0:00
Green algae in the orchid pot is always something that is concerning
0:04
Is it going to kill your orchid? What can you do to it? How did it get there
0:08
How to prevent it from taking over the whole pot? How to prevent it from coming back
0:14
Now, green algae has so many concerns, and in this video, we're going to go over all of them
0:24
Hi, I'm Amanda Matthews, and thank you for watching this video at Orchidaria
0:30
Now, I recently repotted an orchid and it had green mold all over it
0:36
The only thing that is left is this pot and you can still see the green mold that is inside of it
0:46
So is this situation concerning? Yes and no. The first thing you need to know is that in the beginning stages, the algae is actually beneficial for your orchid
1:00
Now to understand why this happens, let's first understand what green algae is
1:05
Green algae loves to live in the same conditions that your orchid roots live in, which is high humidity
1:13
high temperatures, light, abundant water, and all those things put together, algae just thrives
1:20
And once it gets inside the pot, it is such a fast-growing microorganism, but it just takes over the entire pot
1:30
So in the beginning, what attracts the algae to your pot? Good orchid care
1:38
I mean, if you have green algae, congratulations. You are preparing your orchid
1:43
You are taking care of your orchid the way it should be taken care of
1:47
So what attracts this is especially the high humidity. When the green algae comes into contact with this orchid
1:56
the first thing that it going to do is feed on the decaying material inside your potting media So yes you finally had your prayers answered because you have something inside your orchid pot
2:08
that is like the cleanup crew. It's taking care of all these bad things that you don't want inside your pot
2:15
So if your orchid root starts to decay, if you're overwatering and it starts to rot
2:21
that green algae is going to feed on your orchid root. Not only that, the green algae will provide extra oxygen to your orchid
2:32
It does not increase airflow. I've read this so many times and it's like, no
2:39
Airflow only increases with holes in the pot and a constant fan that has is turned on
2:46
So green algae does not do that. What green algae does is that it takes in what the orchid is
2:54
leaving off. So the gas exchange, what the orchid does not like, algae loves. What algae gives
3:02
off, the orchid actually absorbs. So in the beginning, this relationship is wonderful. It's like
3:08
you know, we compliment each other. So that green algae, when it's like this, just a slight smudge
3:16
inside the pot, your orchid's doing fine. Just leave it alone if you want. The problem comes
3:24
when this green algae takes over. Now you already know that orchid roots take a heck of a long time to grow
3:33
They are slow growing. And when we see a new root, it's like, yes, that's great orchid care
3:41
Green algae is extremely fast. So when you have both of these growing side by side, you have a little bit of algae
3:49
It's wonderful. Your roots are growing great. then all of a sudden this algae is going to take over the entire side of the pot
3:58
turning this pot no more transparent Light cannot transfer inside the pot Without light your orchid roots won photosynthesize Without light they get less energy So there is a constant battle of who getting the sunlight
4:18
Not only that, will they start fighting now for oxygen. Since the algae has taken over your pot
4:26
the orchid roots will become in second place. They can't fight. as strong as this algae does. So now the algae is starting to feed not only on the potting media
4:39
but also on your orchid roots. That's where the problem comes in. There are two ways to treat this
4:49
The first way, it's an easy way. Take this pot and put it either inside a terracotta pot like that
4:57
so no sun comes in. Now why does this work so well
5:00
If it's in the beginning stages, it's awesome. Because remember what algae needs to grow
5:07
It needs sunlight. It needs water. It needs humidity. It needs air
5:12
Well, if we eliminate the sun, it's just like the orchid roots. It needs sun to photosynthesize without any sun
5:19
It doesn't have any energy. It quickly dies off. And I'm saying quickly, that's how I treated this orchid in this pot
5:27
I put it in a bigger pot that was totally closed and sunlight did not go in there
5:35
The green algae was dead in two weeks. If I put it back in the sun, of course it's going to just pop up
5:42
So it's a good idea to repot. And yes, green algae is the number one reason we repot outside the time of repotting
5:55
So unfortunately if there is any green algae left over like this pot if I was going to use it again which I not I would have to scrub this down with bleach with soap I have to really get in there and make this clean as clean as I could get it So if you going to reuse the pot make sure it clean
6:17
The second way to get rid of the algae in your orchid pot is to use hydrogen peroxide
6:24
I'm not a big advocate of hydrogen peroxide, which is H2O2. And just because it has that extra little oxygen in there
6:32
it does things that I don't want it to do to my orchids
6:38
So in this case with green algae, yes, I will use hydrogen peroxide
6:43
because it will kill off the green algae. It will also kill off a few good roots
6:52
But in this case, I lose a little bit, but I win a lot
6:56
So it's worth it to use hydrogen peroxide. So those are the two ways that I can provide better
7:02
care for getting rid of green algae. How do I prevent green algae from coming back to my pot
7:12
It's something that, you know, if you have good orchid care, it's going to happen
7:18
It's hard. It's hard. I don't have an answer for you. I wish I did. I don't
7:25
But, yeah, it comes, it goes, treat it, put it out of the sun, wait until the, the algae
7:32
dies off, put it back on the pot, keep those pots transparent. And it's not something that
7:42
it's hard to deal with. You can lower your humidity, but your orchid will also take a hit. So if this
7:49
video has provided information that was of value to you, please hit the like button and continue your
7:56
orchid care. I can suggest two videos right now. The first one is exclusively about hydrogen peroxide
8:02
I don't use it and I hope to see you in the comments below
8:07
Please leave a comment so I know you dropped by. And happy cultivating
