Using Copper Fungicide

[FLaCo]

Hey guys I have two questions.


First one is can I hold off on de-flasking the

Secondly, lets say I won't be able to hold on to the flask without opening can I instead use a Copper Fungicide? Or is it too rough?

[jay]

I am not sure how rough copper is with orchids, but I know it very rough and deadly on aquatic plants and coral reefs. I owned a pet store many moons ago and I would always have to check the coral tanks to make sure that some kid wasn't making any wishes and throwing pennies in them. One or two, not a problem. But if they built up then it would cause problems with the corals and live plants.

Again, this is my experience with copper and aquatic plants and animals. I am not sure if it will have the same results with orchids.

[Andrew]

Is the flask unopened and the agar intact? If so you can keep it on a windowsill (no direct sun) until you want to deflask. If you notice contamination or the leaves starting to yellow or die back deflask immediately as the media may be exhausted. If the flask has been "padded" with water, shredded paper etc for shipping you'll need to deflask within the next few days.

As for fungicides, I'm not a fan of copper based fungicides for orchids but plenty of people use them. I would suspect they may be a little rough on seedlings. If you're going to use fungicides it's safer to use something milder and preferably systemic. There is a growing trend against the prophylactic use of fungicides when deflasking orchids. A lot of people (including several large tissue culture lab operators) recommend treating with fungicide only when you notice a problem as fungicides can be harmful to otherwise healthy plantlets.

[FLaCo]

Originally Posted by Andrew

Is the flask unopened and the agar intact? If so you can keep it on a windowsill (no direct sun) until you want to deflask. If you notice contamination or the leaves starting to yellow or die back deflask immediately as the media may be exhausted. If the flask has been "padded" with water, shredded paper etc for shipping you'll need to deflask within the next few days.

As for fungicides, I'm not a fan of copper based fungicides for orchids but plenty of people use them. I would suspect they may be a little rough on seedlings. If you're going to use fungicides it's safer to use something milder and preferably systemic. There is a growing trend against the prophylactic use of fungicides when deflasking orchids. A lot of people (including several large tissue culture lab operators) recommend treating with fungicide only when you notice a problem as fungicides can be harmful to otherwise healthy plantlets.

Thank you the reply Jay. I figured it may be a bit rough on the seedlings but it was the only thing available here in homedepot.

Andrew, the agar should be intact. I just need to hold on to it for a couple of days until I can get my shipment of Physan 20 fungicide here. Thanks for the insight...I appreciate it. Hopefully the agar isn't disturbed much and the ebay seller knows what he is doing.

[Andrew]

If the agar is intact you can probably keep it on a windowsill for a few months before you need to deflask.

[janet_a]

from what i've been told by greyer heads than mine, you can kill certain dens by using copper. me, i just don't use it on anything to be on the safe side.