Have you ever made a really bad orchid choice?

[playtime8978]

I started keeping orchids in feb last year and lost a couple of phal noids very quickly but got OB helping me and my next few did really well I bought mainly near blooming size plants as they were cheaper. then one day I saw advertised somewhere else orchid seedlings of all different varieties and jumped in thinking my luck was in as they were so cheap and bought loads I got ansellia africana 3 different Den species, 2 Phal species and an Encyclia cochleata(sp) when they arrived i found they were just out of flask and absolutely tiny they had this grey gunk on the roots and many of them were all knotted together they came in plastic pots with lids and plastic bags ( I thought oh heck what are these) so desperately started looking what to do with them but they were just too fragile for me to manage and I killed many over a couple of months. I have left one group of a Den species, cochleata which is thriving and one Phal species, all the others threw their roots in the air in disgust and went to the greenhouse in the sky, I felt so guilty but have learnt a valuable lesson, resarch what your getting and make sure that as far as reasonable you can give them a fighting chance, just unflasked babies are not for a complete novice IMHO

[Nic100]

Ah, Carrie, sorry to hear of your poor little seedlings, but as you say, rather than it being a really bad choice it was actually a real learning experience... and heh, some of them are surviving, so I say well done you!

[RosieC]

What a shame, but great that even a few survived.

I'm always very cautious, but sometimes that means I don't advance my knowledge because I don't dare try new things. By jumping in and giving it a try at least you know a lot more for the future when you may want to try again.

[Swamper]

I don't think you made a really big mistake, unless you would have spent a lot of money. You got a great lesson and you got some to survive. That's awesome. Congratulations.

[camille1585]

I made one bad orchid choice that I really really regret! Back when I was working in a garden center in summer '08, they were about to toss out a phal that had some mealies. It was gorgeous and I wanted to save it, and took it home. I though that chopping off the spikes, treating it and keeping it quarantined in a room at the other end of the apartment would be more than enough. Boy was I wrong! That was over a year ago now, and I'm still battling to eradicate the mealies in my ENTIRE collection! Every time I think I've got them beat, they just reappear, and then they hide in the flowers which makes the blooms fall off early. I'm waging a war which I just can't win.

Never ever again will I intentionally buy/save an infested or diseased orchid. They're just not worth it.

[Hera]

Its true, seedlings are much more difficult, but you had a learning experience that probably made you more aware of the needs of your plants overall. I've killed my share of plants but for everyone I have killed I learned something about growing. Remember its a hobby, not a job. Enjoy the learning.

[BikerDoc5968]

Originally Posted by camille1585

I made one bad orchid choice that I really really regret! Back when I was working in a garden center in summer '08, they were about to toss out a phal that had some mealies. It was gorgeous and I wanted to save it, and took it home. I though that chopping off the spikes, treating it and keeping it quarantined in a room at the other end of the apartment would be more than enough. Boy was I wrong! That was over a year ago now, and I'm still battling to eradicate the mealies in my ENTIRE collection! Every time I think I've got them beat, they just reappear, and then they hide in the flowers which makes the blooms fall off early. I'm waging a war which I just can't win.

Never ever again will I intentionally buy/save an infested or diseased orchid. They're just not worth it.

Camille, I don't know how big your place is but here is a possible end to your mealy bug situation. I know this will sound outrageous but just give it a read.... As you know one of the better, not necessarily the best, insecticides for mealy is the group containing Permethrin. As I recall way back when I had dogs and a flea problem and had to "bomb" the whole house, the product's main ingredient was permethrin. As I said this is a bit overkill but the male mealy bug flies around and you could be chasing these guys forever! So one day before you go off to class bomb the house and 4 hours later you should be ok and the permethrins are very low human toxicity....I think???

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by BikerDoc5968

Camille, I don't know how big your place is but here is a possible end to your mealy bug situation. I know this will sound outrageous but just give it a read.... As you know one of the better, not necessarily the best, insecticides for mealy is the group containing Permethrin. As I recall way back when I had dogs and a flea problem and had to "bomb" the whole house, the product's main ingredient was permethrin. As I said this is a bit overkill but the male mealy bug flies around and you could be chasing these guys forever! So one day before you go off to class bomb the house and 4 hours later you should be ok and the permethrins are very low human toxicity....I think???

Male mealies FLY?? I would try your idea, but here in the Netherlands for my studies I have a one room dorm. If I bomb the entire place, the guinea pig will be breathing in that stuff all day.
I did find one successful product, but I left it in France, and it's so toxic and smelly that's there's no way that I can use it in my room.

[playtime8978]

Thanks guys, your right, I did learn a lot from it and am still learning as the days pass.

EEEEEK Camille mealies don't sound fun at all and as far as I am aware we cant get those 'bombs' here though I have never specifically looked for them. I hope you manage to eradicate the little horrors. I didnt think mealies, male or female, could fly so I have learnt something new there.

I have lost a few plants to various misdemeanors but the seedlings have been the biggest lost, as said yes good job they were not expensive LOL

[BikerDoc5968]

Some reading material

Life Cycle

Mealybugs have a three-stage life history: egg, larva (nymph or crawler), and adult. Eggs are laid within a waxy coated egg sac produced by the female. The eggs hatch after about a 10 days into the mobile nymphs, the crawlers, that appear as diminutive adults. The crawlers are the most active stage that can move between plants and will develop through several growth periods before becoming adults. Adults of most species are also active. Thus, unlike scales where the crawler finds a suitable site for feeding and remains fixed, mealybugs will move about to find feeding sites. However, the most common pest species is the longtailed mealybug and it is parthenogenetic; no males are known of this species.


Male mealybugs do little feeding and only in their youngest crawler stages. Mature males are small (1.5-2.5 mm) winged creatures whose primary function is to mate, and then die. Females and immatures do not fly, but they will crawl off of the plant and migrate thoughout a growing area.

In temperate regions, mealybugs usually have only one or two generations per season. In a warm greenhouse or indoors there may be upwards of 8 overlapping generations per year. Out-of-doors in cold climates, cold-tolerant species of mealybugs hide in protected places, such as under tree bark, among roots, and in compost.

Management

Outdoor mealybugs are vulnerable to a variety of parasitic and predatory insects, including wasps, brown and green lacewings, and lady beetles. Weather, especially heavy rains, also help to keep mealybug populations low. Indoors, mealybug management is difficult because of their propensity to move into the potting medium and feed on roots, or for the crawlers to work their way into tight places. Repeated application of any treatment is required to kill the immatures, and treatments are at their greatest effectiveness against the small crawlers. Hand removal is effective only for the obvious adults and larger nymphs. All control efforts must begin immediately following discovery. Even light infestations restricted to one or a few plants can explode rapidly and necessitate chemical methods. When possible, immediately isolate infested plants from others to prevent the mealybugs from moving amongst them. Also, check the lips and cracks of pots, trays, and benches because females will wander and leave the plant to find hiding places. If plants other than orchids are grown, check those also as they may be a source of infestation.

Management

Outdoor mealybugs are vulnerable to a variety of parasitic and predatory insects, including wasps, brown and green lacewings, and lady beetles. Weather, especially heavy rains, also help to keep mealybug populations low. Indoors, mealybug management is difficult because of their propensity to move into the potting medium and feed on roots, or for the crawlers to work their way into tight places. Repeated application of any treatment is required to kill the immatures, and treatments are at their greatest effectiveness against the small crawlers. Hand removal is effective only for the obvious adults and larger nymphs. All control efforts must begin immediately following discovery. Even light infestations restricted to one or a few plants can explode rapidly and necessitate chemical methods. When possible, immediately isolate infested plants from others to prevent the mealybugs from moving amongst them. Also, check the lips and cracks of pots, trays, and benches because females will wander and leave the plant to find hiding places. If plants other than orchids are grown, check those also as they may be a source of infestation.

Because the life cycle of mealybugs can be so short combined with the overlapping of generations, you will need to do a treatment every 10-14 days in order to bring a serious problem under control. Because mealybugs are such a problem there are few effective "home remedies" available. To deal with an established infestation, the use of an insecticide will likely be necessary. Be aware that non-insecticidal treatments are often not very effective for elimination of mealybugs without diligent application and follow-up treatments.