what is growing on my orchids?

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Congratulations baby orchids!!

cheers,
BD

[parvs]

I live up North MeDel

[parvs]

spotted some round things on leaves of what i think is a cattleya. what are they?

[coeruleo]

looks like scale insects? if you press them with your fingernail, do they sort of pop?

[parvs]

it cracked. am I supposed to pull it off / brush it off?

[coeruleo]

wipe them off. i use a damp towel or something. the problem is, there are many more that are still microscopic that you don't see, so wipe the whole plant. and spray with a mild insecticide, or water with a squirt of dishsoap (not the kind for dishwashing machines, use mild hand soap). these will keep coming back over time, so learn to deal with them now, before you lose plants. they suck the sap, and weaken the plant. they can overrun the whole plant in short time. i have found neem sprays to be good at preventing them form getting the upper hand on my cymbidiums. just do not spray neem in the sun, it can burn the leaves too... wait until they are shaded. before i learned to deal with them more effectively i completely gave up on cymbs and cattleyas. now i check every plant once a week when i water. and spray the neem lightly once a month, on a warm evening, or very early in the morning. especially on the undersides and down between leaves, out of site where they like to hide.

[parvs]

I will have to look for Neem spray here, in the meantime I shall use the alternatives. Thank you again coeruleo! =)

[parvs]

in the first photo the little growth is about 3 inches already.
in the second photo they are barely an inch. =)

do i pull them off already? what potting mix should i put them in?

thanks so much! =)

[Brutal_Dreamer]

in the first photo the little growth is about 3 inches already.
in the second photo they are barely an inch. =)

do i pull them off already? what potting mix should i put them in?

thanks so much! =)

Here, this is a video I made on how to handle your new dendrobium keikies.





cheers,
BD

[parvs]

i love this forum! thanks so much! =)