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Old 08-08-2004, 11:17 PM
J Fortuna
 
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Default Moldy moss questions

One of my Phals that is potted in moss keeps developing mold in the moss,
and this looks really bad. Before leaving for vacation, I went to a local
nursery, and they told me that this will not harm the plant, and that all
that needs to be done is that the surface of the moss should be replace with
fresh moss. Well, when I came back from the two week vacation, all other
orchids that had stayed without watering in the apartment were dry and
needed to be watered, whereas this one had the mold growing on its moss, and
the medium is still quite wet.

Should I repot it completely, and replace all the moss?

I am thinking of replacing the plastic pot with a clay one. I would even
consider switched the medium, except that most of my Phals thrive in my
apartment in moss, and I can't really tell whether bark is dry, and I have
no experience with any other medium yet. What would you recommend?

Why is this one Phal's medium growing moldy and not drying out, while
adjacent Phals are doing well? Any ideas? By the way, I had repotted this
plant earlier this year, so the moss should have been fairly fresh. I think
I even repotted another plant at the same time, probably in moss coming out
of the same bag, and this is the only plant showing this problem. Baffles
me.

Were the staff in the nursery correct that the mold will not actually harm
the plant? It's a white fuzz kind of mold, and it is only in the moss and
not on the plant, and as far as I can tell the mold pervades the

Is the mold preventing the medium from drying out quicker, or is the mold
developing because the medium is not drying out quickly enough?

Could the mold be a sign of another problem, if so, what? Mainly my concerns
right now are aesthetics, that the medium is not drying fast enough and thus
root rot seems more likely, and also that it may be unhealthy for us humans
to live in a small apartment with a moldy thing. Should I be worried about
anything else, or should I worry less? The plant appears healthy otherwise.

Thanks for any advise,
Joanna


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Old 08-08-2004, 11:52 PM
Kenni Judd
 
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Default Moldy moss questions

Joanna: Even though I tend [cautiously] to agree that the mold itself is
probably not harming your plant, it sounds like a symptom of the moss
staying too wet -- which this plant still being wet when the others were dry
tends to support. Perhaps you packed that one a little too tight when you
repotted? Or maybe, even though it was in the same bag you used on the
other, you got a couple handfuls of "old" moss, or finer shreds, in that
particular pot. Phals are so easy to repot, why take a chance on leaving
it?

--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids
http://www.jborchids.com

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
...
One of my Phals that is potted in moss keeps developing mold in the moss,
and this looks really bad. Before leaving for vacation, I went to a local
nursery, and they told me that this will not harm the plant, and that all
that needs to be done is that the surface of the moss should be replace

with
fresh moss. Well, when I came back from the two week vacation, all other
orchids that had stayed without watering in the apartment were dry and
needed to be watered, whereas this one had the mold growing on its moss,

and
the medium is still quite wet.

Should I repot it completely, and replace all the moss?

I am thinking of replacing the plastic pot with a clay one. I would even
consider switched the medium, except that most of my Phals thrive in my
apartment in moss, and I can't really tell whether bark is dry, and I have
no experience with any other medium yet. What would you recommend?

Why is this one Phal's medium growing moldy and not drying out, while
adjacent Phals are doing well? Any ideas? By the way, I had repotted this
plant earlier this year, so the moss should have been fairly fresh. I

think
I even repotted another plant at the same time, probably in moss coming

out
of the same bag, and this is the only plant showing this problem. Baffles
me.

Were the staff in the nursery correct that the mold will not actually harm
the plant? It's a white fuzz kind of mold, and it is only in the moss and
not on the plant, and as far as I can tell the mold pervades the

Is the mold preventing the medium from drying out quicker, or is the mold
developing because the medium is not drying out quickly enough?

Could the mold be a sign of another problem, if so, what? Mainly my

concerns
right now are aesthetics, that the medium is not drying fast enough and

thus
root rot seems more likely, and also that it may be unhealthy for us

humans
to live in a small apartment with a moldy thing. Should I be worried about
anything else, or should I worry less? The plant appears healthy

otherwise.

Thanks for any advise,
Joanna




  #3   Report Post  
Old 08-08-2004, 11:52 PM
Kenni Judd
 
Posts: n/a
Default Moldy moss questions

Joanna: Even though I tend [cautiously] to agree that the mold itself is
probably not harming your plant, it sounds like a symptom of the moss
staying too wet -- which this plant still being wet when the others were dry
tends to support. Perhaps you packed that one a little too tight when you
repotted? Or maybe, even though it was in the same bag you used on the
other, you got a couple handfuls of "old" moss, or finer shreds, in that
particular pot. Phals are so easy to repot, why take a chance on leaving
it?

--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids
http://www.jborchids.com

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
...
One of my Phals that is potted in moss keeps developing mold in the moss,
and this looks really bad. Before leaving for vacation, I went to a local
nursery, and they told me that this will not harm the plant, and that all
that needs to be done is that the surface of the moss should be replace

with
fresh moss. Well, when I came back from the two week vacation, all other
orchids that had stayed without watering in the apartment were dry and
needed to be watered, whereas this one had the mold growing on its moss,

and
the medium is still quite wet.

Should I repot it completely, and replace all the moss?

I am thinking of replacing the plastic pot with a clay one. I would even
consider switched the medium, except that most of my Phals thrive in my
apartment in moss, and I can't really tell whether bark is dry, and I have
no experience with any other medium yet. What would you recommend?

Why is this one Phal's medium growing moldy and not drying out, while
adjacent Phals are doing well? Any ideas? By the way, I had repotted this
plant earlier this year, so the moss should have been fairly fresh. I

think
I even repotted another plant at the same time, probably in moss coming

out
of the same bag, and this is the only plant showing this problem. Baffles
me.

Were the staff in the nursery correct that the mold will not actually harm
the plant? It's a white fuzz kind of mold, and it is only in the moss and
not on the plant, and as far as I can tell the mold pervades the

Is the mold preventing the medium from drying out quicker, or is the mold
developing because the medium is not drying out quickly enough?

Could the mold be a sign of another problem, if so, what? Mainly my

concerns
right now are aesthetics, that the medium is not drying fast enough and

thus
root rot seems more likely, and also that it may be unhealthy for us

humans
to live in a small apartment with a moldy thing. Should I be worried about
anything else, or should I worry less? The plant appears healthy

otherwise.

Thanks for any advise,
Joanna




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Old 09-08-2004, 12:41 AM
Dewitt
 
Posts: n/a
Default Moldy moss questions

On Sun, 08 Aug 2004 21:17:33 GMT, "J Fortuna"
wrote:

Should I repot it completely, and replace all the moss?

I am thinking of replacing the plastic pot with a clay one. I would even
consider switched the medium, except that most of my Phals thrive in my
apartment in moss, and I can't really tell whether bark is dry, and I have
no experience with any other medium yet. What would you recommend?

Why is this one Phal's medium growing moldy and not drying out, while
adjacent Phals are doing well? Any ideas? By the way, I had repotted this
plant earlier this year, so the moss should have been fairly fresh. I think
I even repotted another plant at the same time, probably in moss coming out
of the same bag, and this is the only plant showing this problem. Baffles
me.


My guess is that this one pot is staying wet because the sphagnum was
potted a bit tighter than your other pots. I have never been able to
handle sphagnum in plastic pots bigger than 4" and even at that size
the pots don't all dry out in the same amount of time. Clay pots
w/sphagnum work great for me up to about 8", but require at least
yearly repotting. I've switched almost all my phals over to a CHC
(coconut husk chip) mix in plastic pots. Works much better for me
than a bark based mix.

deg
  #5   Report Post  
Old 09-08-2004, 12:41 AM
Dewitt
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Sun, 08 Aug 2004 21:17:33 GMT, "J Fortuna"
wrote:

Should I repot it completely, and replace all the moss?

I am thinking of replacing the plastic pot with a clay one. I would even
consider switched the medium, except that most of my Phals thrive in my
apartment in moss, and I can't really tell whether bark is dry, and I have
no experience with any other medium yet. What would you recommend?

Why is this one Phal's medium growing moldy and not drying out, while
adjacent Phals are doing well? Any ideas? By the way, I had repotted this
plant earlier this year, so the moss should have been fairly fresh. I think
I even repotted another plant at the same time, probably in moss coming out
of the same bag, and this is the only plant showing this problem. Baffles
me.


My guess is that this one pot is staying wet because the sphagnum was
potted a bit tighter than your other pots. I have never been able to
handle sphagnum in plastic pots bigger than 4" and even at that size
the pots don't all dry out in the same amount of time. Clay pots
w/sphagnum work great for me up to about 8", but require at least
yearly repotting. I've switched almost all my phals over to a CHC
(coconut husk chip) mix in plastic pots. Works much better for me
than a bark based mix.

deg


  #6   Report Post  
Old 09-08-2004, 10:57 PM
Diana Kulaga
 
Posts: n/a
Default Moldy moss questions

Joanna,

I tend to agree with Kenni and Deg about the moss being packed too tightly,
but there is one more possibility. I know that your plants are in close
proximity to one another, but each one still has its own micro climate. Is
it possible that this plant is a bit shielded from air movement, even a
little?

As you may remember, I grow outside under screening. A week ago, a Phal
began losing its leaves for no apparent reason (not crown rot - I know what
that looks like!). I pulled it out of the pot and found it soaked and
rotting, while three others right around it are fine. For whatever reason,
it wasn't drying out in that spot.

Diana


  #7   Report Post  
Old 09-08-2004, 10:57 PM
Diana Kulaga
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Joanna,

I tend to agree with Kenni and Deg about the moss being packed too tightly,
but there is one more possibility. I know that your plants are in close
proximity to one another, but each one still has its own micro climate. Is
it possible that this plant is a bit shielded from air movement, even a
little?

As you may remember, I grow outside under screening. A week ago, a Phal
began losing its leaves for no apparent reason (not crown rot - I know what
that looks like!). I pulled it out of the pot and found it soaked and
rotting, while three others right around it are fine. For whatever reason,
it wasn't drying out in that spot.

Diana


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