Angraecum Lemförde HELP

[V8extra]

Hello,

This is my first message in this forum, and I no it is no presentation but I firstly simply want to tell thank you for this great place that I only starting to discover.

Like many people here, I am starting with orchids, and just discover that I need help. I just got an Angraecum Lemförde, and I beleive it is in bad shape. It is my baby, and I swear to myself that if I cannot get this orchid to survive, I would never by any more of them (That is kinda drastic, I know, but it saddens me too much when I lose them).

Recently I did realize that my orchid growth had stopped, I checked out the roots and as I expected they where brown, and empty for the most part. Overwatering, bad medium... I dont know what happened.

What I did is that I cut down all the bad roots (rotten). Changed the media, for a new small to medium size pine bark, with condense argile. I fit that in the smaller pot available that match the new smaller roots system (for what is left of it).

Actually the plant is standing over a pirex (cake) plate, filled with expensed argile (small round balls). I have these plates always half filled with water. The orchid pot is standing on top of it and the pot is not touching the water.

My mosture level is about 70%, for air movement I have a pc fan running 24/7. The air temperature is around 22 C. I would like to have some suggestions or some hints, on how to grow and keep that beauty.

I am ready to go through a lot to have it in a perfect growing environment (indoor) of course.

I have very few roots remaining. The leafs are now slowly starting to have small groves in them...

I wonder Is there a way to save that orchid.

If so could you please send me details instructions.

I have attached some pictures:
1- Here are the roots, for what is left of them...
2- The actual plant, it doesn't look happy
3- Finally you have my setup... which I think of moving straight in front of a sud-east facing window (8 foot tall)...

After doing some searching on the web I found this technique would it be a good idea (Orchids Care - How to Save Your Plant)

There is a technique called "Sphag-n-Bag" that very well could save the plant. Basically you create a small, very small, greenhouse right in your home. It´s really quite simple.

In short, this is how you do it:

Trim off any damaged or dead roots with a blade. Gently remove as much as you can of any organic media attached to the roots.Mix a teaspoon of rooting hormone compound in about a gallon of water. The temperature of the water should be somewhere between 75-85 degrees F. Soak the plant in the water for a couple of hours and then rinse it carefully in plain water. Then remove the rest of any media that could be attached to the roots. You should have no problems doing that by now. If you want to prevent mold or fungus it can be adviced to dip the plant in an disinfectant. Don´t soak it-just dip it.

Now it is time to actually create your own greenhouse. Damp small amounts of sphagnum and put it in a clear plastic bag. The bag should be big enough to fit to whole plant. Place the plant in the bag with the sphagnum but be sure to keep the plant and the sphagnum apart. Seal the bag and put it away in a warm and shady place. Make sure that the bag, at any time, avoids direct contact with sunlight. You do not want to cook the plant! Also, keep it in a shady, not dark, place.

The humidity and the warmth, will stimulate root development and the shade is important to to keep the vegetative growth moderate. Hopefully, in a matter of weeks the plant will have a new root system and then you just repot the plant.


THANKS A LOT!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Those round balls are used for hydroponics and can retain a lot of moisture.

I'd remove them from the media. You can use them for humidity in the humidity trays.

I'd use bark and cover the top lightly with a sparse and thin layer of moss.

The roots will recover, just don't water as much. You can also use a more breathable clay (terra cotta) pot. I use terra cotta pots for most of my Vandas and they do very well.

Make sure the pots aren't sitting in water.

All the other parameters you mentioned is fine.

The plant likes moderate to bright indirect light.

[V8extra]

Thanks a lot for your reply.

Ok so based on what you said... the bag trick... is not a necessary procedure...?

I will remove the balls for sure!
Doing so if I add only pine bark, which size should I use. Medium... Small... and finally I guess the pot size should remain very small to fit the size of the root system.

I will go get some sphagnum...

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Large grade bark is fine. And yes, the pot should preferably be small enough to fit the roots.

It'll take a couple years or so to fully recover, have patience and be ready to make adjustments if you need to.

[V8extra]

Thanks again, but my last questions would be the following:

1- How do make sure your roots system is not rooting when you use a clay pot. I was planning on buying transparent pot in order to visually inspect the roots...

2- In such a pot and with large pine bark you water one a week, when shall I fertilize (I used algae based fertilizers).

3- I intend in the very near future to put this orchid in an dedicated large glass terrarium. I want to do so because winter is comming (very low humidity indoor) and also because even with my current setup my humidity factor and temp fluctuate drastically, 40% - 80% depending if the fogging machine is on or off.

TY

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I guess you can use a clear plastic pot, they've got plenty of drainage slits. They can provide pretty decent aeration too. Not to mention, it may allow the roots to photosynthesize, (you want this).

I usually water when the moss dries out. But for your case I'd watch how much you water a bit more closely. Watering once a week may be too dry for your Angraecum.

Finally...I've never grown a Vandaeceous plant in a terrarium so I'm not the best one to answer that question. Maybe the others who have more experience in this department can help you.

[RosieC]

Welcome to Orchid Board

Sphag-n-Bag has been talked about a lot here, some people have had good success with it, others have not found it very useful.

Personally if you have any good roots left (as it looks from your pic) I would just pot it back up. Sphag-n-bag has been shown to help get roots started on 'chids with no roots left at all but in my own attempts to rescue an orchid with just a couple of roots left, I have found that potting up then careing for it it carefully has done better.

[V8extra]

You guys rock!

Thanks a lot.

I did what you said...

I am now arming me with patience.

I am happy to be part of this community...

More picture to come...

Cheers.

[Jorch]

Welcome to OB!

This beautiful angraecum hybrid really is not the best beginner's orchid for us who lives in the great white North and grow orchids without a greenhouse.

My personal experience with them is that they NEED warmth and high humidity to grow well. I am not sure if I am looking at your thermometer correctly, but it seems like your growing area is 16.6 degrees celcius? I consider that temperature is a tad too low for growing most intermediate to warm growing Angraecoids. A temperature range of 22 or above at night would be better. Also, you seem to have a fogger to boost up the humidity? Did you use one of those cool-mist types? Keeping the roots too cool also creates a problem.

!

[V8extra]

I am using the typical terrarium fogger (ultrasonic one). Regarding temperature. Thanks for noticing me, I have added a heating mat bellow the water and the orchid is also standing on it. So hope fully that little baby will come alive...

I am quite stubborn when it come to plant I have at home a tree fern (NewZeland) that requires watering every hours... I manage to build a setup for it, and I intend to do the same for that orchid.

I really appreciate all the advice you guys are giving me and I am making everything possible to have them come to reality.