It's just this one plant


I misted everyone at 10 this morning ( as usual) and this is what I found at 3pm

Lindsey there's a big black spot on the base of a leaf in your second picture. I'd excise that one and go nuts with the cinnamon on the cuts. Looks like a fungal problem that's spreading pretty fast!

Btw, are those your fertilizer packets up above the plants there? They're really huge! Mine are about a teaspoon of fert per packet for each plant. They could be releasing a lot of fert at once to your plants.

I agree with Elaine. That is Pythium, aka black rot, and it is in a bad place. If it gets into the crown, it well may kill the plant. Cut as much of it away as possible, segregate the plant and spray it with a good fungicide like Truban. You may also want to use a systemic like Subdue. Keep your pruners sterile. Pray.

Jim

oh dear...

Is this because the wind just died today?
I will get what I can tomorrow as far as anti fungal chemical goes...but have doused it with cinnamon and brought it inside for the moment.
Elaine..these packets are about 3 x 2... I will redo them and put just a tsp. In each... I only mist the plants a few minutes twice a day..not shower...but clearly this plant is unhappy.. Thanks for your advice and fingers crossed!

good catch on that black rot Lindsey, because that will spread fast. My blue Vanda almost died but it is now recovering...very slowly. I actually had to cut off the bottom part with all the roots because they all shriveled and died. Thankfully the upper part (Just above the rot) developed its own roots and i made sure the 2 main roots were big and healthy before separating it.

Fingers crossed!

Lindsey, sure hope your Vanda recovers. Keep us posted (when you get home, of course)

I just had to be-head my big Angreacum after it started losing leaves just like yours did. I had ignored it too long, as the rot started while we were away in Gr. Cayman. The whole top just flopped a couple of days ago. Happy news is it has a couple of keikis that seem to be doing all right.

Lucky that rot didn't take out the keikis too. Keep some fungicide on them just in case.

Jim

Yep, I cut it a couple of inches below where the rot was showing, and the cut end looked and felt solid. Then treated the stump with some hydrogen peroxide, and dumped cinnamon on it.

My order of Thiomyl (the generic form of Cleary's at about 1/3 the price . . . ) arrived today, and I also got some Daconil a few days ago, so I am now 'armed and dangerous' as far as fungicides go. I hate using chemicals, but am just over the top with battling the black rot and leaf spotting diseases.

Yes, this is all new territory for me...in the greenhouse it was a snap to control everything ..out
'In the wild' it's much more challenging...I can't wait to see what is waiting for me when I get back tomorrow!

My experiences are almost the opposite of yours, Lindsey. I seldom see insect or fungal damage when my plants are outside but growing in pretty much enclosed spaces such as my greenhouses, that's when I see bad stuff going on. For example, in all the years, I don't remember seeing white flies on my plumeria. When I brought those six blooming varieties inside, it did not take long to see white flies show up. I am not even sure that they will damage the plumeria, and needless to say, their eggs had to already be present on the plumeria. I guess, with the wind and sun and perhaps some sort of natural predator, those white flies were controlled when outside.

I am convinced that if I did not run so many fans in my greenhouses, I would see a lot more insect/mold damage. I have some really neat, dual-fans running in each end of my solarium, but that air-movement really doesn't reach all those plumeria leaves/flowers well enough to discourage the white flies.

I did have massive fans and huge vents in my greenhouse so the air was constantly moving and being refreshed ...we also had great air movement and high humidity in NC so the plants never got shocked with the outside 'summer camp'. Here in Florida...the wind has been inconsistent ..and I'm sure there's a learning curve with my watering practices here...meanwhile back to that Vanda at the top of the thread...I'm going to probably give it a burial service tomorrow or the next day...Happily , none of the other Vanda's seem to be affected.

Many years ago I had a confederate rose that routinely got covered in white flies. Someone told me to top dress the soil with a heavy layer of worm castings, that the "flavor" would be taken up into the plant and the flies would not like it and go away. I tried it and darn if it didn't work. It could have been coincidental but I never had another white fly on that plant. I think if I had container plants in a GH with white flies I might try the castings. It can't hurt and the nutrients they supply are all good.

My peppers have had a real battle with whiteflies this fall. I've been using an organic approved insecticide with Spinosad. Kind of like the name - Capt. Jack's Dead Bug Spray. It's available at HD and Lowe's. Once I used up what was in the spray bottle, I bought a quart of concentrate of the same stuff online, and it's a lot cheaper that way.

I have used spinosid on citrus for the leaf miners and it works well but they are starting to question if it possibly has the same "side effects" as the neonics.

Uh oh! Guess I'll try to only use it inside the cage from now on - it does a number on the thrips and is helping a lot in general with my orchids. I can bring the pepper plants into the cage to spray them too, if needed.

sugarcane said:...meanwhile back to that Vanda at the top of the thread...I'm going to probably give it a burial service tomorrow or the next day...Happily , none of the other Vanda's seem to be affected.

I'm sorry to hear that Lindsey, glad none of your other Vandas got that black rot. It is vicious. I had to get another blue on clearance just in case my first one that had a black rot will not survive.