MOLDY mount

[missann]

I mounted some little reed stemmed epindendrums a month or so ago and used some moss that I thought was sphagnum, but wasn't so I started peeling the moss off today to replace it with actual sphag. and found that there is mold on the piece of grapewood that I bought at the pet store. Sprayed with consan. Willing to remove all the plants and redo.
Also, I found some tiny pieces of cholla cactus insides at wal mart the other day, but they are VERY small and I would like to keep all my epins. on the piece of grapewood.
Mold is white.
Once again I ask..


What should I do?

[patticake]

Hi missann- I'm not sure what to tell you. If it's a decorative moss and not sphagnum that you're using, I would suggest changing it. If you're keeping the mount too wet, or there's not enough air circulation, that could be contributing to the mold as well. I only have one small mount, so I'm not sure of this info- hopefully someone with a lot more experience in this department will hop-on soon.

[missann]

Patti-I love you guys to death, and I am sure I am probably guilty of not "listening" to what I am reading, but I already said "I am peeling off the old moss to replace it with real sphag."

Soaking it in Consan...what else to do?

Oh yeah, I know that real sphag has some antibacterial or anti fungal properties.
Mount is next to an open window.
I Don't water at night.
We have very low humidity.
Looks like bread mold.
I have never had a problem with mold in other orchid pots.

I have stripped my mount bare and sprayed it with Consan 20. Just waiting for someone to help me out with what to do.
There is no where in town to purchase products containing BENOMYL. If anyone knows of an affordable online source, I would much appreciate it. I don't know if it is the right thing to use here, but I always read it, and I think that the three things I need to have are sulphur fungicide, benomyl, and Consan/physan.
Sorry, getting off topic here..

[made4engineering]

I know that this will sound crazy, but when this happened to me, I just let the mold run its course. It slowly went away, and has never come back. The fungus is busy sucking all the nutrients out of the wood, and eventually there will be none left for it, just cellulose. It's kind of like the fairy ring syndrome - the fungus spreads outward leaving nothing that it is capable of feeding on, thus a ring shape. Overfertilizing encourages mold growth also. Make sure your mount dries out completely everyday, so just water once, or twice an hour or two apart.

[missann]

Once or twice an hour? He probably meant a week...I have only fed it once or twice since May. I don't think that the fertilizer is what is doing it. Um...
I am just worried that the mold will hurt the plants. I guess it won't, so I will just re-do the moss with real sphag and drech it less often.
Thanks for your help, you guys.

[made4engineering]

I meant everyday, either once, or twice in a row (2 hours apart)

[missann]

I knew you couldn't have meant twice an hour every day.
I mist once a day, and I take it outside and soak it to dripping once a week. I think that is watering less than what you sugguested, aaron. Thank you for your advice though.

Update:

I poured peroxide on the wood, both on the moldy parts, and the parts that were "clean" and the clean parts fizzed the most, while the parts with mold hardly fizzed at all. Maybe the mold is good. I know that some orchids in the wild use a fungus that grows on the trees with them and breaks down the bird poop etc, into a form of nutrients that the orchids can absorb.

[davetheorchidaddict]

I plant my reedstems in alifora in pots and they seem to like it, they grow well blooming yearly.

As for the mold, that means the spag is too wet and holding the moisture, that is why I use coconut fiber to cover my roots when starting a mount. The mold on the grapevine root promotes decay in the root causing roots to be overwatered by the grapevine holding the moisture and drowning the roots of the orchid, I learned that the hard way.