Phrag with fungus issue help needed.

[playtime8978]

My phrag I bought a couple of months ago has developed fungus , it didnt look great, the medium ( white on bark) when I got it but didnt repot ( dont ask me why I have no sensible idea) and today found white balls of fungus on the root I can see, I am gonna whip it out of the pot and I have fresh bark soaking ready for it and I can do some dead leaf removal at the same time. It has a new growth that is growing up well so really dont wanna lose this guy, I have kept it pretty moist as I thought that is what Phrags wanted. Have I done the wrong thing? Any advice on what I can buy to treat the fungus would be much appreciated I have no clue or what I can do with it from this point. It sure doesnt seem a good thing to have fungus growing on the root area Please not I am in the UK and cant get brand names that they can in America so chemical names would be much appreciated. or am I being over paranoid?

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Does the plant show any signs of a problem? Most phrags do well with damp feet, though, there are some that prefer to dry off a bit more. If you have already decided to repot, then that is the best solution. Clean the root system well and put it into a new bark mix. Keep constant air circulation going around your orchids and it should be fine. Most likely it is simply an old mix that has stayed too wet that caused the fungus or perhaps white mold?? Upotting, cleaning, repotting in fresh mix and increased air circulation should help.

Cheers,
BD

[playtime8978]

So I dont need fungicide? thank you so much for your reply Bruce your the best I havent taken it out of its pot yet it is a Phrag Eric Young and it has little white balls of fungi its not fert as its squishy ( and rather yucky) I can certainly clean off the roots as other than that the plant seems happy and healthy all the leaves are nice and it has a new growth that has absolutely shot up in the past few weeks, I have had it since the beginning of March I think so it seem happy other than this mould balls.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

These 'squishy balls' sounds more like mold to me than fungus. This happens when there is not enough air circulation. Do you have a fan blowing on your orchids? It will really make them much happier to have air movement around them. They actually will appreciate a little bouncing in a slight breeze. Movement also deters pests.

Cheers,
BD

[Brutal_Dreamer]

..oh yes, if you want, it never hurts to use a fungicide. I would go to your equivalent to a big box store and get a normal fungicide for fleshy leaf plants. Mix according to the label. This is a good thing to do for all of your orchids especially if you have lower air circulation or you have to water later in the day and they may not have time to dry off before night-fall.

Cheers,
BD

[playtime8978]

I have an open window where they are now and a gentle breeze runs through the room we need tog et some fans that explains what the trouble is I am sure now I have moved himupstiars and once I have repotted he will be a lot happier. thank you so much for your help that is fantastic news and easily remedied.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Sure, no worries. I hope you see fast improvements!

Cheers,
BD

[playtime8978]

Well I never i decided it was time to whip this guy out of the pot as I found the fungicide I spent all yesterday afetrnoon searching for LOL it is a systemic so thought it should do the trick and to my utter disbelief the top layer about quarter of an inch was bark and the rest was small cubes of rock wool, I had never investigated the pot as the plant seemed very happy and was growing well and was totally shocked to find this was what it was growing in, it sure liked it but sadly I do not have any to replace it with so have repotted into the bark I soaked, I am very very lucky I hadnt rotted the guys roots as I watered reguarly expecting the pot to be bark as the top was and it was really very wet though I had fed yesterday and watered the day before so I really hope 'Eric' likes the bark and doesnt miss his rock wool too much if he takes a turn for the worse I am gonna have to locate some cubed rock wool, I have seen the big cubes for cuttings but never seen such small uniform pieces was great but a surprise. There was no mould on the rock wool just the top part of the root and the bark but I got rid of it anyway. It has a very healthy large root system so I am one happy lady this afternoon, I am still so glad I hadnt rotted it not knowing it was in this medium.

[eaglssong]

Carrie, you know that nobody is happier for you and Eric than I am. I know how much you adore and baby your babies, and this is the very best news!!!

Congrats on a problem being less than you thought it would be!! Makes life so much easier, doesn't it?

[playtime8978]

OH yes Anne it made my day! I just know now I need to have more airflow and when the next watering is due on the ones down here I might put some fungicide through the pots to avoid any issues as I still dontt have fans yet down here and dont want to scare myself like that again, we live and learn this is why I am called Noobie I make mistakes LOL just glad to know my mistake wasnt a major issue for my plant. This site is the best Bruce answering me so quickly made the problem a lot easier to deal with and I knew there wasnt so much reason to panic as I first thought.