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Sick orchid but I can't tell what's wrong. Can anybody help?

Discussion in 'Issues, Disease and Pests' started by Amelia, Sep 11, 2019.

  1. Sep 11, 2019 #1
    Amelia

    Amelia New Member

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    Hi all, I left town for a couple weeks and left my orchids in the care of a friend, and came back to several in quite bad shape. I've lost one of them to black rot, and this one is in pretty bad shape as well. I've tried everything I can think of - there was definitely root rot so I've trimmed away the rotting roots, it was covered in scale worms and I've mostly got those under control now, but it's still rapidly getting worse. I've been dousing it with hydrogen peroxide and cinnamon, and even tried commercial fungicide but nothing seems to work. Any suggestions at all for how to save it would be hugely appreciated!!!
     

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  2. Sep 11, 2019 #2
    Marni

    Marni Well-Known Member Staff Member Supporting Member

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    It seems to have several problems, but the one that I would point out is in IMG_0347. Those marks look like symptoms of a virus which can not be cured. I would isolate it from any other plants and be sure to sterilize your cutting tools well. Perhaps others can comment.
     
  3. Sep 12, 2019 #3
    Amelia

    Amelia New Member

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    Ok, thank you. Does anything else in any of the other images strike you as something you recognize? I'm new to orchid care (<1yr) and I'm trying to learn as much as I can so hopefully I can recognize and identify issues more quickly in the future.
     
  4. Sep 12, 2019 #4
    Ricardo

    Ricardo Slave of demanding bird

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    The main problem I see is dehydration. It seems the root loss has left this plant with a deficit on its capabilities to absorb water. In these cases the solution is to increase the environmental humidity around the plant to allow it to survive until it can grow back its root system. Some people put their orchids in glass enclosures to they don't have to raise the humidity of their whole house other use plastic bags. This has to be done carefully since a plant in a plastic bag exposed to the sun can easily overheat. Unfortunately the weakening of the plant by root loss can allow bacteria, fungus and insects to attack the plant.