Fusarium roots then and now! 🤩👍🏼 #ninjaorchids #shorts #myrmecatavolafrancesfox

#myrmecatavolafrancesfox #francesfox #orchids #fusarium
Rumor has it that 80% of Myrmecatavola Frances Fox orchids are affected by Fusarium! Fusarium is a large genus of filamentous fungi, part of a group often referred to as hyphomycetes, widely distributed in soil and associated with plants. Most species are harmless saprobes, and are relatively abundant members of the soil microbial community. Fusarium can take an orchid out, but it can be dealt with. It is possible to stop the progression of fusarium, but that does not mean that the orchid is clear of it, unless, enough of the infected tissue is cut off. Cutting off parts of the orchid infected with fusarium takes years, seeing as orchids grow slowly! So it is advisable to monitor handling an orchid infected with fusarium, until the time is right that the infected parts can be removed to eventually achieve having a clean orchid again. My myrmecatavola Frances Fox has been in my collection for 4 years now, has had parts of it removed over the years, but the fusarium is still present in the orchid. Another 2 years and I hope to be able to remove those as well. For now, though, I am seeing excellent quality velamen on the roots. Because, while this orchid has been growing roots in past years, and has bloomed for me, it has never grown roots that look free of fusarium, until now! 🥳