Root Rot or old age?

[BigRed]

Hello,
So...over the past week I have noticed a decline in my favorite orchid, Baredendrum Terusan x Barkeria Skinneri, pardon me if I spelled that wrong. It has three old spikes, and three baby ones. I'm not sure if you would call them spikes or if their individual plants, but their roots are intertwined. Well, the old plant parts leaves are getting mushy and black and their roots squishy and hollow. Is this normal? Will it hurt my new growth? Also, there is a keiki growing from one of the dying shoots, how long can I leave it on without damaging it's health? Any help would be greatly appreciated as this is my very favorite orchid.

[isurus79]

Mushy and black is ALWAYS bad! It indicates rot and could certainly spread to other healthy parts of the plant, ie. the new growth. Do you have any pics?

[BigRed]

I can't seem to get my camera to focus on the tiny roots. But I've seperated the three canes. One of them has thick white fuzz on its squishy black roots. It has one healthy root left. But I'm thinking I wont try to save that one. The other two canes seem devoid of white fuzz and have several healthy roots, and several squishy hollow roots. I'm soaking new potting medium right now. I think I'll let the two healthy canes air out overnight. Is that okay? How should I proceed?

[isurus79]

I would toss the one with fuzzy white stuff on rotten roots. If these are Cattleya types you are going to want to keep it together as a bunch (attached to eachother) rather than separating them. You should have atleast three bulbs on a division. Any pics at all would be great, even if they are not focused on the roots. Airing the healthy canes for a few nights might be your best bet. As for repotting, I doubt you need to soak the bark, as this will only continue your plant's demise due to rot. They need less water, not more! Pics are definitely needed for a better plan of action.

[BigRed]

Here's some pics. I just threw out the white fuzzy guy. The other two canes I took pics of after I cleaned them up. I dabbed cinnamin where I cut the rotten roots off and I have them drying out in my cupboard. F.Y.I the stalks didn't share a root system together. They were a bit intertwined but were easily seperated without cutting roots. Also, a picture of my pretty keiki! I think now may be a good time to repot.

[isurus79]

Wow. OK. Thats pretty bad. I would toss whatever the first two pics are. Im sure you could make the argument for saving the keiki in those pics (the first 2 pics), but I wouldnt bother. The plants in the following pics can definitely be saved. I would pot it up in a 2.5 inch pot and chop off the flowers so that the plant will put its energy into repairing itself and not into reproduction. Whatever your watering scheme for this plant has been in the past.......cut it by 1/2. If you watered it 4x per week, cut back to 2x. If you watered it 2x per week, cut back to 1x, etc. Good luck.

[BigRed]

I was only watering once a week. So I think the problem may have been too big of a pot. It was in a 4 inch. I'll try to see if I can salvage the two canes that weren't too far gone. So much for my keiki. Oh well.

[BigRed]

Here's my update after the re-pot. I hope they recover. If not I just bought a new phal to make myself feel better.

[isurus79]

Looks good. Dont forget to cut off the flowers. Also, is the smaller plant in the pot with 2 plants the one with the rotten roots and base? If it is throw it away ASAP. It will only reinfect your healthy plant.

[BigRed]

I threw out the worst cain. The longest cain with keiki was cut short short with no leaves. the other cain is still the same size. Do I really need to cut off the flowers on the newly planted keiki? Thanks for all the info. -erika