Is there something wrong with my friend's Tolumnia?

[Wilder]

Hi orchidboard!

I'm plant sitting for a friend. He got a Tolumnia a week or so before I got two of mine. His Tolumnia is at least twice the size of mine but looks a little limp and wrinkly. My first guess would be that it needs more water perhaps?

He potted it in pine bark chips and waters it 4-5 times a week. It used to get morning sunlight (direct) for about 2 hours until 9am or so before it went back to a bright spot without direct sunlight. He fertilises it weakly weekly.

Thoughts?

[Roberta]

Other members with Tolumnias will have some more ideas. My concern would be with the roots - if roots are bad, more water won't help the plant because it can't take up water. Tolumnias really need to dry out between waterings. Especially in a humid climate, they grow very well when mounted. With less humidity, a basket still gives the ability to dry out while helping to maintain the "local humidity" around the root system. If this were my plant, I would take it out of that pot and examine the roots. If rotted, you have your answer, I strongly suspect that the plant doesn't need more water, it needs more air.

[Wilder]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Other members with Tolumnias will have some more ideas. My concern would be with the roots - if roots are bad, more water won't help the plant because it can't take up water. Tolumnias really need to dry out between waterings. Especially in a humid climate, they grow very well when mounted. With less humidity, a basket still gives the ability to dry out while helping to maintain the "local humidity" around the root system. If this were my plant, I would take it out of that pot and examine the roots. If rotted, you have your answer, I strongly suspect that the plant doesn't need more water, it needs more air.

Thank you so much! I'll repot it a little and give the roots some air.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Wilder

He potted it in pine bark chips and waters it 4-5 times a week. Thoughts?

Roberta gave terrific recommendations already. Check the roots. If no rotting, then check the bark pieces.

Maybe 10 minutes after the pot is watered, go ahead and take a samples from various depths of the pot.

Inspect (visually and by feel) each sample of bark. Is it wet enough?

If not ---- then maybe it's necessary to pre-wet the bark. Otherwise watering dry bark might result in the water just running straight though the pot, and the bark hardly gets wet at all. And the plant could dehydrate.

The other method is - feel the weight of the relatively dry pot (with dry bark). Then water...... water REALLY well. Then - after watering, feel the weight of the pot. If the pot remains light (as before the watering), then this just means water is not getting into the bark.

[claypot]

In nature Tolumnias are twig epiphytes which means they sit on tiny branches which get soaked with rain then dry quickly in the wind. I have always worked on the principle that Tolumnias don't grow "in" anything but grow "on" something. Regular watering and quick drying is the order of the day. The roots of my mounted plants get sprayed every morning, but I avoid soaking the foliage. They love light too if they are to flower.

[SouthPark]

You bring up a very good point claypot - which is about the epiphytic nature of many orchids. When we pot them in bark or scoria or something ------ the stem region near the roots gets into the media too. And this - possibly - is what can lead to rot issues if there's not enough air circulation or air movement and water movement, and airyness in the media. This is what I assume.

So, while it's ok to pot many epiphytic orchids in some growing media ----- it is often necessary to ensure good air-circulation/air-movement and use appropriate media, and keep good control of the system.

[Wilder]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

You bring up a very good point claypot - which is about the epiphytic nature of many orchids. When we pot them in bark or scoria or something ------ the stem region near the roots gets into the media too. And this - possibly - is what can lead to rot issues if there's not enough air circulation or air movement and water movement, and airyness in the media. This is what I assume.

So, while it's ok to pot many epiphytic orchids in some growing media ----- it is often necessary to ensure good air-circulation/air-movement and use appropriate media, and keep good control of the system.

Thank you, SouthPark!

I checked on the orchid this morning. The roots looked fine and healthy to me (thick, some white, some green). I've removed a layer or two of bark chips so the base of the crown isn't inundated with moisture.

I spoke to my friend, and he mentioned he'd been using the same fertiliser concentration that he uses for his much larger Oncidium. Today was fertilising day so I gave it about 0.2g/L of a 20-20-20 NPK orchid fertiliser, a tiny pinch of orchid micronutrients and an equally tiny pinch of humic and furic acid orchid stimulant mix (I've been using these on my Tolumnias for a month and they seem to be doing great so far, touch wood).

[Dollythehun]

All the above is excellent information. I see a plastic pot in the pictures? I don't know your climate either but, I grow my many Tolumnias in small Oncidium mix, which contains inert chips of granite/stone and small bark. I grow exclusively in clay pots.

This summer was chaotic and I did a poor job watering. I noticed limp leaves and some spotting, which did not spread. When I became more regimented in watering they perked up and are now blooming. While they need to dry out quickly, the larger bark might keep them too dry. I don't mount mine because mounts are a huge hassel for me. Fertilizer has never seemed to matter much here. They get something at every watering, fertilizer alternated with cal-mag, Ray's magic probiotic, and a once a month clear flush. Also, when mine are getting sufficient light, they are blushed red. Hope this helps.

[Wilder]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

All the above is excellent information. I see a plastic pot in the pictures? I don't know your climate either but, I grow my many Tolumnias in small Oncidium mix, which contains inert chips of granite/stone and small bark. I grow exclusively in clay pots.

This summer was chaotic and I did a poor job watering. I noticed limp leaves and some spotting, which did not spread. When I became more regimented in watering they perked up and are now blooming. While they need to dry out quickly, the larger bark might keep them too dry. I don't mount mine because mounts are a huge hassel for me. Fertilizer has never seemed to matter much here. They get something at every watering, fertilizer alternated with cal-mag, Ray's magic probiotic, and a once a month clear flush. Also, when mine are getting sufficient light, they are blushed red. Hope this helps.

Thank you so much! My own Tolumnias are in 6-8mm chunks of pumice. Those seem to be doing well for now (we bought otr Tolumnias in similar health conditions during the same week).

As for the blushed red colour, I'm not sure how to give the Tolumnias more light. They get filtered morning sunlight (2500-3000 lux based on the Lux Light Meter android app) every morning from 6:30 to around 11, after which the conditions are bright.