I deflasked a flask last week and noticed today that the leaftips of
the plants are begining to look off colour like they in the process of
a dieback. Is there any way to save these plants from complete
dieback? I did put them into a solution of fungacide before I potted
them up, but that does not seem to have stopped the tip problem.
--
Gideon Singer
In Beautiful Vancouver BC

I know this is a common practice, but I always wonder what it is one is
treating when they subject poor little seedlings out of flask, where they were
in a sterile environment, to a potentially toxic fungicide.
I would suspect that the changes you are seeing in the leaves this early are
the results of toxicity to the fungicide, and I doubt there is anything one can
do other than hope they will recover on their own.
In 30 years of growing orchids I have deflasked a lot of seedlings, and have
never treated any of them with anything-no insecticides, no fungicides, no root
hormones, nothing-other than placing them in a small enclosure of their own for
a short period of time to maintain humidity until they are established.
The results do not seem to indicate a change from this practice.