Epicattleya Rene Marquis Tyler - progressive leaf yellowing & Drop

[Skippersmom]

Good morning wise ones. I need some advice on 2 Epicattleya Rene Marquis Tyler orchids.
Unfortunately the system dumped my first detailed explanation, so I will endeavor to cover my question with more brevity. I apologize for any omitted information and fire away with your ?s as needed.

I am mostly a beginner. Have been doing orchids for about 8 years, mostly Catts, Phals, Catas and a few Vandas. Have even rescued a few plants from others.

I thought I did my homework on these Epicat. Rene Marquis. Watched videos and did on-line research. Orchid Society handout indicated that they were not fussy about the type of water. I do check pH on my source periodically and checks out.

Little Guy - there WERE 2 pots of this purchased from a northwest U.S. source, approximately Febr. 2022. Static and even putting o leaves for a bit. Then 1 began slowly dying. From bottom up, leaves would shrivel a little, then yellow, then drop. It was finally totally dead. So I repotted Little Guy #2, fresh cattleya type media (from a good source I’ve used for years) with a skosh of sphagnum moss to help hold a little moisture (winter indoors I cannot keep the humidity up around the group, so all my orchids have varied amounts of moss,). Cleaned roots, treated top to bottom for fungus. Sits in a south window at my sink. Keeping a close eye on it. It seemed to be great for about 6 weeks, then then bottom up failure started.
Big Guy – stoked by my ‘apparent’ rescue of Little Guy, I boldly purchased Big Guy, hoping that a better established plant would do better. This was about a month ago. Quarantined in a different room, treated for fungus, etc….the unprosperous look started nearly immediately. I have had it for about 4 weeks and it is dying SO FAST.
Pests = checked for mites & pests, cannot find any.
Fungus = Retreated for fungus (Cosan).
Fertilizer = ‘Little Guy’ has Osmocote Pro mixed lightly in the medium.
……………….’Big Guy’ has a grey particle slo-release on it
Big Guy has 2 healthy stems still attached. I want to be proactive and any intervention that I can do to at least save those, I want to try. I could pull it out of it’s medium and repot, but that wasn’t the perfect answer for ‘Little Guy’ so before I do anything major, I seek guidance.
I am feeling like the Grim Reaper!!!
Thank you in advance for your thoughts and assistance.
SkippersMom

[Ray]

The first thing to look at is the condition of the roots.

Plants don’t typically start such a decline unless the root system is in very poor shape, unless they have been poisoned. Unless you used a LOT of fertilizer, that’s probably not the issue.

[estación seca]

The pots are far bigger than I would use. I would have used pots that just fit the roots. I suspect the roots have suffocated and died. I agree with Ray, take them out and examine the roots. Don't cut off any roots that don't fall out on their own. Repot the plant into a container just large enough for the roots. That might mean a 2" square plastic pot.

Whenever you post a question it's helpful to tell us what are your growing conditions. Temperatures day/night, relative humidity? What kind of light is it getting, and how long? How do you decide when to water, and how are you watering? Do you fertilize? How do you mix it, and how often?

I recommend not using fungicide like a shotgun unless you are certain of which fungus is involved and that it is susceptible to the fungicide you plan to use. Fungus is almost never a primary problem in a lower humidity home environment.

[Skippersmom]

Thank you for the replies.

I guess all the 'living conditions' were lost when my first attempt was dumped by the system.

I am in Nebraska. While some my sturdy orchids live outside in the 'orchid cabana' during the warm months, anything new, vulnerable or new species I'm trying to understand, stays inside with me so I canobserve it. Those live in typical climate controlled household situation. fairly o.k. in the summer, too dry in the winter. I've read enough opinions aobut humidifiers and humidity trays to understand that my of these 'kids' spend 1/2 their life in less than optimal conditions. But I've never had anything croak like these 2 new ones.

The first orchid 'Little Guy' did spend 2 March/April with heated air. Then A/C weather commenced. As I noted, it's lived the whole time right by the kitchen sink in south exposure. I threw away his 2 inch pot 6 weeks ago, as I was worried about carrying over any disease in repotting. The 4" pot is all I had. In the prior 2 inch pot it would dry out in 2 days.

Just popped it out. Roots look about the same as before.
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Big guy is in the original 4' pot from which he arrived from the grower. It is terribly top heavy so it just 'nests' in the ceramic orchid pot to prevent it from tipping over and breaking. I have not added any additional fertilizer other than the grey particles that the grower sent with it. It also is hanging out indoors. for the 4 weeks I have owned it.

Will unpot it too and see if I can fit into a smaller pot if that is what is needed.
Thank you again for the input.

[estación seca]

How much sun is it getting? Sunburn can cook leaves like that. Depending on where in Nebraska, it might be happier outdoors if it would get warmer temperatures and higher humidity. If it's really hot that would not be a good idea.