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During the damp winter seasons, botrytis can pose a problem for orchid growers. You can identify botrytis by the brown spots that appear on the blooms. Although there's nothing you can do to reverse the damage already done to the flowers, you'll be relieved to know that the plant itself is in not in grave danger. We will describe to you below what botrytis is and how you can prevent future occurrences.  We also created a video about this topic.

So where does it come from? Botrytis is actually caused by a fungus that thrives when the weather is cool and damp. This particular fungus attacks the blooms but fortunately, not the plant. For us here in Volcano, Hawaii we are susceptible to botrytis growing on our flowers especially when the rainy season begins. 

What to do if you find botrytis growing on your flowers? The best plan of action is to discard the affected blooms to help prevent spreading the fungus. You can't eliminate the spores from the environment but you can help to prevent future blooms from being affected by it.

Prevention is key and involves a clean space, maintaining good air circulation and careful watering. Following these tips can help you to prevent future occurrences of botrytis.

1. Keep plant debris, dead flowers & leaves cleared from the growing area.
2. Good air circulations is key when plants are in bloom. Decrease humidity, spread out plants so they are not tightly packed together& there is more air movement.
3. When watering, water the base of the plant & not the flowers. Water earlier in the day so the plant tissue is dry by night. Water on petals or leaves will encourage fungal growth.