Cambria Orchid - General Condition

[Blueszz]

Today I unpotted a Miltionia... I made pictures from the mess inside the pot. I'll upload them later to show what you can expect... Roots were almost all rotten by the time I bought it.
PS Miltionia on label, but is a Miltoniopsis

[Emma_TB]

I did a bit of poking around in the potting material and there is something in there that is either soggy moss or mushed roots, I took as much out as I could without removing the whole plant from the medium... I am going to try repotting this weekend (when I have some orchid compost as I wasn't planning on repotting only a few weeks after getting it!!). The roots I saw in there did seem ok, they're pretty firm so I'm hoping it will be OK until the weekend.

Yes, it came in a tall gold pot but as it was a gift I'm not sure where from. It was about £15 I think.

Thanks guys for all your help! You've all been so helpful!

[Blueszz]

I promised a picture from bad roots on Miltoniopsis. This pictures was made about 1 week after purchase when I found out the medium in the center of the pot didn't dry fast enough. When I took the plant out of the pot I saw very dry good looking roots. I started to remove the medium from below and see yourself what I found :-(

I removed all the medium and gave the plant roots a soak. After about an hour I was left with almost no roots, the velamen on the roots that appeared to be healthy when dry, was rotted and came of hardly touching it.

I watered it once with a few squirts from a spray bottle... impossible I over watered it myself...

The reason to unpot: a shriveled pseudo bulb while the medium in the center didn't dry enough (used a skewer to determine moisture level in the center of the pot).

When I bought it I noticed pleated leafs on the main growth which should have warned me. In fact I noticed it and had my thoughts but was seduced by the strong sweet swell of the flowers... I'm left with a plant that I give only a 20% survival chance.

Nicole




In the center moss within a degraded peat pot, surrounded by bark and oasis.

[RosieC]

Just what I had in mine. I hope yours survives, still touch and go with mine.

[Samheartsorchids]

Those roots look the same as my dendrobium.......I hope that dosn't mean my den is in trouble!!!!
?????does it???????

[Blueszz]

They only way to know is to give the plant a drench and feel the roots. To be honest, when the roots were dry, like in this picture I was hopeful I catched the problem in time. I wasn't

[Emma_TB]

My word! That poor plant looks awful, I really hope it makes it Why are they sold like this??

When you say 'pleated leaves', did they look like this:



I never really thought much of it, I assumed it was just a malformed leaf, as all the others were fine... It's last bud opened yesterday so I thought all was well... however I am re-potting this weekend, so we'll see what lies under the surface...

[Blueszz]

Yes, that is what I meant with a pleated leaf, but mine had pleated leafs on the mature pseudo bulb that was wrinkeled like yours. Also, seems that your potting medium looks different as the one my plant came in. Fingers crossed for yours :-)

And why growers do this? No idea... maybe because some really don't care if their plants live much longer after they sold them.

[camille1585]

Yours still looks good, although repotting is a wise decision. Maybe you'll be lucky and have a decently potted plant. At least you will kno exactly what you're dealing with!

I'm getting really tired of losing plant after plant because of sphag plugs and other hidden surprises in the media. I've lost 3 Nelly Islers and am in the process of losing a Miltoniopsis as well. The Milt was by far the worst. Terrible medium, and in the center was a biodegradable pot full of sphag. These growers are really beginning to disgust me with their potting techniques. Maybe it's better to buy Onc and Milt type plants from orchid nurseries rather than garden centers/supermarkets....

[Emma_TB]

Well, I repotted this afternoon. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me... but to be honest I'm not convinced it's going to last much longer. I'm not sure about the differences in the roots of different types of orchid, but the roots on mine were horribly thin and stringy. The velamen (?) was coming off pretty much to the touch, although there were one or 2 firmer ones. I ended up removing more of the roots than I'd have liked, although it does still have some left. I repotted in completely new medium (Orchid Focus Repotting Mix) and misted the leaves and new mix with Orchid Myst. I haven't watered the new medium yet as I'd swirled the roots in tepid water to remove some of the old moss and medium, so they were damp when repotted.

Is there anything else I can do, or anything I should have done differently?