3 White Fuzz Culprits In the Orchid Pot
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- Опубліковано 23 лип 2021
- Is This Orchid Mold or Something Else? 3 White Fuzz Culprits
Sometimes there’s a lot more growing inside the potting medium than we would like to admit. Bacteria and fungi are more common than we realize. Yet inside the potting medium, white fuzz is never a good sign. A white, fuzzy cotton-like growth starts slow, usually in new medium right after an orchid repot. This powdery, spiderweb growth appears out of the blue. It looks like white cotton, but can also have projections like a web. This white fuzz in the orchid pot, whatever it is, needs to go.
The white fuzz that appears to be cotton inside the orchid potting medium can be either orchid mold, powdery mildew, or mealybugs. In time, these three components will prevent the growth of a healthy orchid and need to be treated immediately.
Some orchids have hairs on their roots and these can be mistaken for fungus. Orchids that are terrestrial or semi-terrestrial have this in common. Paphiopedilums, for example, will have fuzzy roots. Oncidiums will have somewhat fuzzy roots. They look like a thicker root covered in fungus, but that is their normal state. Other orchids have small hairs that will uniformly cover the extension of your root, looking like polka-dot patterns of white dots on green roots.
Before you unpot, treat with a pesticide, and get nervous about your “dying orchid”, do a quick search to see what the normal roots look like in your orchid. I only say this because I did this as a beginner. To my shame and embarrassment, the orchid was indeed fine.
In this article, you’ll learn to differentiate what white, fuzzy, cotton-like creature is on your orchid roots and inside the potting medium, how to eliminate it, and how to prevent it from coming back. In all the three possibilities, your orchid will not die immediately, but if left untreated over several months, there is no remedy to salvaging what’s left of the roots and leaves. Let’s look at these items one by one.
If you want the full explanation of this video in writing, go to orchideria.com/orchid-mold/
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Happy Cultivating!
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DISCLAIMER:
This UA-cam Channel is the by-product of extensive research on how to recreate that environment inside my home.
By no means do I consider myself an expert but I'm an avid learner and willing to share the little I know with others. There are thousands of different ways to care for orchids, and the more we share, the more we learn.
What started out as a hobby has now grown into a passion, producing an online resource of quality information on how to connect with nature.
If you'd like to see the uncommon story of my life and how I ended up overseas in the first place, check out my memoir on Amazon, Shattered Sanctuary.
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Image Credits:
Occasionally, I have to depend on other people's photos since I don't have the photo of the specific pest or insect I'm talking about. In these cases, I rely on photos from Creative commons, which are all licensed by 2.0. These amazing photographers most certainly need a shout-out, which I'll mention below. "Mealybug 3" by CIAT International Center for Tropical Agriculture, "Mealybugs on a flower stem, Yogyakarta, 2014-10-31" by Crisco 1492, "Leaf spot powdery mildew 2", "Squash: Powdery Mildew", and "Legume: Powdery mildew" by Plant pests and diseases,"Taylor’s Port Wine Cellar, Vila Nova de Gaia, Oporto" by Ray in Manila, "File:Postia ptychogaster (7986149062).jpg" by natureluvr01, "Ptychogaster (syn. Oligoporus) spp." by Ephemeral Impressions " and last but not least, Weißer Polsterpilz (Oligoporus ptychogaster)" by blumenbiene.
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Music Credit:
County Lines, by Delicate Steve - Навчання та стиль
Thank you for your video
Short simple and easy
Exactly what i thought i needed to treat them
Anyone buying on ebay
Beware
Great presentation and information. I enjoyed watching.
Hi Nicole, Thank you. I appreciate it.
Informative. Appreciated the vivid descriptions. I have a mold problem with my dendrobium orchid. Just saw it today. I did not want to repot as it's recently repotted and it's also on the verge of blooming. It has been raining everyday and most of the nights for the last 2 weeks. Ur report meant a lot to me. Thanks
I'm glad the video helped
Hello, a complete beginner here! I recently got gifted an orchid and I've never been able to keep a plant alive so this time I am dead set on keeping that thing alive! I've had the orchid for a couple of months and it's been doing great. When the blooms fell off I was told to repot it and move it inside in less light, and water it less often. I did that and it's growing a new... branch (idk if that is the right word) and leaves and I am so excited. A few days ago tho I noticed something very thin like a spiderweb growing between the bark chips and I can't find that exact thing on the internet. It's not on the surface, just between the bark pieces inside the pot. It's spreading in a firework-like formation in a couple of places. it doesn't seem to be affecting the plant...yet. I am afraid to water it because I don't want it to grow faster but I can't find a solution because I have no idea what it is. I hope if you see this you could tell me what it may be. Great video, thanks!
There are spider mites that fit that description. I would soak the pot well and see if anything (insect-like) floats up. If not, then repot again with a different brand of orchid bark.
Thank you very much
Hi Sajeevi, Thank you for watching my videos. I appreciate it. 🙏
I really enjoyed all 🙂
hi and thanks for the good video. here in Finland, it is much more difficult to find physan 20, while listerin is available. Can you tell me if you use listerin, how, and in what quantity? when I'm a beginner I wouldn't want to kill the flowers right away :)
Finally someone who doesn't just suggest using hydrogen peroxide
Hi Amanda, another helpful video thanks. I've just used some micorrhizol fungi to experiment with a couple of orchids. Have you ever tried it and does it look similar to what you have just been talking about when it grows?
Hi Carole, I haven't ever bought or used the fungus to grow orchids from seeds, so I can't answer you. From what I've read, there are many different types of fungus used and mychorriza is just the name of the type of relationship between the fungus and the orchid seeds while they do not have roots or leaves. So my guess (huge emphasis on hypothesis here) is that it shouldn't be so much that the fungus is visible to the human eye. I say this because every photo I've seen is done with aid of a microscope, and it's zoomed in 100x times. In those articles, there appears to be little white dust, but it's not something that is easy to see. Of course, I could be totally wrong. Hopefully someone else will chime in and give their opinion, too.
Hello, my rootless phals are in “ICU” which is a glass pot with moisted sphagnan moss covered with perforated saran wrap and is kept at 25C to encourage root growth. Now I am seeing white fuzzy mold covering the root. Is physan 20 bad for the root tip? Can I use potassium permanganate? What can I do? Thanks for your advice!
Thanks you!!! I was so confused, but I now know exactly what I did wrong! 🤦🏻♀️
Hi Ash Se, I'm so glad the video helped. Thank you for watching and for leaving a comment.
If your orchid has a ‘musty’ smell, should you assume there is something growing in the media?
Thank you, Amanda. The right video at the right time. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any fungicide with an active ingredient "Alkyl Dimethyl...'" you've mentioned in this video. Can you help me with that? I live in USA. Thanks in advance.
Hi Liliya, Glad it was helpful! Physan 20 has it, even though it's not a strong fungicide. It kills the mold but other fungus that are stronger, like black rot, I've found Physan 20 does not work. You can pick it up here: amzn.to/3lfdRUg For extremley strong cases, you can use Fungicide Captan or Aliete.
@@Orchideria thank you so much 💓
Hi Amanda, thank you for the informative video! Finally some reliable information. I think some of my rescue phalaenopsis orchids have snow mold. Is it possible to disinfect a store bought medium? I have half a bag left from Lowes and will disinfect and repot the affected plants, but I'm not sure if it's safe to use the Lowes bag in case that was the source of the mold.
Hi Window Frame, You can bake the bark in the oven for 20-30 minutes, and that kills whatever managed to survive from the bag. I would highly suggest getting a different bag though. I haven't really seen if the baked bark breaks down faster or not. Thanks for watching my video. I'm glad it helped.
@@Orchideria I'll try baking it since it would be a throwaway anyways.
Is there anything you would use other than Physan20? It looks like the local stores here don't carry it. : (
I would love to see a video of how to treat snow mold properly with fungicide or physan 20! My orchid is in full bloom and seems to be growing new buds just fine, but I just realized it has a pretty bad mold spread in the pot and am terrified of shocking or killing it!
Hi how did you deal with it? Mine is in the exact same situation now :(
i repotted it and treated with hydrogen peroxide!@@feelslikeflying23
Hello! Thanks for your videos! In terms of pests... I have one that I cannot find a single video about with orchids. I believe my new phalaenopsis came with a pot worm (or two... I might have seen a tinier one.) Whilst I'm waiting for my order of orchid media to arrive so I can repot--are pot worms harmful to orchid roots? I saw a couple of websites claiming so. How do I make sure not to have any more pot worms when I repot my plant? My original plan was to bathe it in hydrogen peroxide but having seen a couple of your videos made me... not want to do that!
Throw that away
If the mealy bugs I got sent to me don't stop popping up
Won't be long it's gone
Cheaper to replace then lose them all
Yes all new plants coming into the house goes thru an isolation period
Snow mold? Nah!
Powdery mildew? uh-uh!
Mealy Bugs? Unfortunately, these pesky critters have been on a few of my plants (NOT, the orchids!!) - but I have my method of getting rid of them!! I just cut off the branch. In the case of the orchid, they have not infested my orchids as yet. And I don't want them to. I check my other plants all the time for mealy bugs, and as soon as I see them, I cut off the branch they have infested.
On a lighter note ... I noticed a little nub on the stalk of my phalaenopsis - and started doing a happy dance, which I cut short immediately, when I thought, could this be a spike? Or a new root? After a couple days of monitoring - it's a new root!! Imagine my disappointment, but also a good feeling that my plant is healthy and alive!! I am still nursing three baby phals - so far, so good! Good leaves, good roots - but their growth is oh so sloooow!! (I am impatient!).
Hi Lyn! I know the exact feeling! Having patience is the hardest! Thank you so much for still watching my videos! I appreciate it! 🙏
What about Springtails? WOW! I just noticed I was the first comment, Cool Beans!
Yay! First comment! 😊🙌 Hi Tally! I didn't include springtails because I didn't consider them fuzzy enough, or something similar to the mold pictures. But they are in several other "problem" lists. LOL
@@Orchideria yes I remember you mentioning them. Others use them in terrariums to keep the mold down. Good little creepy crawlers.
@@Orchideria ❤ back at you.
I have mold! Freaking out. Found a fuzzy white bud, lorry, I need help.
Hi! I recently purchased my first phal and reported it in large bark with a small amount of moss throughout. The orchid originally came in some kind of sponge, so after a few weeks I noticed that most of the roots had died due to transplant shock (about 4 smaller roots remaining). Reported again, to remove the dead roots and UA-cam told me to encourage new growth, I should increase humidity for a bit in the pot, so have been watering it twice a week instead of once. Sadly, today I noticed the start of what looks like mildew..I believe my main problem is it's still cold here in the UK -so will be trying a heating pad to warm up the roots and hope this helps. Do you still recommend another repot and the heating pad-I worry that tampering with the roots will only make things worse..thanks!
Hi Erin, I'm afraid that if you keep up the watering (2x week) and increase temperature, the mildew will just grow with more force. You could try a seedling heating pad but make sure there is enough air flow to dry out comoeltely in between watering. I'd wait until the weather outside is warmer before increase the watering. Orchids are slow growing plants and they will adapt with time, so be patient. I know it's hard, but new roots will grow.
@@Orchideria thanks so much for the advice, I'll give that a go! It's amazing how attached we get to these plants!