Ben,

I believe you'll be far more successful in your orchid growing if you change
your "ecosystem" concept for them away from "inside the pot", and instead
think of the pot as a clean container in the larger ecosystem in which the
plants reside.

The fact that you have what is apparently a saprophytic fungus is a bad
sign, and dead roots sure isn't good either.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!

.. . . . . . . . . . .
"Ben Lurkin" wrote in message
hlink.net...
I keep about 80 potted plants, some under lights in the basement and some
upstairs in living quarters in addition to 15 orchids. Most of them go
outside in summer. In summer I do a small organic kitchen garden.



I see a pot as a mini ecosystem. It should contain one or more plants,
growing medium and composting bacteria, a lot of small invertebrates and
sometimes even a little fungus, moss and or lichens.



When orchids are put outside, the pots become populated, as they should.
Most are beneficial to harmless. But, sometimes we get an unwelcome
visitor, often one that can reproduce rapidly. So it is important that we
identify what is there. [I am aware that disease can spread very rapidly
in
any crowded population and that some gardeners want to kill everything
that
moves.]



On repotting my mini cats I found some things that were strange to me.
The
strangest was small, white, very hard, smaller than a pinhead, and round.
They were many patches of them on the bark, on the dead roots and on the
inside of the flowerpot. They were held together and to the surface with
white strands that remind me of fungus mycelium in compost. I think they
were too hard to be eggs or fungus, so I cannot guess what they might be.



Has anyone here seen anything like this. Is there a website that might
help
to identify this and maybe an insect or two??



Thanks again,



Ben