Black stuff on stem of Vanda
 

I don't know if I need to worry about this or not. As the leaves of the Vanda are not yellowing or anything and the roots look fine. I got this Vanda about 2 weeks ago. I didn't notice until I got home that it had some black stuff on the bottom part. The black stuff seems to have moved up the middle of the orchid. I sprayed it with hydrogen peroxide today and yesterday hoping that would kill whatever it was. I think it's working, but I'm not sure yet. I am guessing this is a fungus or mold. And yes I need to cut the flower spike, but have included it in case it helps.

This is my first Vanda. I usually stick in a bucket in the morning for 15-30 minutes. The stuff around the roots is Synthic (it helps keep them moist during the day). I feed it with Hausermann's 8-4-8 Orchid Fertilizer every second or third day (depending on when I remember). Temperatures run 68-72 degrees during the day and it lives above the sink so the humidity is pretty high. Not sure of the exact amount as I'm waiting for a new hygrometer. Last time I checked the room in general it was 40%, so guessing that over the sink is more like 50-60% (but I don't know that for sure).

Where did you get your Synthic?

Hi! You can get it at glass box tropicals. It's the only place that sells it in the US. It's stocked on and off.

http://www.glassboxtropicals.com/sea...ynthic&Submit=

Thanks. I'm confused by the size. Which mm did you use. Sorry I can't help with your Vanda
One of our experts will be along soon. But I have been interested in trying Synthic...

I haven't seen that on mine before. This is a good site to figure out orchid diseases:

Orchid Pests, Orchid Diseases

The 1000 mm. It is fairly long, but so are my roots. So I threaded it through the basket. Then did a spiral around roots and brought the end back up and stuck it back through the spiral so it would stay when I dunked it in the bucket. Took a little adjustment, but it all stays in place now.

Makes sense now. Thanks!

Updates:
I am talking to the grower and they said it could just be dirt. But I said no because it moved up the middle. After spending a REALLY long time wiping it down with hydrogen peroxide I was able to get a lot of it off. So I'm leaning towards mold. I sprayed the whole thing down again and cut the spike. While doing so I noticed an old spike that had a bunch of black surrounding it. So I think the possible mold started from the old spike. I put hydrogen peroxide in there right away. Hopefully, if I keep spraying it whatever this is will die. It hasn't really done anything to the roots or leaves. It might have attacked the flowers though, given the state they were in.

Sooty mold/ mildew can be very hard to remove. Probably bad hygiene before you got it.

I think you are probably right because I saw a large bug float away from it after I sprayed it down with hydrogen peroxide. I have had to wipe down the plant again, but it doesn't seem to be in any sort of distress. So whatever it is will probably die back if I keep an eye on it. It already looked a lot better today.