My prized orchid collection almost got wiped out by a single sick plant

I was repotting my orchids in my home greenhouse last spring when I noticed one of my Phalaenopsis had soft, brown spots on its leaves. I isolated it right away, but within a week, three other nearby plants showed the same signs. I cut off all the infected tissue with sterilized shears and treated everything with a copper fungicide spray. Has anyone else faced a fast-spreading fungal issue like this, and what was your recovery plan?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_sam1mo ago

Wow, a week is terrifyingly fast for it to jump to three other plants. You did everything right by isolating and sterilizing your tools (good call on that). That copper spray can be pretty harsh on orchids though, so I'd keep a close eye for any chemical burn on the leaves. Fungal issues in a greenhouse can be a real nightmare to fully clear out.

logan_mitchell1mo ago

Yeah, I read that some growers swear by a hydrogen peroxide dip for the roots as a last resort for aggressive fungal problems.

davidkim1mo ago

You mentioned sterilizing your tools, but did you also disinfect the whole greenhouse area after the outbreak?