repotted in LECA...failing fast

[RosieC]

Did your Dendrobium have a name? There are a lot of very wide ranging Dendrobiums and they don't all need the same care so a name would help.

If you don't have a name then if you can show us a picture that might help.

All Dendrobiums have 'Canes' which hold the leaves. In some Dendrobiums these are very tiny, on others they can be large (my tallest is proabably about 1' high). Some Dendrobiums then grow tall flower spikes out the top of the canes. One the flowers are finished the spikes (not the canes) can be cut back. Other Dens produce flowers on short stems direct out of the canes.

Some Dendrobiums are deciduous, which means at this time of year in the Northan Hemesphere they should be loosing the leaves. However other Dendrobiums are not deciduous, but may loose some leaves on old canes (mine have lost some on canes which are 3+ years old).

Note that new growth from the base of Dendrobiums are not like keikis from something like a Phal. They are part of the usual growing pattern of Dendrobiums and should not be removed from the main plant.

As for the leca. I've not grown Dens in it, but I believe others have done so with the S/H technique I mentioned earlier.

I would perhaps gently ease the Den from it's pot and see if you can see any roots. If you can and they look good (thin and white) then I would slide it back in and leave it be for now. The best time to repot a Den is when there is new growth as the new growth will produce new roots which will get sunk into the new medium. Existing roots never seem so happy once repotted, they will live, but just never seem as happy so I always prefer to repot when new roots are due to grow soon.

[RosieC]

OK, finally a couple of general orchid watering tips. These apply for any medium but not the S/H techique.

1. Water when the medium is starting to dry. Some orchids like it to be on the really dry side, others like it to be on the damper side still. My Phals do well drying completely, my Dens like it slightly wetter but cope well with me letting them dry completely. The basic thing is that most orchids don't like sodden medium.

2. Either use a clear pot to see when the medium is dry at the bottom/middle, or use a wooden skewer pushed into the pot. When you pull it out you can see if it's still damp in the middle. A common mistake is to assume that dry on the top means dry in the middle and that can lead to rot.

3. When you water use plenty of water. You can either stand them up to the top of the medium in water, or run plenty through the pot. Don't be stingy though, another common mistake amoungst people have heard about orchid roots rotting if left too wet is to then under water.

4. Drain the water thoroughly and don't leave them standing in water for any length of time. (I aim for 15min max when watering). If you use 'Cover Pots' or 'Cache Pots' ensure there is no water left in the bottom which has dribbled out of the main pot. I usually try and go back after 24 hours to check and do a final drain, or I use Cache Pots which have a bulge in the bottom to hold the inner pot off the bottom and out of and water drained into the bottom.

5. Use fertiliser weekly weakly. If it's a strong Orchid fertiliser which recomends monthly use then use it quater strength weekly. Ray has a calculator for more acurate calculation of strength but initially that will do as a guide.

6. Once a month use plain water and flush it through the pot to remove any residue of the fertilisers.

I think that's all I can think of just now, so I hope that all makes sence. Be sure to ask again if not or if I've missed something.

[RosieC]

Just realised that this had a double post, so I've merged Ted's answers with mine and Camille's.

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by RosieC

Just realised that this had a double post, so I've merged Ted's answers with mine and Camille's.

Thanks Rosie, I hadn't noticed the second thread yet, so ended up asking a question already asked and answered.... Oh well, it's not like I had anything better to do with my time!

[jenilee]

You guys are great!

As far as the LECA, I'm not sure what technique I'm using so I'll explain what the instructions had me do. (the starter kit came from hydro-orchids.com) It has two pots, an exterior and interior pot. The interior one has slits going up the sides, probably an inch or so long, holes in the bottom, and this dome shaped recess up into it at the bottom. I only used the LECA pebbles when I repotted. The pots also came with a watering gauge, and to get it to show minimum I have to have an inch or so of water standing in the outer pot (which makes me nervous because everyone says not to let it stand in water). Does this match one of those techniques? or am I doing it completely wrong?

As for the dendrobium...here are a couple pictures of him ....and the two leaves I pulled off

[jenilee]

Also here is a picture of my sad little Keiki It's been taken out of the pot and the roots aren't looking too good

[jenilee]

And finally a picture of my droopy little Phal...

Sorry my phone takes terrible photos...my husband is a professional photographer but he's too busy cooking

PS Happy Turkey Day everyone!

[quiltergal]

Hi Jeni. The method you are using with the LECA is Semi-Hydroponic or S/H as we say around here. It's actually a pretty good set up if you tend to be a chronic over waterer. LECA is designed to wick water from the standing water in the bottom of the pot up to the top. There are lots of little air spaces in the pot between the LECA pebbles. This is the secret to it's success. The reason roots rot is primarily due to suffocation. Traditional media like bark decomposes over time and becomes compacted. Add overwatering to that and there is very little air getting to the root system. They eventually suffocate and die.

The tricky part of S/H is making the transition from traditional media to LECA. Roots tailor themselves to grow in the media they start out with. When you switch to something totally different many times the old roots will die because they cannot readjust themselves to the new media. That is why it is crucial that you time the transition to happen when the plant is actively growing new roots. As the old roots die off the new ones tailor themselves to the new media and take over.

That said, switching to S/H can be difficult for very healthy plants. It's not a method I would recommend for a plant already at death's doorstep. (Been there, done that) I've had many successes transitioning plants to S/H. For my plants it has taken a very long time to make the transition, get healthy and bloom again. I have one noteable exception. I moved an Oncidium to S/H and it never skipped a beat. In fact it started growing like crazy right away. The Phals I have moved to S/H struggled for a long time before they finally came around. Even if you time everything just right you never know how a plant will react.

Your Dendrobium is a Phal type. They like to be grown warm and bright, no winter rest. They are evergreen not deciduous. Dens are notorious for hating a change in environment, and display their displeasure by dropping leaves. This is very common. I think if this were my plant I would repot it. The media looks like it is past it's prime. The plant is going to pout for awhile anyway so you may as well give it a good reason to. Dens also seem to prefer to be pot bound so if you do decide to repot put in the smallest pot the roots will fit into, but leave enough room for a few new canes to grow.

[RosieC]

As Terri has said the method is a variatiant of S/H, or rather perhaps S/H is a variant of this hydroponic technique.

While usually you would not leave water standing in the bottom with ordinary methods, with S/H that's exactly what you do.

Also has Terri has said, the timning of transfer from standard potting medium to S/H is key because it is expected that you will get root death during the transfer, and you need to time it to be when new roots are starting to grow so they replace the dying ones.

This could be where yours are struggling, especially if you had to cut off most of the roots anyway.

Something like a heat mat may help and/or keeping them in a warm spot. This can encourage them into a growth phase. Not the best time of year for that unfortunately which is where a heat mat may come in.

[RosieC]

Was the keiki seperated from the parent. It might have been best to leave it until it was a lot bigger and possible just leave it on the parent forever.

I think unfortunately that is probably a gonner.