New orchids (cattleya iricolor & bulbophyllum ambrosia) not looking too hot

[Adogw]

Hello, I recently purchased some new orchids, a cattleya iricolor and bulbophyllum ambrosia, and they aren't looking too hot, the cattleya has a yellowing leaf that has split down the middle, and the bulbophyllum has black and red spotting, with one leaf looking almost black, any way I can save these guys? Any help appreciated!

[Roberta]

First, Welcome!
I can't see enough of the C, iricolor to tell what else might be going on - that sort of splitting on an older leaf is not a problem. What are your conditions? Temperature, potting medium, light?

The Bulbophyllum looks OK. It is probably reacting to the whole process of shipping, new environment, etc. It wants to be on the warm side, and quite damp, Don't let the sphagnum dry out. It doesn't need much light - much less than the Cattt, more like Phalaenopsis condiitions only wetter.

[rbarata]

For the Cattleya, a photo of the whole plant would be helpful.

[Adogw]

Ok I will try and attach a photo of the whole plant, I had some trouble attaching photos, and it got rid of some of them,

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picture

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Also another question, as I don't want to start another thread, I heard that bulbophyllum ambrosia needs a winter rest period, should I do that now or should I not worry about it now?

If the plants are fine, I guess it's just new owner paranoia

[Roberta]

The Catt looks fine. What is the potting mix? It looks like sphagnum is in there, not a good idea for a Catt. Did you get it bare root or did it come that way? Ideal time to pot a Catt is when new roots are just starting to emerge, but if you got it bare root then it would need potting, of course. Does that pot have good drainage? Catts need to dry out between waterings, and need excellent drainage. The ideal medium for a plant of that size would be medium-to-large bark. Personally, I never use a fancy pot for an orchid - if in a plastic pot I might put it in a fancy pot to display it when in bloom. But roots stick to pots - at repotting time, it is sometimes necessary to break the pot to get the plant out without damaging roots. (Sacrifice the pot not the roots). So I'd go with a plastic, or unglazed terracotta, pot.

Don't worry about rest for the Bulbo..In nature it may receive less rain in winter but it still gets dew. It should not be allowed to dry out much, if at all. It is a very cold-tolerant species. (If cold, should be drier) What are the conditions under which you plan to grow it?

[Adogw]

The cattleya is a mix of generic orchid bark from lowes and some sphagnum, so I guess skip the sphagnum? Yes the plant came in bare root. It seems like the pot drains pretty well, potting mix doesn't seemed soaked, but It's more of a temporary solution for now.

The bulbophyllum is mix of mainly sphagnum, with some perlite and the some of the orchid bark that couldn't fit in the pot, I'm from the Texas area, so I could possibly put the bulbophyllum and cattleya outside when weather permits, if not then they will most likely stay indoors.

[Roberta]

You can repot when you see new root growth. So that will give you time to get some better bark. I have found that anything that will be OK with ambient temperatures does better for me outside - good light and air movement.

I looked up Bulb ambrosia in Orchidwiz, the Baker culture sheet gives a temperature range of 97 def F (36 deg C) to 25 deg F (-4 deg C) for its environment. So a REALLY forgiving plant. It would need considerable shading outside, of course. You could probably get away with growing it outside all year around once it is acclimated... I would keep it inside for now. Put it out when nights are consistently above about 55 deg F, then it can experience the ambient temperatures and acclimate, after it has gone through the seasons it won't need to be pampered

The range for C, iricolor has a low of 48 deg F (9 deg C) so that one would need more protection from cold, I'd consider it intermediate and lean toward the warm side. Light, filtered sun or bright shade.

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Texas is very big with several growing zones. Where in Texas?

[Adogw]

Oh I just saw that, I'm from the San Antonio area

[Dusty Ol' Man]

I remember SA being hot in the summer and cold in the winter. I say 100 degree summer days and snowfall in the winter. Roberta has the right of it. If you follow her advice you will do well by your plants.