Root Rot on Lysudamuloa Yi-Ying Sakua

[deerfern]

I just purchased this lovely Lysudamuloa Yi-Ying Sakua from Ebay. Unfortunately, I believe it has root rot. When I received it, it was potted in pure sphagnum, which partially covered up the problem.

What do I do for this guy? Can I save this cute plant? Or is it destined for Orchid Rainbow Bridge?

I pulled off all the media. I washed the rotted roots with warm clear water, but they stayed black and show some strings. One root near the base was black, but whitish on the end. When I touched it, it was squishy and pulled right off the base. Root rot for sure.

I put the orchid back, with no media, in the now bleached plastic pot it came with, with some sytrofoam peanuts to hold it up. I then wrapped what appears to be decent new roots in slightly moistened AAA New Zealand sphagnum for the night.

I am hoping I can get a reply from someone knowledgeable here on what to do?

The only thing I've ever used for rot is cinnamon. I think this one needs more serious help.

Should I use a sterilized utility knife, scissors, and cut it all the way back to the base? How will it stand up in whatever media I put it in? What media should I put it in? What fungicide should I use, if any? Should I let it stay in dry media or moist?

I can't tell you how this plant was treated in any way as I literally just got it 3 days ago from Ebay. If I missed anything I can tell you, let me know and I will try to answer best I can.

Any/all help is greatly appreciated, and thanks!

P.S. - I can't get the pics to come out upright/portrait. Tried rotating and re-saving but no joy. Any insights welcome.

[early]

I will let the experts answer this, except to say, I only use Hydrogen peroxide on roots. You will get different ideas on the effectiveness of H2O2. And I think I read somewhere here that cinnamon is only used when you cut a stem/stalk after blooms have dropped, and cut then dab the cinnamon on the part of the stem where it was cut.

I am going to look up your orchid, for I have never heard of this one, and most others except for the ones I own.

[SouthPark]

deerfern --- the details at this link can help with most mainstream orchids ---- Click Here.

I once tried hydrogen peroxide too - based on online information - but noticed that hydrogen peroxide can cause set-backs in orchid root growth. It possibly does something undesirable to the orchid's roots. It never killed any of my orchids, but I consistently noticed setback in root growth and development.

It is probably more beneficial to use a systematic treatment --- eg. agri-fos, thiomyl etc for rot issues. However, these treatments won't resolve issues involving oxygen starvation of roots.

Now, for your case - the root rot - definitely wash the roots, and cut out most of the dead ones. And then allow the roots to dry right out.

Then pot into an airy media, such as scoria/lava-rock, or orchiata bark.

It's possible that the issue developed due to too much water added to the spaghnum. It also can help a lot to have very good drainage in orchid pots. Very good drainage.

Deerfern ----- also, some growers very successfully use 100% spaghnum for growing various sorts of orchids - including cattleya, catasetum etc. These growers (through their own experience) know roughly when to water, and how much water to add for their own growing conditions and environment. When the orchid changes hands ...... the new grower may not have the same information, so putting in an unworkable amount of water into the spaghnum can lead to issues like oxygen starvation of roots .... rotting etc.

Usually - if desirable growing conditions for the orchid are maintained, then the orchid will do just fine.

[Ray]

DO NOT use cinnamon on roots. It is a strong desiccant that will kill them. Like some others, I am not a fan of hydrogen peroxide, either.

Roots die due to suffocation. Only dead tissue rots. The thing to do is to trim the dead ends and leave it unpotted for a day so the wounds can dry out. Then pot it in a medium that you can keep moist while remaining open and airy.

If you want to “kick start” the root growth, add KelpMax toy our water for the next couple of weeks.

[deerfern]

Thank you all so much. Lots to learn here.

Ray -- really glad to see you here. I've been lurking at your website for a few months now. Read about the roots not being able to absorb water, really interesting. I've emailed you about my order. Thanks so much in advance.

Which orchiata size mix should I buy? Small, medium, large? Classic, Power, Power Pro? Lots of choices.

I do have some repotme*com Phalaenopsis Monterey Dark Imperial Orchid Mix on hand. It is is made with Medium Orchiata Monterey Pine Bark, Hydroton, Large Sponge Rock and AAA New Zealand Sphagnum Moss. If I remove the spaghnum, would it be a good mix? I can't get orchiata until earliest Weds, and I need to know which size to purchase. Or maybe I should just buy some leca and try that? Never used that before. Wow, look at me go, I know some terms! Thank goodness for OB glossary

Also uh, oh. I did not know I shouldn't put cinnamon on roots. Gotta go rinse that off the other ones.

I ordered 2 ounces of Southern Ag Thiomyl. Says it will be delivered on Weds. Hope this plant can last til then.

Think I may just brave the world and go to my local hardware store. I see they have lava rock.

[Roberta]

I agree with Ray on hydrogen peroxide... just like cinnamon, don't use it on roots. I am not sure that it is all that useful anyplace. (I have been growing orchids for something like 25 years and haven't used it on an orchid yet or felt a need to) If I find rotted roots, I pull off what comes off with a gentle tug. If the velamen (the coating) is icky I pull it off but leave the stringy center of the root if it doesn't come loose easily... whether it has any use hydrating the plant is uncertain, but at least these stringy root cores can help anchor the plant securely in the new medium which is important for the new root growth. Rinse off as much of the crud as possible under running water and let it dry before repotting.

[Ray]

Nobody can tell you what size Orchiata to use, as we have no idea how they will perform in your growing conditions.

[deerfern]

Oh. Ok, that makes sense.

I guess I thought the size meant what type of roots were on the plant. Larger roots, maybe larger orchiata bark. Smaller roots, smaller bark to wrap around the bark.

I found out this plant is in the lycast family, so I think that's thinner roots. I just want to make sure I have good drainage as SouthPark mentioned once I get this re potted.

I may just try my onhand mix, but if I do buy it, I may just go with medium, that sounds safe.

---------- Post added at 07:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:01 PM ----------

Roberta, thanks so much for letting me know about that. I was going to cut all the black roots back. What you say makes sense now. Thanks again.

[aliceinwl]

You can make a lot of different mixes work. Figure out what your target moisture level is in the media and adjust your watering schedule to accommodate. If the required watering schedule doesn’t work, then you can go for a finer or coarser media.

I wouldn’t jump in with an anti fungal. It looks like the plant was previously kept in conditions that were incompatible with root health and the fungus is just feeding on dead tissue. If you can provide good conditions in the root zone, the next crop of roots should survive; I think the original roots are beyond saving.

[deerfern]

Well now I've done it. I took it out of the pot as you can see in the pictures, it had some small green roots on the new growth. The next day they turned black. It almost looks like I have mold on the roots now. They are NOT mushy, but black. Now what? Just pot it up and water and hope for the best?