# Bleaching Plants - Did I do it wrong?



## connorp (Nov 22, 2017)

I didn't think about sterilizing plants until recently, so I just tried my hand with a new batch I got. I let the plants soak in water for 30 minutes, then let them soak in a 10% bleach solution for 12 minutes, then rinsed them well, and let them dry out for a few hours. They've all been planted, and out of the ten or so, only one is not completely wilted. Is this normal to happen after sterilizing plants? Some wilt was to be expected as with all new plants, but these guys are 100% wilted despite heavy watering over the past week.


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## mark c (Jun 17, 2010)

10% Bleach is way too strong, in my opinion. I typically do maybe a half cup of bleach in two gallons water. Not only that, I also add a big squirt of dish soap - free and clear type with no additives such as dyes or perfumes. I soak them for two or three hours. Dish soap requires a lot of rinsing to remove, so they go through a couple of spray downs and long soaks in fresh water. The process can be hard on the plants, but they should recover if allowed to dry off and breath. It's all worth it though.

What type of plants did you clean? 
Some types will not do well in bleach water. Selaginella for instance, don't do well. Dish soap alone might be safe enough for those. 

Mark C.


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## connorp (Nov 22, 2017)

mark c said:


> 10% Bleach is way too strong, in my opinion. I typically do maybe a half cup of bleach in two gallons water. Not only that, I also add a big squirt of dish soap - free and clear type with no additives such as dyes or perfumes. I soak them for two or three hours. Dish soap requires a lot of rinsing to remove, so they go through a couple of spray downs and long soaks in fresh water. The process can be hard on the plants, but they should recover if allowed to dry off and breath. It's all worth it though.
> 
> What type of plants did you clean?
> Some types will not do well in bleach water. Selaginella for instance, don't do well. Dish soap alone might be safe enough for those.
> ...


Jewel orchid, episcia, and a few others I have no ID on. The jewel orchid is the only one that looks fine.


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## Bighurt (Jun 18, 2011)

In the future 5% bleach is the solution you should use for the prescribed ratios, I have made your exact error before.

However 5% can be difficult to find, if so reduce the amount of bleach by half to the same volume of water if using 10%. 

Pretty sure last I checked everything Clorox was 10% on the shelf at the big box stores.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

connorp said:


> I didn't think about sterilizing plants until recently, so I just tried my hand with a new batch I got. I let the plants soak in water for 30 minutes, then let them soak in a 10% bleach solution for 12 minutes, then rinsed them well, and let them dry out for a few hours. They've all been planted, and out of the ten or so, only one is not completely wilted. Is this normal to happen after sterilizing plants? Some wilt was to be expected as with all new plants, but these guys are 100% wilted despite heavy watering over the past week.


I've dipped many hundreds of plants in a ten percent solution (one cup ordinary household bleach and 9 cups of water) and seen virtually no ill effects except on mosses and very sensitive plants. I had a single Bulbophyllum intersitum lose all it's leaves after dipping. I don't know if it was shipping, or the bleach. I switched to 5% on orchids. 
You said you dried them out for a few hours. You let them dry without their roots being protected? You say only the orchid lived. Most orchids can tolerate some drying out, in fact, some require it. On orchids, and broms, you can see the roots. They are used to, and designed to, dry out and be unprotected. Most other plants need their feet in the ground. They've never felt a breeze in their life, and they want protection.

I'm leaning towards drying things out for a few hours. If you didn't wrap those roots in sphagnum, or damp paper towels, it sounds like desiccated roots. I think they thirsted to death.


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## Louis (Apr 23, 2014)

I think some of the wording here could lead to confusion where people are talking about mixing solutions. Just for the sake of clarity, if anyone is reading this looking for instructions on how to sanitize plants, Household bleach is generally only a 5-10% solution _anyway_, if you're then dilutiing this multiple times with water what you're ultimately exposing your plants to isn't even close to a 10% bleach solution.
Under no circumstances should you ever dip plants in a 10% solution of bleach, aka sodium hypochlorite. An actual solution of 1% or less is closer to what you need. 
Forgive me if this seems painfully obvious it just looked like there would be scope for misunderstanding.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Louis said:


> I think some of the wording here could lead to confusion where people are talking about mixing solutions. Just for the sake of clarity, if anyone is reading this looking for instructions on how to sanitize plants, Household bleach is generally only a 5-10% solution _anyway_, if you're then dilutiing this multiple times with water what you're ultimately exposing your plants to isn't even close to a 10% bleach solution.
> Under no circumstances should you ever dip plants in a 10% solution of bleach, aka sodium hypochlorite. An actual solution of 1% or less is closer to what you need.
> Forgive me if this seems painfully obvious it just looked like there would be scope for misunderstanding.


Exactly why I like to spell it out for everyone. One cup of ordinary household bleach and 9 cups of water. In addition, a few drops of liquid soap, preferably a castile soap (I use Dr. Bronner's pure castille soap), though Dawn will work in a pinch, acts as a surficant. This reduces surface tension of your liquid. Basically, it lets the water spread and penetrate better. Without surficant, water can bead up on your leaves, like after waxing your car. A good surficant will keep it from beading up, and help prevent air bubbles from sticking to leaves while submerged, thus keeping small areas of the plant from getting bleached.
We like a castile soap because it is based on plants, and safer for your plants.


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## DebE (Mar 10, 2018)

Love this group!
I read somewhere that you let them soak for 3-4 hours YIKES! So glad that this has been debunked, I have had house plants for years and could not imagine them surviving that. 
I was NOT going to do that but this thread has clarified that process for me, and I want to do everything to keep my future frogs and viv healthy.

Thank you all for clarification


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