Gilda
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r
I too have experienced this ..with Rain water and fertilizer..I was also fertilizing phrags too much and not flushing the pots.
rot/erwinia problems with Phrags.
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I too have experienced this ..with Rain water and fertilizer..I was also fertilizing phrags too much and not flushing the pots.
Justin
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agree with paphateer. i had the same problem with R/O with not enough Calcium and mine do much better now with tapwater and Urea. Do you give your plants enough Calcium and Magnesium?
Ditto! I hate using rain water. The first time I used rain water. Five of my plants got rot literally the next morning. They were fine the day before.
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I agree, Ca is one of the most important element what hepls to keep integrity the wall of cells. Lack of Ca causes weak cell membrane gives way to the invasion of the bacterial agents. Rick mentioned the role of citrate, too and maybe it works especially with urea based fertilizers. I had a lot of erwinia problems in the past, nowadays very rare, but there are some sp. what notoriously affected, eg. philippeinense.
Add a bit of the Inocucor Garden Solution to the rainwater, and you'll not see that at all. In fact, they'll be more-than-likely improved.
phraggy
Well-Known Member
Hi Dot. Nothing vague about this just the opposite. It's so easy you have nothing to think about. Our household bleach here is called Domestos. It's a thick bleach and when mixed with water ( and stirred ) produces a few bubbles on top. Just dip the whole plant including roots into it for a minute or so and all bugs will be dead. You can then clean the plant with fresh water and repot into new compost, your plant will be free from a whole manner of problems. Give it a try you might be very surprised and it wont harm the plant -- and it's cheap.
Ed
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Thanks, Ed. I've not seen that kind of bleach here. I have used a 1% solution of our regular chlorine bleach in my watering at times, which has helped control fungus gnats.
Phraggy, now you must send all of us some Domestos. The
only bleach I've seen here is Clorox and it's a chlorine
bleach. I wouldn't get it anywhere near my orchids!
only bleach I've seen here is Clorox and it's a chlorine
bleach. I wouldn't get it anywhere near my orchids!
phraggy
Well-Known Member
Hi abax. Domestos is a 5% chlorine based bleach. No worries, No problems & No bugs . Go on don't be shy give it a go!!!
Ed
Interesting, my plants really seem to prefer rainwater; granted I have them outside, so maybe it's the additional air circulation.
Yes, but I have 5 fans blowing on them 24/7. And it really doesn't make any sense and explain 0 incident that I have prior to that and suddenly 5 plants manifested rot the next morning just after using collected (through gutters) rain water day before.
I suspect that I introduce the bad pathogens through the rain water (It stinks after all). Unfortunately I think my mix has very little to no rhizobacteria to suppress the (bad) pathogens since they are indoors.
Anyhow, I will try to use some inoculates. Perhaps that would help in regards to plant immune system. I have been reading a lot about organic biological and natural control of pest and diseases since my wife and I are expecting and I do not want to use systemics around especially indoors. I have to say that I am very intrigue about these live cultures and how they can help the plants not only for suppressing diseases and pest but also on plant growth.
I grow my orchids almost "organically" (I still use some "chemical" fertilizers, though). Yes, I am heretic! And proud to be! I think you should try subculture B. I use it for a few years now and diseased plants are rare now.
Thanks I will check it out.
D
daniella3d
Guest
I am afraid of using rain water for my orchids. I prefer to use osmose water which is less likely to carry harmful bacterias.
Rain water is stained with all sort of nasty little microbes.
I don't beleive any biological stuff can suppress pests. It might control a bit but never supress completely. I bought 6 orchids from Le Paradis des Orchidées here in Quebec and they use only biological control. All 6 of my plants had mealy bugs and spider mites. I have to use Floramit and Imidacloprid (systemic) and glad I did. Plants started blooming and growing like mad after that. Flowers lasted months instead of days.
Rain water is stained with all sort of nasty little microbes.
I don't beleive any biological stuff can suppress pests. It might control a bit but never supress completely. I bought 6 orchids from Le Paradis des Orchidées here in Quebec and they use only biological control. All 6 of my plants had mealy bugs and spider mites. I have to use Floramit and Imidacloprid (systemic) and glad I did. Plants started blooming and growing like mad after that. Flowers lasted months instead of days.
It's not the rainwater quality that is the problem, it is how the rainwater is collected and stored. Clean rainwater is a perfect water source. But if you have unsanitary gutters or storage tanks you are exposed to harmful microbes. Clean your equipment.
It's also not likely at all that microbes in rainwater would cause rot to appear in less than 24 hours. More likely a pre-existing condition.
It's also not likely at all that microbes in rainwater would cause rot to appear in less than 24 hours. More likely a pre-existing condition.
The goal with biological control is to "work with nature", and yes, that often means only controling some pests and not trying to eradicate them (they often will be back anyway with many new plants coming from orchids producers using chemicals... I received bugs from almost every growers.)
I did not see any mealies in my collection for more than a year now. I am pretty sure there are still a few in my 500 plants but at such a low level that they are not disturbing. And, gosh, I saw a few thrips last months.... One plant showed Erwina last week... Only one and the plant will survive for sure!
And for many plants flowers last for months, not only a few days.... And many people got some of my plants and they never complained about pests... I just don't have real problems with disease now. Actually, my plants are healthier than ever.
By the way... I used "strong" chemicals for decades!!!! For my personnal use, but also at work. I applied many stuffs or have been in close contact with many "strong chemicals" : Cygon, Orthene, DDT (yes... DDT ), Chlordane, Benlate, 2-4-D, nicotine bomb (I add such nicotine in my blood my insurance company though I was a smoker...), etc.
Then one day, I decided enough is enough. It was not easy though since all is a matter of balance with biological control. I had to think differently. I now see myself like an "ecosystem manager"
What I mean is....if something doesn't work for someone, it can work for other people.
oke:
Then one day, I decided enough is enough. It was not easy though since all is a matter of balance with biological control. I had to think differently. I now see myself like an "ecosystem manager"
Like that! It's like being the conductor of a very big and surprisingly diverse orchestra.
Not easy at all.
Not easy at first because many practices must changed. If someone wants to introduce auxiliaries, he must be able to identify the problem, he must be aware that beneficials are more tricky to 'raise' than aphids, thrips or mealies. Maybe he will discover auxilaries cannot survive in his collection because of residues of some pesticides!!! Troublesome but it is true... He will also realize many 'friends' just can't multiply as quickly as their "food". Predator-prey cycles are a natural process, and he should deal with it. But maybe like me, he will find a way to raise some "friends". And maybe like me, after a strong reduction of pest populations, he will decided to spray its collection every 3 weeks with Botanigard, applied benefial fungii and bacteria with almost every watering, and, in summer, to introduce auxilaries only once to companion plants, some bearing pollen useful for some auxiliaries (orochid pollen doesn't seem to be interesting for the auxiliairies I tried to introduce).
But biological control is also dificult because lots of practices are not well documented for orchid growing.... there are few people growing organically orchids in the world. I think Le Paradis des Orchidées is the only commercial grower with such a certification. I often talked to the owner Laurent Leblond (we love to share ideas on the subject) and I consider him a pioneer and is always searching for new solutions.
D
daniella3d
Guest
I don't know about their certification, but I can tell you that if you buy a plant from them, count of mealy bugs and trips. mine were all infested.
If you go there, you can see a table in the back full of plants that prove that biological control just don't work, at least not for them. they are simply transfering the problem to the customer.
If you go there, you can see a table in the back full of plants that prove that biological control just don't work, at least not for them. they are simply transfering the problem to the customer.
I think Le Paradis des Orchidées is the only commercial grower with such a certification. I often talked to the owner Laurent Leblond (we love to share ideas on the subject) and I consider him a pioneer and is always searching for new solutions.
