Chrisnetia with woody roots - Fusarium??

[ACS]

Hi All,
I recently got a Neo hybrid (Chrisnetia Green light) from someone and it has very woody roots (hard and brown with raised bands). I didn't like the look of them, but thought maybe it was just underwatering and being kept bare-rooted, but today I was researching it a bit and now am afraid this might be fusarium?? The leaves are a bit yellow, though not too bad. I did cut the stem at the bottom to check for the purple circle. I couldn't see anything but wasn't sure. I don't want to trash it since I got it from someone in a trade and I don't want to tell him I got rid of it, but I really don't want to spread any fungus to my other plants. Has anyone seen this before? I couldn't find any pictures online that looked exactly the same, but it seemed like woody roots was a possible symptom. Pictures attached of roots, leaves, and where I cut to check for fusarium.

[Plant lady]

Originally Posted by ACS

Hi All,
I recently got a Neo hybrid (Chrisnetia Green light) from someone and it has very woody roots (hard and brown with raised bands). I didn't like the look of them, but thought maybe it was just underwatering and being kept bare-rooted, but today I was researching it a bit and now am afraid this might be fusarium?? The leaves are a bit yellow, though not too bad. I did cut the stem at the bottom to check for the purple circle. I couldn't see anything but wasn't sure. I don't want to trash it since I got it from someone in a trade and I don't want to tell him I got rid of it, but I really don't want to spread any fungus to my other plants. Has anyone seen this before? I couldn't find any pictures online that looked exactly the same, but it seemed like woody roots was a possible symptom. Pictures attached of roots, leaves, and where I cut to check for fusarium.

Hi!

I was wondering how is your plant doing?

I got similar problem with a Vanda and I am thinking of burned roots as a result of too much fertilizer...

I got this Vanda in early December and she looked very sad... Brownish roots, broken and cracking, the plant looked very thirsty.

I just watered it recently, but you can see some of the roots doesn't turn healthy green, as if they can't absorb water properly and the plant looks dehydrated...

I water it twice sometimes more often every day and it is growing a few healthy roots, but I am not confident enough to cut off the damaged, cracked, woody roots yet...they do change colour to some degree.

Hope your plant is thriving!

Kind regards, Esther

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[ACS]

Hi Plant Lady, Unfortunately my plant is not thriving
I was worried about it being sick so I kept it away from my other orchids, which unfortunately means I forget about it some days, so it's actually looking worse. I'm still not sure whether it was just very dehydrated so the roots dried and cracked, or whether it does have a disease. The roots still sort of turn green when watered, but I think its unfortunately just going to be a slow death for it, I'm not sure it's salvageable at this point and I'm still too nervous to keep it near my other plants.

Your plant looks ok though! I think with regular soakings it should be fine, just give it a chance to produce newer healthy roots.

[Plant lady]

Originally Posted by ACS

Hi Plant Lady, Unfortunately my plant is not thriving
I was worried about it being sick so I kept it away from my other orchids, which unfortunately means I forget about it some days, so it's actually looking worse. I'm still not sure whether it was just very dehydrated so the roots dried and cracked, or whether it does have a disease. The roots still sort of turn green when watered, but I think its unfortunately just going to be a slow death for it, I'm not sure it's salvageable at this point and I'm still too nervous to keep it near my other plants.

Your plant looks ok though! I think with regular soakings it should be fine, just give it a chance to produce newer healthy roots.

Hi ACS!

I am so sorry to hear about your plant!

Yes, fortunately my little Vanda has produced a few new roots and growing root tips are peaking here, it seems like a happy ending for me...

I actually have a few orchids without much roots (they arrived with frost damage or root rot...or managed myself to break sections off while repotting them ). I keep those in a little green house (the little white one from IKEA just to keep the humidity slightly higher around them) on top of spagnum moss and seems to work in most cases... Might worth a try as a last resort.



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[Catt Mandu]

Sorry to rant, but every time I hear someone say their plant has Fusarium, I want to ram my head into a wall.

Fusarium is just not that common. However, the DIAGNOSIS of Fusarium seems to be increasingly more common among viewers of certain YouTube channels.

I recently saw a "Miss Orchid Girl" video, featuring a room full of normal-looking orchids, many blooming, that she announced all had Fusarium. She was planning to trash all of them!! Orchids with Fusarium don't bloom. Instead, they look wilted or scorched, like they've been kept in the Sahara for several months.

I've had Fusarium in one plant since I started growing orchids in 1982. I cut out the bad sections of the plant, took care of it, still have it more than a decade later.

I don't see indications that your plant has Fusarium instead of something more common, like cultural shortfalls, such as insufficient watering or low humidity.