Burana Beauty with root rot

[toynutz]

I got this orchid about 1-2 months ago... as soon as I got it home, it's buds blasted and dropped off. (Seems most of the BBs I've seen at TJs have this problem.) Anyway, it's done nothing since that happened so I decide to repot.

Here's what was in the pot...



Note to self: Repot all TJs orchids ASAP!

I cut off the bad roots and put it in a better potting mix. I watered it but am cutting back on future waterings in hopes of getting new roots to grow... is that the right thing to do?



This it it a week later (today). Not much of a change except for the sheath turning yellow.



So now I'm not sure what I should do with the sheath and stem. Will it rebloom from this stem? Should I leave it alone? Should I cut if off? Will the other pseudo bulbs produce flowers or do I need to wait for new growth before I get to see flowers?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I recommend leaving the sheath and spike alone. They're both done doing their thing, and they'll dry out soon enough.

If it were me, I would've left a few dead roots hanging around so that the plant can anchor themselves into the potting medium. When new roots of significant length and numbers grow in, then I'll remove all the dead ones.

For example, I'm currently growing a Dendrobium peguanum that had all it's roots dry out and die off when I grew it potted. So I decided to mount it onto cork. I left a few dead roots on, and I wrapped the fishing line around them to anchor them onto the cork bark mount. The new growth is now putting out roots. When the roots and new shoots get larger, I'll go back and trim off all the dead material (it'll probably be sometime next year).

[Orchid126]

To me the pot looks a bit too big. You don't have much of a root system on that plant. The plant should be in a pot that just accommodates the roots. Too big a pot will have too much media that will stay too wet in proportion to the roots.

[toynutz]

Originally Posted by Orchid126

To me the pot looks a bit too big. You don't have much of a root system on that plant. The plant should be in a pot that just accommodates the roots. Too big a pot will have too much media that will stay too wet in proportion to the roots.

Good point! I didn't think about that when I repotted. I'll repot it again in a smaller-sized pot.

I also didn't think about leaving a few "anchoring" roots but at least I staked the plant so that it doesn't wobble.

[buckie]

Try useing some rock in your mix, half inch is good, this helps with keeping the moisture level down, I use volcanic rock only, nothing else at all, all my Catt's do very well in it. You will have to wait untill you get a new growth before you get more blooms.

Warren

[toynutz]

I repotted down and added an inch or so of rocks to the bottom. As you can tell the spike and sheath have degenerated quite a bit overnight… so either its still not happy or its focusing on growing new roots now. I also added more bark and rock to the mix... hopefully it’ll like its new “home” and start producing a good root system.



Thanks again for everyone’s help. This is a great site!

[buckie]

Ok, looks good. Forget about the old spike and sheath, just leave them alone, your next new growth could start to appear in the next few weeks or it could take 6 months or more, don't panic at this time. Good luck.
Warren

[johnblagg]

I think I see a little green new root in the pic do I not? If so it will take off surley I have a new chid that looked pretty much the same two months ago but now has lots of new roots