Neofinetia falcata Root Die-off! Ideas? - Orchid Board

slide1475 · #1 03-16-2009, 04:02 PM

Hi All,

I have over 50 orchids in my orchid haus, with just about 20 of them potted in SH. The haus has a pretty comfortable temperature range of high 60s or low 70s at night, mid to high 70s or low 80s day. The humidity is anywhere from 60% to 90% or higher at all times.

I repotted my Neofinetia falcata into SH the first week of January and it was a tremendous success with roots growing everywhere into the SH and into the air, etc. But 2 weeks ago I noticed active root growth had backed off and yesterday I decided to take a look at the roots. All those lovely roots have died and some have begun to rot.

The only unknown factor I can think of is my water. I live in NYC and Ray tells me I have very acidic water that can fluctuate extremely (hopefully I am not misquoting Ray). I tested a water-fertilizer solution using a test strip yesterday and the acidity looked fine, but the water is quite soft. Could this be a soft-water poisoning? If so, I assume my SH plants are more susceptible? Is dolomitic lime the answer? I also have a Zero Water filter system, should I use my filtered water?

Please tell me if you need other information to help diagnose my problem. If it is the water or not, I am really motivated to keep my plants happy and thriving so all input and ideas will be appreciated.

As an aside, my Neofinetia falcata is not dead, but without a root system. I have decided to try placing it in water culture (my first attempt at water culture) to hope to keep it alive.

camille1585 · #2 03-16-2009, 04:45 PM

Sorry to hear about that.

One question though, the roots that are dying, are they the pre-existing roots, and/or the new roots that grew after transfering to S/H? If it's old roots dying, it's completely normal, they are not adapted to growing in such wet conditions. If it's the new roots, then there is a problem somewhere. How are you fertilizing/flushing the pots?
How are your other recent S/H plants doing?

From what I heard about NYC water, it is one of the best city waters in the country. I would doubt that it is the problem. I'm not sure, but I think I read somewhere that the water is pure enough that people in NYC should use fert for pure water. To be confirmed, I'm not sure.

Ray · #3 03-16-2009, 06:18 PM

NYC municipal water is about as close to pure as they come. It's not super acidic, just relatively unbuffered, so CO2 in the air can cause it to have a low pH, but it's a very weak acid, and eaily corrected with the fertilizer.

What brand and type of fertilizer are you using? At what concentration are you mixing it? How fresh are the test strips?

I would speculate that it's not the fertilizer solution, but maybe a temperature thing.

Becca · #4 03-16-2009, 08:53 PM

Hi! You mentioned that your water is quite soft....are you using a water softener?

slide1475 · #5 03-16-2009, 09:56 PM

Hi guys - thanks for all of your questions. Hi Camille: I'm sorry, I should have made sure to mention that these were all fully-adapted SH roots that started while the Neo was potted in PA and grew into the SH medium. I am also pretty obsessive about flushing out the pots with plenty of fresh water (albeit tap water) and then adding the fertilizer solution as per Ray's instructions so as to add an extra flush. Hi Becca: I'm not using a softener or anything, just NYC tap that tested out very soft on my test strips. They cover Nitrate, Nitrite, Alkalinity (all very low) as well as pH and Hardness. The hardness was the only thing that was particularly remarkable since it tested out so low.

Hey Ray: Im using Jacks Classic 20-20-20 with micronutrients at a weaker-than-recommended concentration. The test strips are pretty fresh. I have been looking at buying your liquid MSU-type for pure water. Please let me know if the Jacks could be a problem.

What kind of temperature thing? Could the Haus be too warm for the Neo?

Oh, and so far, my other plants in SH seem to be doing well - I have a couple of Oncidiums, a Gongoran, several Bulbophyllum, jewel orchids, a Brassavola, a Coelogyne, a Sarcoglotis, and a Staurochilius. i would love to have an idea of what has happened to my poor Neo before moving over my Paphs, too.

Ray · #6 03-17-2009, 06:24 PM

Yes, it could be too warm, but I'm no expert on neos, so don't rely on me.

I don't know if Jack's Classic is designed for pure water, but that could be the issue.

Becca · #7 03-17-2009, 06:29 PM

Slide, I grow neo's but I am not an expert either, but from my understanding of the temperatures that neo's like, I think your temps are a little too warm for them, but like I said I am not an expert. Perhaps you should post something in the Neo forum so that the Neo experts might be able to give you some advice!

camille1585 · #8 03-17-2009, 06:31 PM

I don't know if being too warm is the issue, but Neos do like it fairly cool in the winter. On the New World Orchids Neo culture sheet, they say that during the winter day temps should preferably be below 65°F down to the upper 30's. But I don't know if they really need this cool down. Water and fertilizer should also be reduced during the winter because of the lower temperature.
Culture of Neofinetia falcata -