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Jul 11, 2018 3:28 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Ashlee
Orange tx
I got an orchid from a friend to soon discover that it has small fluffy bumps on some of the roots I have not removed it from the pot for fear that it might be mealybugs or mold. As of today the bumps are more green than a greyish White color as before. What should i do? If you can identify it please help
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Jul 11, 2018 3:44 PM CST
Name: Elaine
Sarasota, Fl
The one constant in life is change
Amaryllis Tropicals Multi-Region Gardener Orchids Master Gardener: Florida Irises
Herbs Region: Florida Vegetable Grower Daylilies Birds Cat Lover
Looks like a fungal issue to me, not bugs. Phals need their roots to dry out between waterings, so that closed cup full of soggy moss is pretty much a death trap for your orchid.

Get it out of that container, and put it in a basket or something with lots of holes in it. Remove most if not all the soggy moss from around the roots and let them dry out (you can wash off the one with the fluffy bumps under the tap, or wipe it with a paper towel, maybe). Pot it up in a ventilated container with orchid bark (you can get it at any garden center).

As far as "just add ice" I know you didn't ask but a piece of advice for free - watering orchids with ice cubes is a joke amongst people who grow orchids seriously. The retailers want you to kill off your orchids and buy new ones. These are temperate or tropical plants and never should be exposed to ice-cold water.

Water your orchid when it is completely dry around the roots and use lukewarm water. Wet it thoroughly, and then let it dry again. Water the leaves too, but be sure that water doesn't sit in the cup of leaves. In nature these orchids grow on the trunks and branches of trees, with their leaves and flowers hanging downwards, not straight up like you see them at the stores (they can ship more plants in a box if they pot them that way).
Elaine

"Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." –Winston Churchill
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