actually in a clear plastic pot thing inside the ceramic. That was the way I bought it, so i didn't realize that it was bad to keep it inside of the decorative pot. Do you find the terracotta better than using the clear plastic? I'm definitely planning to switch to bark and will be careful to monitor the moisture levels. The grower had told me just to water once every two weeks, which was a little concerning, because that doesn't take anything into consideration. I do have some of those mosquito dunks, so I will try that.
I was thinking about trying one of these types of pots:
http://www.repotme.com/orchid-pots/Orchid-Pots-Oxygen-Core.html
or
http://www.repotme.com/orchid-pots/Orchid-Pots-Slot.html
I thought with the pots being clear, and me being a beginner, that would also aid me in tracking how moist the medium still is.
LOL! Sharon, I use the clear pots for Phals for the same reason! Unfortunately, algae grows on the pots, with time, and you can't see squat! Those pots are very popular for Phals because their roots seem to like the light. The problem is that they get so top heavy that you have to put that clear pot into a clay pot to keep it from falling over. The pots with the conical center do seem to help the problem of rotting in the center of large plants though.
Nice! Oh well, if the algae isn't bad for the plants, then hopefully I'll have a better handle of it by then. I think I'll go ahead and order some and repot when I get them. I'm kind of afraid I'll lose all the flowers if I repot this one now, although one of them is already wilting. I don't know if that's because it's not happy or because the flower is getting old and it's time. I'm so afraid of doing something wrong!
if theres green growing its probly kept to wet and will rot the orchids roots.
I agree with Bree! Mine are all in the clear pots, and I only water when they look dry. I do mist the roots that are crawling out of the pots when I spray my mounted orchids, but even in a chunky bark mix once a week is enough for drenching in hot weather. Phals are funny critters. I have some that only bloom for a couple of weeks, and I had one that just kept putting out flowers for a year, 'till it bloomed itself to death. It seems to be the genetics in their background.