Mushrooms grew in a pot with an orchid. Orchid care

In orchids, like in other plants, they are distinguished between those caused by pathogenic microorganisms and those that do not have an infectious factor.

Roots are an indicator of the health of an orchid., elastic, white or yellowish in color, after watering they acquire light green color. The color of the roots is determined by the type of orchid and often depends on.

Some species have naturally dark color roots and this is not a manifestation of the disease. Inside the substrate, where sunlight does not penetrate, the roots may turn a light brown color.

Healthy roots.

White orchid roots: why did they turn white?

Very often, a seemingly healthy plant has white spots, plaque or balls on the roots. What are they and how to deal with them? Answering these questions will help you stay healthy and beautiful view orchids.

The appearance of white spots and spots

The appearance of such dots and spots on the roots may be non-infectious associated with watering an orchid. In this case:

• A significant amount of salts accumulate in the soil, as a result of which it changes;
• substrate salinization prevents the normal flow of air into root cells.

Excess salts may also appear as white spots on the surface and in the depths.

Why does white mold and plaque appear?

This coating on the roots forms mold(looks like fluff), which is formed as a result of the rapid proliferation of microscopic fungi from the genera Alternaria, Cladosporium, etc.:

• fungal spores can long time is at rest and don't show yourself at all;
• when favorable conditions arise they begin to actively reproduce, penetrate into the voids between the bark, spread over the surface of the substrate, roots and stem of the orchid.

The ideal environment for the proliferation of mold fungi occurs when simultaneous occurrence a number of factors:

• excess humidity substrate;
• high environmental humidity;
• enough low temperatures(usually no higher than +20℃).

Compliance with care instructions is the best prevention infectious diseases roots.

White balls

Sometimes, orchid roots form small white balls– protective adaptation of soil fungi to unfavorable conditions.

They are formed as a result of the interweaving of thread-like formations of the mycelium - hyphae and can have a spherical or irregular shape, and also reach a size from several millimeters to 2 or more centimeters.

As soon as favorable conditions arise for the fungus, the white balls:

• sprout in the form of a cobweb– mycelium, capturing all new areas of roots and substrate;
• The mycelium takes from the soil a significant part of the nutrients needed by the plant.

If you don’t fight the fungus, then late stages its development the orchid roots begin to die.

Causes of white plant roots

The reasons that cause the appearance of white areas on the roots of an orchid can be of different nature.

Poor soil quality

Soil quality directly affects on the condition of the orchid root system:

• dense or poor quality substrate disrupts air circulation and, as a result, the supply of oxygen to the roots, creates conditions for the development of pathogens;
• into a new substrate, since the old one decomposes, loses its properties, and becomes an excellent environment for the development of fungal diseases.

Inappropriate pot size

Very often illnesses root system associated with incorrectly selected pot volume. A pot that is too large increases the likelihood of water stagnation and makes it difficult to assess the degree of drying of the substrate.

Infections

Orchid roots can be affected not only by mold fungi, but also bacterial rot, which does not form roots on the surface white plaque or stains.

Hard water for irrigation

Use for watering tough(highly mineralized) water leads to the formation of white plaque on the roots. You can also soften water at home using:

• special water filters;
• adding 3 g to water wood ash or 100 g of fresh peat, which are stirred in 10 liters of water.

To prevent it from forming, the plant must be watered exclusively with soft water (melt, rain or settled water).

What to do if the roots of a plant turn white?

In all cases when white spots appear on the roots of the orchid, the flower is transplanted into a new substrate and a new pot:

• after being removed from the soil roots are washed with warm water temperature about 35℃;
• all unhealthy roots (dry, rotten or with white spots) are removed;
• in case of infection with fungi root system soak in solution for 15 minutes.

Before planting the orchid in a new substrate, the soil should be soaked in boiling water for a quarter of an hour, and after drying, transferred to a container where the flower is subsequently planted.

In the future, only use it for irrigation. water with low content minerals.

Orchids are very resilient plants and can recover even if they lose all their leaves or roots. , as well as care and proper care, will revive the flower and provide it with long and lush flowering.

Orchids and mushrooms

From the very beginning life cycle orchids are necessarily associated with the fungus, and their prosperity largely depends on this connection. Since in most plants the fungus is present only in the roots, this is where the name “mycorrhiza” comes from, literally “fungal root”. This term was first proposed by the scientist Frank in 1885 to designate the morphological structures in the roots during the cohabitation of a fungus and a higher plant.

The decisive participation of fungi in the growth and development of orchids has been established relatively recently. The discovery of a new natural phenomenon immediately expanded the possibilities of breeding them in greenhouse conditions, primarily for commercial purposes. For a long time attempts to obtain new plants from seeds ended in complete failure. Chance helped. In 1899, the French scientist Bernard discovered sprouted seeds in the fruits of the common nest, ripened underground. Then the assumption arose that young plants receive the necessary nutrition from mushrooms, which ensures their further development.

A lot of time passed before this assumption was finally confirmed, which required a series of special experiments. It was possible to establish that in the embryonic cells of seeds infected with the fungus, starch is actively processed, passing into a dissolved state. The amount of sugar in the cells sharply increases and thereby the osmotic pressure increases, which causes seed germination. Mushrooms also supply vitamins and other physiologically active substances to the seed embryo. They play a fundamental role in the carbohydrate nutrition of adult plants, converting difficult-to-digest compounds such as lignin and cellulose into a state accessible to them.

There are cases when a fungus shows aggressiveness towards the orchid cohabiting with it. She is forced to defend herself, preventing the fungus from entering her body, and for this she has very real adaptations developed in the process of long evolution. The fungus can only penetrate cells along the periphery of the embryo, but it is not able to move further. Also, its hyphae are found no further than the superficial layers of root cells; they are absent in the central part; the tuber is also completely free, which is no less actively protected from unwanted invasion (Fig. 6) [Burgeff, 1963; Harley, 1963].

It is assumed that orchid tissues produce specific substances that do not allow the fungal mycelium to penetrate deeper than is necessary for the orchid itself. In addition, in the inner layers of their roots and rhizomes there are several rows of large cells bearing large nuclei. They resemble phagocytes and are capable of digesting hyphae that penetrate their membrane. Back in 1911, the French scientist Bernard managed to clearly demonstrate the ability of orchids to defend themselves. He isolated physiologically active compounds from tubers of several types that lead to the death of
mycorrhiza-forming fungi.

Thus, fungi are “allowed” to form external (ectotrophic) mycorrhiza, which entwines the roots and rhizomes of orchids with a thick network. In the initial stage, you can see individual hyphae of the fungus, later there are much more of them, they are intertwined, tightly adjacent to each other and forming a ball of hyphae (the so-called peloton), typical specifically for orchid mycorrhiza. After a certain time, the hyphae that make it up begin to be digested by the plant, using the organic substances released in the process [Kruger, Shardakova, 1980].

Some researchers, in particular J. Magru, known for his work on mycorrhiza, argue that it is infection with the fungus that causes the growth pattern characteristic of orchid roots, which leads to the formation of tubers. He believes that the formation of tubers in this way is nothing more than a hidden fungal disease, which in the process of evolution became necessary for the development of the orchid. There is a figurative expression that orchids wear beautiful clothes above, but depend on an invisible servant below.

Another thing is known. It has been experimentally proven that orchids can be successfully grown without the participation of fungi. To do this, they should be provided with accessible (as a source of nutrition) carbohydrate-rich compounds and essential mineral salts. This turns out to be enough to bring the plant to flowering. But there is no doubt that such a path is real only in a strictly controlled and artificially created environment and is of strictly theoretical interest. Under natural conditions, the only acceptable one is the tested union with the “underground servants” - mushroom hyphae.

The species identity of fungi is not always easy to establish, but it is known that in most orchids the fungus belongs to the imperfect fungi of the genus Rhizoctonia, and in some it belongs to the higher basidiomycetes. Orchids do not show strict specificity towards fungi. The same type of fungus can infect several types of orchids.

The peculiarities of the relationship between a mushroom and an orchid come down to obligatory symbiosis (cohabitation) in the early stages of life and a mixed form of relationship - a combination of mycotrophic (with the help of mushrooms) and autotrophic (independent) nutrition in adulthood. Moreover, the relationship between mycotrophic and autotrophic modes of nutrition in adult plants is determined both by species and habitat conditions [Sizova, Vakhrameeva, 1983].

Under normal conditions, the pattern of seasonal changes in symbiotic relationships is approximately as follows. In the spring, the roots (or rhizomes) become infected; in the summer, the hyphae are digested by plant cells and, at the same time, a new infection occurs. In the fall, the fungus is again digested in old roots and primary infection of young roots occurs. In winter, the life of orchids is entirely related to nutrition from the fungus. The study of the rhythms of mycorrhiza formation in the Moscow region once again confirmed that many widespread orchids have much in common in this regard, repeating the above scheme. It can be considered typical. In April - May, the roots become infected with the fungus, and at the beginning of summer, the digestion of hyphae begins. At the same time, re-infection occurs (often multiple times). By September, the old roots die off, having time to absorb substances useful to them from the hyphae. At this time, the young roots are already fully developed and infected with the fungus. In late autumn and winter, only the mushroom feeds the orchid, and in spring everything starts all over again.

Orchid researchers point to two periods of particularly active digestion of fungi in orchises - during the maximum activity of the development of vegetative organs and during fruiting, which indicates that the increased growth of organic matter in orchids is largely the result of fungal digestion.

The mushroom performs two more important functions. It is known that wild orchids are practically not susceptible to fungal diseases common among other herbaceous plants. It is believed that mycorrhiza-forming fungi protect them from pathogenic fungi. Important function mycorrhizal fungi is to help orchid roots absorb water and nutrients from the soil. Orchid roots are entwined with thousands of fungal hyphae, increasing the area of ​​contact between the plant and the soil. The number of such soil-connecting (communication) hyphae is sometimes very large. One of the major researchers of orchid mycorrhiza, P. Burgeff (see [Tsarevskaya, 1975]), argued that an adult plant of Lyubka bifolia is associated with the soil by about 3200 hyphae.

Complicated life path orchids from the germination of a tiny seed to the appearance of a flower arrow on the stem of an adult plant. Not only does it require a lot of time, but also the whole complex mandatory conditions, which we do not know everything about. But it is not difficult to imagine that even minor fluctuations in soil chemistry caused by economic activity, can cause the disappearance of mushroom mycelium. It is possible that there are other reasons caused by a thoughtless attitude towards our natural resources. The result is clear: the meadow or forest clearing is deprived of the most amazing of its decorations.
Orchids of our country/M. G. Vakhrameeva, L. V. Denisova, S. V. Nikitina, S. K. Samsonov. - M.: Nauka, 1991. - 224 p.

Mold in orchids bothers a lot of people. Often the walls of the transparent pot become completely green, which causes the owner of the overseas beauty to start sounding the alarm. Let's figure out, “What is the green coating on the walls of the pot?”, “Is mold dangerous for an orchid?” and “How to get rid of algae and mold in flowers?”

What is green plaque (mold) in an orchid pot?

These are mosses or green algae, which in small quantities do not harm the plant, but when increased, they begin to fill the pot and the space between the roots, depriving them of air.

Causes of mold in an orchid:

• Constant humidity (the substrate does not dry out).
• Light.

Green algae appear from excess humidity and actively develop in bright light. daylight. The situation can be aggravated by the lack of drainage holes, e.g. plastic drinking bowls, which are often sold as orchid pots or in glass containers.

How to get rid of green plaque/mold on the walls of a pot?

First, you need to adjust the watering. Between waterings, keep the plant dry for a couple of days. Remember that the more roots there are in the pot and the tighter they are pressed together, the slower the substrate dries out. And during the dormant period, the roots generally rest, which means they consume significantly less water, so we reduce watering.

Secondly, we transplant the plant into a clean pot. At the same time, we look at the roots for dryness and rot. Read how to properly transplant a Phalaenopsis orchid. If the plant is in at the moment is in a dormant period, we postpone the transplant until the moment of awakening (the first new leaf is awakening), but be sure to reduce watering and place it in an opaque pot.

Prevention of mold in an orchid

• Opaque flowerpot. We plant the orchid in a transparent plastic pot (I have already talked about its role, read), but we place it in an opaque decorative pot.
• Periodically (once every month or two) water with Fitosporin. It will not only prevent the appearance of algae, but also protect the orchid from bacterial and fungal diseases.
• Do not forget to dry the substrate (but do not overdry!).

Reply from efficient[guru]
not bad and not good. A fungal spore was visible in the bark. He doesn't interfere. Let it grow healthily _))

Reply from Get teary-eyed[active]
Maybe because the substrate is very wet. But it is better to remove the mushroom.

Reply from Yogot[guru]
Badly,
This means the soil is too wet
You need to replace it with a new one made from fresh bark, and be careful with watering, otherwise you will flood it,

Reply from I-beam[guru]
The main harm to orchids from proximity to this fungus is that its vegetative body (small cotton balls) grows very quickly, filling the entire space of the pot, and draws upon itself almost the entire influx of moisture, air and nutrients, obstructing the roots of the orchids. As a result of lack of moisture, orchids begin to fade, black dead areas (necrosis) appear on their leaves, and massive yellowing of the leaves is also observed, which begins with the lobar vein. Most often, at later stages of mycelium development, mass death of epiphytic roots begins, which simply suffocate inside the substrate.
Such mushrooms are capable of destroying the root system or, during their decomposition (when they die), poison the substrate and be dangerous to humans and domestic animals.
If any soil fungi are found in the substrate, regardless of whether only cotton balls are visible through the walls of the transparent pot or whether mushrooms are already growing on the surface, the orchid must be removed from the pot and its root system thoroughly washed. warm water and transplant into a new (uninfected) substrate. In cases of severe damage to the substrate, the roots of the plant can be soaked for 10-15 minutes in a weak solution of a fungicide (foundazol or Pilzfrei Saprol Neu based on the active substance Triforine), for example, 1/2 or 1/4 of the recommended dosage. In many ways, the dilution of the solution depends on the quality of the water, for example, when using filtered or a mixture of distilled water with regular tap water, you can dilute the fungicide at 1/2 of the usual concentration, and when using just tap water - at 1/4 of the usual concentration concentration. A too concentrated fungicide solution can severely burn the tender roots of orchids until they die completely.