Cymbidium with brown leaf tips and not growing

[Synthesyst]

Hi all, been reading this forum trying to keep my orchid in good shape, but it doesn't seem to be working very well. I received it as a gift in August last year while it was flowering, and it seems to not be growing very well. I haven't inspected the roots thoroughly as I don't want to damage the plant accidentally, but the ones I can see seem to be rather brown and soft.

Just looking for what I should do to keep the plant healthy, I hope I still have time to save it.

Mainly concerned about the brown leaf tips, I snipped them just below the discolouration a while ago but it seems to have returned on most of the leaves. Additionally, the new sprouts(?) I have shooting up appear to be having a similar problem. The healthiest looking growth is also 'loose' which makes me fear that there isn't enough potting mix for the plant, or the bulbs/roots have issues.

I've attached pictures and some more information below. I'm new to houseplants and orchids in general so I'm not great with the terminology, but happy to answer questions or provide more photos.

Watering: about weekly, tap water which I try to keep room temp, let it drain out through nursery pot before placing back into decorative pot. Perhaps I am overwatering?

Light: near a north facing window currently.

Fertiliser: infrequently, probably once every 1-2 months, using a slow release fertiliser. I may have used too much of this in the past so I tried to flush a lot of it out.

Thankyou!

[SouthPark]

Hi there synth. Overwatering is 1 possibility.

These following tips could be useful.

Click Here and Click Here and Click Here.

Sometimes, too strong a fertiliser, or too much salt build up from fertilisers can cause that sort of thing too.

Nice growing temperature, and some air movement, and very good drainage pot can help. And definitely avoid getting roots very wet and soggy for extended periods of time.

[Synthesyst]

Hi there, thanks for replying so quickly.

So do you recommend just watering around the rim of the pot and proceeding as normal? Perhaps lower the amount to err on the side of underwatering in case overwatering is the issue? I'll also take it a bit easier on the fertiliser too.

Is there anything else you would recommend I do? e.g. re-pot, check the roots, prune the dead bulb, etc? I'm worried that the only new growth I've seen is going to also die out.

[SouthPark]

Synth ...... most welcome. You can indeed begin by watering mostly around the rim of the pot. And put less water into the middle. Don't put as much down the middle. In your region, the roots toward the middle could probably quite easily and readily absorb moisture from the wet outer region of the media (through the air that is).

So don't be too afraid of the roots in the middle region drying up or dying. They are unlikely to dry up or die.

Definitely ------ any mushy, dead roots... just pull them off or cut off as much as you can, before repotting.

The fertiliser is just elements the plant needs for some photo-synthesis and cell processes ----- to make chlorophyl etc. So it's not like regular 'food' or carbs. The 'carbs' come from the photosynthesis and CO2 activity.

Synth ..... growers classically water the whole media anyway. So the method I'm using doesn't have to be strictly applied by anyone. You can certainly just start off with this method here (watering in a band around rim) ------ for safety. You also don't have to put strictly zero water down the middle ------ you can put some for some moisture ...... but less.

The main idea is to control the main or bulk of the root mass ----- to not get it super soggy or real wet for extended lengths of time.

[aliceinwl]

Sometimes Cymbidium don’t come in great substrate. They tend to be very hardy, if it’s failing to thrive, a repot with fresh substrate could really help. I personally like clay pots because of the added weight and they breathe well so they’re more forgiving if you’re prone to overwatering.

[Roberta]

Synthesyst - First, Welcome!

The plant looks like it's seriously in need of repotting. This isn't the best time to do with winter approaching, but it's better to get a look at those roots and get them into fresh bark... a small setback from repotting out of season is a lot better than losing it to root rot if the medium is as bad as I suspect it is. Don't worry about fertilizing right away.. in winter, it really doesn't need much. When the weather warms up, give it a bit of that time-release fertilizer. Cyms do like to be on the damp side, but not soggy - you want to be sure that the pot drains well. Leaf-tip burn tends to be indicative of salt buildup, either from fertilizer or hard water (or both), a mostly cosmetic issue if all else is OK. Cymbidiums are tough, will tolerate a lot of less-than- ideal conditions, and bounce back pretty easily.

[SouthPark]

Synth ----- I know some nursery growers do successfully use slow release fertiliser. I tend not to use it though. If you do use it ...... watch out for the dosage ------ as too much will certainly cause that sort of leaf tip browning issue, and maybe root burning issue too.

[Synthesyst]

Thanks all for the replies. I really do appreciate the help.

I'll look into repotting in the coming days. I saw a video in this section of the board which seems like a good guide to get started. I assume I should keep that older, brown bulb into the new pot? Or should I try to remove it as it may be dead already.

Definitely will go easier on the fertiliser too. Thanks all.

[Roberta]

When in active growth, Cyms are hungry... I have found that mine have done better since I started using it. (My "once weekly, weakly" regimen for liquid fertilizer, which isn't all that regular, was not quite adequate. They didn't do badly, just grew a little less well) One thing to note... most types of time-release fertilizer are actually activated by heat more than water. So if the weather is very hot, the plants could be getting more than they should. My summer temperatures usually don't get much above 33 deg C. But then, if it is warmer, the plants are also likely to be growing faster as well (and need heavy watering) . Synthesyst, in what part of Australia do you live? In the tropical area where SP lives, Cymbidiums in general can be challenging except for the hard-leaved tropical species, and the warmth-tolerant hybrids. Farther south, with cooler winters, the climate is more nearly perfect for them. (The temperature range in Sydney is not that different than in California where I live, both have ideal climates for Cyms) Depending on your temperature range, that Cym may very well be happier outside. Many of the hybrids need a fall cool-down to set flower spikes for the following late winter/early spring. Also, they are high-light plants. Protection from the blazing hot mid-day sun in summer is useful, but they can tolerate summer heat to nearly 40 deg C with a little shading, and can also tolerate winter lows down to 0 deg C or even -2 for a few hours. I would not expect them to grow very well as house plants, and especially they'll have a hard time blooming that way.

---------- Post added at 10:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:09 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Synthesyst

Thanks all for the replies. I really do appreciate the help.

I'll look into repotting in the coming days. I saw a video in this section of the board which seems like a good guide to get started. I assume I should keep that older, brown bulb into the new pot? Or should I try to remove it as it may be dead already.

Definitely will go easier on the fertiliser too. Thanks all.

The plant isn't very large. The older pseudobulbs (even if leafless) give energy to the plant. If it's mushy or totally shriveled, it can be removed, otherwise leave it. Especially now, with winter approaching, you'll want to be gentle. If a root is really mushy it can be trimmed, but depending on how many are like that, even for the mushy ones you might want to just remove the outer rotted part and leave the stringy root core. It's really important to pot it firmly so that it doesn't wobble so if there aren't a lot of really good roots, you'll want to preserve those that are less good but still tolerable. The new growth will bring new roots, you just want to keep it going through the winter until it gets new growth started.

[Synthesyst]

I live in Victoria actually, pretty close to Sydney weather here as far as I know.

I'll attempt to repot keeping as much as I can then, I know winter isn't an ideal time to be repotting but it is what it is. Thanks for the tips and the help