In 2015, after a 15+ years hiatus, I got back into growing orchids. I had a nice combination of hybrids and species, cattleya and oncidium intergenerics, about 125 plants. Suddenly, everything began to turn black, leaves, old and new pseudobulbs, and plants began to die. No one seemed to know what it was and nothing worked to stop it, not Thiomyl, not Dithane M45. I threw away everything but three plants -- a Pot. Love Triangle, a Catasetum Donna Wise and a Neofinetia falcata that didn't seem to be affected. I moved to a new location where I couldn't grow orchids because of no light and intense heat on my patio, so I left those three plants on the patio and forgot about them. About a year and a half later, I remembered they were there and hung them on the fence around my patio, on the north side. Amazingly, they all came back, but soon the Love Triangle began to turn black. I took it to The Mounts where the cause was identified as Lasiodiplodia theomobrae. Nothing saved it, Daconil, and another systemic fungicide/bacteriaside couldn't even touch it. I now have about another 125 plants, some hanging on my fence, some hanging on pvc pipes, some on racks I built for the phals and oncidiums and some in the two upstairs bedrooms, hanging from curtain rods, sitting on tables in pots and some in pots on the window sills. The other day, the leaves on my Blc. Orglades' Grand 'Tian Mu' began to turn yellow, then black. It had this incredible root growth, but that couldn't save it. I took it into the kitchen to isolate it from the others. It died there. The Catasetum Donna wise is okay, still growing, but not blooming (my fault) and the Neofinetia falcata is growing like a weed and should bloom this summer. This morning I saw these spots on my Blc. Hawaiian Wedding Song 'Virgin'. I want to make certain I'm not just being paranoid. It is beginning to look all too similar to what happened before. I hit all the plants on the fence Sunday morning with Thiomyl. Since it says on the label that it has systemic action, I poured a mixture pf 2.5-3 teaspoons per gallon over each plant. If anyone recognizes this and knows how to stop it, please contact me or respond to this posting. If my collection or half of it, gets wiped out, I probably will give up on orchids for good. Any help will be appreciated.
John Small
