After the rains…

 

Cut and collected leaves affected by rot due to continuous days of rain this month (January).

Assessing the damage.

 

Affected with leaf rot but otherwise healthy -

1. Phalaenopsis bellina 6 plants

2. Phalaenopsis cornu cervi 3 plants

3. Phalaenopsis amabilis 1 big mother plant

 

Affected with leaf and crown rot, may be alright if kept dry -

1. Aranda Broga Giant 1 big plant

2. 2 Trichoglottis species – 3 plants

 

Affected with leaf and bulb rot -

1. Coelogyne dayana – 1 big pot

2. Coelogyne motleyi – 1 big clump

 

Affected with crown and stem rot, slim to no hope -

1. Rhyncostylis gigantea (peach) 1 blooming size plant

 

 

 

Every rainy season it is like this. Last year I tried placing plastic sheets above the plants but the sheets soon formed pockets that became breeding grounds for mozzies. The plants too became very dry because dew could not form on them at night and in the early mornings. I had to water them with a garden hose and this brought back the rot problems.

 

The plastic sheets have been removed and I now do what a good friend and fellow orchid grower does, let the plants go wild! Click here to see his “wild” collection. I just check every for rot problems and remove affected leaves.

 

Plants at an orchid garden in Kuching also suffer from rot problems as these pictures tell (taken recently):

This used to be a monster clump of Coelogyne asperata!

 

What used to be very healthy Coelogyne pandurata plants.

 

And this used to be part of a very large and healthy Coelogyne pandurata display.

 

The Phalaenopsis bellina plants here are also badly affected by the wet weather (and snails!).

 

I saw many plants removed from their mounts and planted in pots kept in a sheltered area. Hopefully this one survives. My friend whose garden is pictured here (click) told me his plants suffer the same problems but the short phal stems often survive and put out new growths or keikis after a few months. He doesn’t do much work with his plants anymore as he has given up trying to fight nature. He has a big tree full of naturalized bellinas, an amazing thing to see!