Wood rot

15 years ago

I'm an orchid type who posted the message below on the Orchid Forum.

Any comments? Someone mentioned Sulfur and Lye, how do you use it if my bleach treatment is deemed inadequate?

Nick

Here is the orchid post:

I brought home some large but beautifully shaped Mazenilla branches the other day. Some had wood rot present in the center of the logs when you look at the cut edges. They were not cut from a live bush but from recently downed ones.

I soaked them for 24 hours in a trash can with bleach. One gallon of pool bleach in a 40 gallon can. Will that stop the rot? I'm sure it will kill wood boring insects but am not sure about their eggs or about fungal or mold related rot. Has anyone done this successfully?

Nick

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Comments (4)

botanical_bill
15 years ago
Ummmm, what did they tell you on the orchid form? I have never grown orchids as a bonsai, so I dont know.
Are you speaking of the log the orchids are attached too or the orchid is rotting?

Im going to guess some one is going to request that this goes to the orchid form.
orchidnick
Original Author
15 years ago
It is on the orchid forum with no clear consensus. I just wondered if maybe someone in your group had a clear answer.

Nick
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lucy
15 years ago
Not 'sulfur and lye', but lime sulfur, which is used to bleach dead wood. What does help rotted wood is Min-Wax, a hardener you can buy in any hardware.
botanical_bill
15 years ago
With that too, lime and lye are not the same thing either. That is a good answer lucy.

I bought 16oz of lime sulfur, 97%, a lifetime supply. Correct me if Im wrong, you want about 50-25% for treating wood, so just dilute it down.
Search for Lime Sulfur Dip on google. This is for pets but is identical for bonsai, only stronger.