Spike turning black on Psychopsis Mariposa

[Susie11]

Hi Susie, with any media for pot growing just ensure careful watering. You can cut slats in pot yourself and you can customize orchid compost with chopped up pieces of sponge or foam, polystyrene/ stryofoam. This will help aerate the media. I cannot pot grow any epiphytic orchid to save my life resulting in root rot issues all the time. Oncids dont like prolonged wet feet and this one prefers drier conditions anyway. Have a peruse carterandholmes. Good luck and try others, some orchids thrive with us while others struggle or perish. On our side of the pond Susie I would ensure good air circulation and restricted spraying/ watering as our damp/ cold/or war/ humid conditions are perfect for harmful pathogens, ironically the jungle/ tropical climates such as Malaysia/ phillipines also share these troubles but they just gey away with having no damp/ cold in their equation. If your collection is growing consider a regular monthly systemic fungicide/ pesticide program.

Great I will pick out some large sponge pieces from my rockwool mix and put that on with the coir / bark compost mix that I have and repot tomorrow then. Thanks for the advice. Fingers crossed...

[opaline]

Your welcome!!!!!!!!!!!! Fingers crossed all the time. Orchids are tough, we are just to driven by obligations and time restrictions to realise or atleast wait. In reflection of the hobby itself I have always found it attracts people that are naturally creative and artistically skilled and can often link those with skills with cooking and cuisine with gardening/ horticulture and the general motivation to nurture and care. Trouble is with this comes the artistic or short temperament and patience has trouble fitting in here.

Orchid culture has followers and fans in the masses from greenhouse perfect to jungle rough. Our individual admiration for orchid growing far outweighs the many many complications that can occur, many that we were unaware of in the beginning. Your current experience reflects the issues I had late last season and never saw it coming. The despair and annoyance, the frustration and sheer shock value is enough to put anyone off when an outbreak of disease or infection has such overwhelming impact and results. But, I just gain so much pleasure from growing orchids in their diversity, no one said it would be easy. A majority of us on here learnt the hard way and we are still here because i think some of us are just too bloody stubborn for our own good!.

Gotta love em!

[Susie11]

Your welcome!!!!!!!!!!!! Fingers crossed all the time. Orchids are tough, we are just to driven by obligations and time restrictions to realise or atleast wait. In reflection of the hobby itself I have always found it attracts people that are naturally creative and artistically skilled and can often link those with skills with cooking and cuisine with gardening/ horticulture and the general motivation to nurture and care. Trouble is with this comes the artistic or short temperament and patience has trouble fitting in here.

Orchid culture has followers and fans in the masses from greenhouse perfect to jungle rough. Our individual admiration for orchid growing far outweighs the many many complications that can occur, many that we were unaware of in the beginning. Your current experience reflects the issues I had late last season and never saw it coming. The despair and annoyance, the frustration and sheer shock value is enough to put anyone off when an outbreak of disease or infection has such overwhelming impact and results. But, I just gain so much pleasure from growing orchids in their diversity, no one said it would be easy. A majority of us on here learnt the hard way and we are still here because i think some of us are just too bloody stubborn for our own good!.

Gotta love em!

Posted via Mobile Device

[Susie11]

Posted via Mobile Device

I don't know what happened there but here goes again.
You said it, we are stubborn. I am just at this moment trying to decide whether or not to order another psy. with a 10 inch spike. I am impatient and I hate waiting!! I will be more observant this time though so I have learnt something from this.
Posted via Mobile Device