2° Part - 3 Very Dehydrated Phalaenopsis

[rbarata]

2) the seating on bark and only spray (I suppose is roots naked, not repoted)

Nope, it's repoted.

Let see what happens in 10 days??

To be honest, I don't expect much regardless of the method used.

[camille1585]

I made an orchid ICU (plastic tent over a frame of bamboo sticks, with a tray of leca inside and half filled with water) which I keep in a spot with low light. I stuck a data logger in it out of curiousity and humidity is around 90-95%.

I soak the bareroot orchid in Kelpak at the standard dosage, repot and then stick it in the tent. Watering is only needed every 3-4 weeks, I usually see new roots in a couple weeks, and have full recovery within 6-8 months. Super high humidity really helps the leaves recover too. Works like a charm!

I also think that new root growth in under 10 days is overly ambitious. I'd say 3 weeks.

[SADE2020]

Originally Posted by camille1585

I made an orchid ICU (plastic tent over a frame of bamboo sticks, with a tray of leca inside and half filled with water) which I keep in a spot with low light. I stuck a data logger in it out of curiousity and humidity is around 90-95%.

I soak the barefoot orchid in Kelpak at the standard dosage, repot and then stick it in the tent. Watering is only needed every 3-4 weeks, I usually see new roots in a couple of weeks, and have a full recovery within 6-8 months. Super high humidity really helps the leaves recover too. Works like a charm!

I also think that new root growth in under 10 days is overly ambitious. I'd say 3 weeks.

This is very similar to what I do. Except I don't repot or use the kelpak.

As I mentioned I don't expect that many new roots in 10 days, but I think I can regenerate the leaves

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by SADE2020

guys, guys .... you are focusing on the root and I think the main focus is try to regain hydration; get the leaves filled again (loaded, mush...etc), so that the plant establishes itself easier, without starting form scratch waiting for new leaves. No?

True! Hydration - which will be linked to roots too.

Just providing some nice conditions will be the usual recommendation - satisfactory humidity (eg. humidifier), and nice gentle air-flow, and allowing existing living roots (if any) to get the water (from the media) and up through the plant and leaves will definitely help.

[Roberta]

Here's thought... an anti-transpirant on the leaves. The one I have is called "Wilt Stop", I got that one because it was sold in the smallest quantity, I suspect that similar products are available in Europe. I had it recommended to me to help some imported plants recover, that had been in transit for two weeks and were somewhat dehydrated. It is useful if the roots are good, just to slow down water loss through the leaves while the roots do their work... I applied it to the leaves with a paint brush, being very careful to keep it off the roots. It did help to perk up the plants.

If the plants can be kept in a very high-humidity environment, the same thing can be accomplished. This might be useful if that's not possible.

[tmoney]

i usually am not a product or label pusher, but i am a true believer in kelpmax! case in point, colleague with a desk next to mine in our little office knows i am now orchid obsessed, so she brings her noid phal in for emergency care. it looked just like yours. had a lot of dead roots, and a couple that were still ok-ish. i brought in the kelpmax and showed her the soak method deal. that was around a Wednesday of one week, by the next monday when i checked on it there were 3 new root nubbins popping on the base.

now, granted, this was back in september, so perhaps if the plant already has decided to slow down your timeline will be delayed, but i wouldn’t give up on a flush of vigorous growth when you give a forgotten plant some lovin’. but, alternatively, since your daylengths are more even down there, the plants will respond just as quickly. yeah, rehydration of the leaves is for sure possible, but i would venture a guess that they keep one or two and drop the oldest leaf. ok, there’s my prediction! rehydrated leaves, and at least 1 root nubbin after 1 week with the kelpmax bath!!

[Shadeflower]

tmoney, thats just 1 orchid that was suddenly being cared for better. It's too little to form a solid conclusion.

Sometimes kelpmax has no effect either.

Take fulvic acid on the other hand and it was like I'd given 100 of mine a slap in the face and some vodka. Again not all but a lot.

I feel they are drinking more too. So if they are drinking more then they might get hydrated faster.

But it is true we are recommending too many products when arguarbly they will only make a 5-10% difference

oh but that reminds me, vodka is actualy a plant tonic, no joke. So look it up, I can't remember if it was a shot per bucket or less. It's only something I've read mind you.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by SADE2020

This is very similar to what I do. Except I don't repot or use the kelpak.

You should do both.

The Kelpak will stimulate the plant into new growth, all around, and the phytochemicals in it will be like a “transfusion” for the plant. The dose I recommend for routine, monthly use is 1:250 (4 ml/L, or 1 tablespoon/gallon), but in “rescue” circumstances, you can safely go as high as 1:100.

Repot, because as the new roots grow, they will tailor themselves to function optimally in the roots’ current environment. By having them grow into fresh medium, they are set for a longer time, rather than suffering if they grow in one and then are repotted.

[Shadeflower]

If you look at this supermarket phal the latest root it is producing is twice as thick as the previous roots



I might attribute it to kelpmax but like most supplements I use it very sparingly.

I am sure I have killed seedlings using it at full dose and now you are recommending even stronger Ray?

ok whatever you say 1:100, I use a rate of 1:25,000

You end up with roots like the one above and the kelpmax lasts 250 times longer. Some would argue that the tiny amounts I use then have no effect, well, that's fine too, then you don't need the stuff to get good roots growing. But if it does have an effect at the dosage I use then why use more than x100 times more of it.

Maybe we should be moving this to a dedicated kelpmax thread again if that becomes the new topic. I know this will result in 10 people claiming they have had excellent results using the full dose and that is not what I am disputing (although I think the full concentration can actually harm seedlings).
I just want to add what I do using the product as with most products. I check what is safe for tomatoes and I divide it by 10.

Thats standard procedure at mine and it has worked great so far.

I don't actually buy the kelpmax, I buy the kelpak european alternative and it says the dosage for a tree would be 4ml/l

I know it says the same on most seaweed bottles but I actually measured the ppm of my generic seaweed extract and kelpmax. Kelpmax has a much higher ppm content than other regular seaweed extracts.

That's good but then not much of it is needed to get great results with orchids.

When you check youtube channels using seaweed does anyone use the full dose of 40ml per bucket? No they go a little lower. Now kelpmax is at least 4 times stronger.
I believe that's what makes it good value for money but not if you use 100ml per bucket. It would need replacing in no time

[Roberta]

The discussion is spinning off again into the subject of root growing... remember, SADE mentioned that the roots were OK, that the plants were dehydrated because they had not been watered. So they do have a fighting chance. I found the notes that had the reference to the anti-transpirant. A suggestion for hydrating these bare-root desiccated imported plants that is even simpler, is a soak in a sugar-water solution... The sugar may be a little carbohydrate boost, or maybe shift the osmotic pressure to facilitate absorption of water I don't know. But for what it is worth (might be applicable here), here are the instructions:

"1. Make up a solution of sugar water, room temperature. This is 1 to 2 teaspoon of table sugar per gallon of water. (4-8 g to about 4 L)
2. Remove the packing from your orchid, and place the roots (not stem or leaves) into the sugar water solution. If you have more than one plant, prepare a different solution for each plant and soak them in separate containers.
3. Let the plants soak for 1 to 3 hrs in the sugar water solution.
4. Remove the plant from the solution and wash the roots off with more water (without sugar). Gently pat dry with a paper towel"